The Public Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime of Serbia (TOK, for its acronym in Serbian) has announced the launch of two criminal proceedings as a result of the complaints filed by lawyer Ivan Ninic against several senior government officials. Among those accused are the director of the Information and Security Agency (BIA), Vladimir Orlic, and the Minister of Justice, Nenad Vujic, to whom alleged offenses linked to the violation of electoral rights and abuse of power are attributed.
The judicial authority has specified in a note, issued in compliance with the directives of the Supreme Prosecutor's Office to clarify any possible irregularities in electoral processes, that the first case focuses specifically on Orlic and several officials of the Serbian Intelligence agency.
All of them are being investigated for possible crimes of abuse of official position, coercion, and violation of the right to vote. To move forward with these initial investigations, the Prosecutor's Office has requested the Organized Crime Fighting Service of the Ministry of the Interior (SBPOK) to collect the relevant documentation and proceed to question those involved.
The second criminal case affects the Minister of Justice, Nenad Vujic; the director of the Directorate for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions, Mile Jandric; the ministry's special adviser, Milica Radonjic; and another 60 officials already identified. These include officials and personnel from different penitentiary centers and district prisons in the country, as well as leaders and activists of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).
In this second file, the Prosecutor's Office is examining a broad range of alleged irregularities that include crimes of unlawful association, bribery and related kickbacks connected to voting, trafficking in influence, unauthorized obtaining of personal data, failure to perform duties in service, and acts of discrimination.