Serbian authorities have detained Davor Macura, owner of Alta Bank, accusing him of removing over €380 million from the bank's deposit vault following President Aleksandar Vučić's election loss. Macura and two other officials were arrested after police searched the bank's premises and Macura's home. The National Bank of Serbia revoked Alta's licence on Saturday due to financial strain after Russian-national clients made large withdrawals and moved funds abroad.
Prosecutors allege Macura and his accomplices used unauthorized access to remove approximately 45 billion dinars. Alta's parent company previously faced ECB scrutiny over money laundering suspicions related to an attempted acquisition of Austrian lender Addiko. Legal expert Ljiljana Borovic notes Alta grew from a small Belgrade money exchange into a systemic bank after acquiring a state-owned lender and catering to Russian businesses post-2022 invasion.
Macura claims the bank became a target of hostile briefing by regional competitors and argues no proportionate measures were offered before closure. The National Bank of Serbia and Vučić's SNS party declined to comment. Macura has denied wrongdoing, warning that systemic banks cannot be treated this way without risk to investors and depositors.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing