Андрей Романенко, CC BY-SA 4.0; 2024 archive crop.
Serbia’s Alta Bank has lost its operating license amid allegations that money was moved abroad after the country’s October 25 election. North Macedonia’s opposition SDSM publicly linked the alleged transfers to Moscow and Skopje, while Serbia’s organized-crime prosecutors have asked police to examine Alta’s operations and responsible central-bank officials over possible foreign outflows.
Reports citing people familiar with the matter say the bank was used by Russian clients and helped Russian individuals and companies move money to and from Serbia. That account has not been confirmed by Serbian authorities.
In an October 28 statement, SDSM spokesperson Bogdanka Kuzeska called for an investigation into reports that Alta was moving large sums to North Macedonia and Russia starting October 26, after the Serbian election. She cited information attributed to lawyer Ivan Ninić. In an October 30 statement, SDSM official Andrej Zernovski alleged transfers of more than 50 million euros from Belgrade to the group’s bank in North Macedonia and asked whether Skopje was being used as a route onward to Moscow. These are opposition allegations, not confirmed transaction records or findings by prosecutors.
Ninić had posted a redacted complaint on October 27, saying an insider had alerted him to a bank moving funds abroad the previous day and that he had requested urgent central-bank oversight. The attached document alleged accelerated transfers beginning October 26 to accounts and companies in Moscow and Skopje, linking their timing to the election and changed political circumstances. The bank’s name was blacked out, so that document alone does not establish that Alta made those transfers.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime said in an October 31 statement that it had asked police the previous day to examine Alta Bank’s operations and responsible officials at the National Bank of Serbia over possible outflows and transfers abroad. It also said the central bank had submitted a criminal complaint against the bank and several responsible people. Those are investigative steps, not findings of guilt.
The National Bank of Serbia said it revoked Alta’s license because the bank’s financial condition had deteriorated significantly and could worsen further, putting depositors’ interests at risk. A separate October 31 statement dated the withdrawal to October 30 and said control had been transferred to the Deposit Insurance Agency to protect assets and creditors.
For customers, the immediate issue is access to covered deposits. The Deposit Insurance Agency says eligible depositors are covered up to 50,000 euros each and reimbursement will start no later than seven business days after the Commercial Court in Belgrade orders the bank into bankruptcy. The payment location and terms are to be announced within three business days of that court decision. That timetable does not mean payments are already available.
Prosecutors said they first asked the central bank on October 27 for information on transfers abroad from September 27 onward, following reports of outflows. According to their statement, the central bank supplied older quarterly data on October 30 and said a report covering the requested period could be provided after November 4. The prosecutor’s statement does not identify Russia, specify transfer amounts or conclude that the election caused any outflows. The central bank cited financial deterioration and risks to depositors as its reason for withdrawing the license.
JBizNews Desk | Belgrade
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