Opposition leader: My last address to Serbia’s President, next time at his trial

N1

Dragan Djilas, the leader of Serbia's opposition Party of Freedom and Justice, told reporters on Thursday that was the last time he addressed President Aleksandar Vucic and that the next time it would be in court.

Djilas reacted to claims by Vucic’ and his ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) officials supported by pro-government media about his bank accounts in Mauritius and Switzerland, which he described as false and even forgery.

„What Vucic is doing is not normal, neither is that politics,“ Djilas said.

He accused President of „spreading hatred and divisions, lying, covering every truth with a tonne of mud.“

„Vucic is lying because he is afraid of the truth. He’s afraid that everyone will see his links to crime. If I were him, I would have been afraid too,“ Djilas said, adding the next time he would address the President would be at a fair trial Vucic would have.

The President was the first to mention the alleged Djilas’ Mauritius Deutsche Bank account while on a visit to the UAE. Then pro-regime media launched a campaign against Djilas, publishing the apparent account’s statement.

Deutsche Bank from Frankfurt confirmed to N1 on Thursday, it had returned its licence for the work in Mauritius ad that since the end of 2018 did not have any client’s account.

Djilas announced criminal charges against Vucic, Finance Minister Sinisa Mali, and others, including several pro-government media, who spread what he described as mere lies about him.

„They falsified the documents as an organised criminal group aiming at deceiving the public,“ Djilas told reporters.

He showed documents which he said were evidence the Mauritius Deutsche Bank was non-existent since December 7, 2018; that a company the media linked him to had a different owner, and that his Swiss-based firm was operating legally, as well as that he did not have a private account in that country.

Djilas also released the recording of a phone call to the mentioned  Mauritius bank, with an audio message that said the number was not in use.

He said that he founded a company in Switzerland in 2014 as a part of his Belgrade-based firm and that the Swiss branch „has been operating legally for the last seven years.“