{"id":31815,"date":"2021-10-19T09:20:53","date_gmt":"2021-10-19T07:20:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/?p=31815"},"modified":"2021-12-17T19:17:07","modified_gmt":"2021-12-17T17:17:07","slug":"serbian-progressive-party-from-being-a-tenant-to-owning-real-estate-worth-millions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/serbian-progressive-party-from-being-a-tenant-to-owning-real-estate-worth-millions\/","title":{"rendered":"Serbian Progressive Party: from Being a Tenant to Owning Real Estate Worth Millions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The road from Subotica through the center of Pali\u0107 in the direction of Lake Treseti\u0161te leads to a paved road barely wide enough for two cars to pass each other. Where the road forks, instead of asphalt there is only soil and grit.<\/p><p>The road cuts through state-owned fields and stretches next to a traditional Hungarian restaurant at the lake. Then the traveler comes across a sign with a warning reading: <strong>PRIVATE PROPERTY \u2013 NO TRESPASSING!<\/strong><\/p><figure id=\"attachment_31773\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31773\" style=\"width: 576px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-31773\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Znak-upozorenja-na-putu-za-SNS-salas-na-Palicu-1-576x495.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"576\" height=\"495\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Znak-upozorenja-na-putu-za-SNS-salas-na-Palicu-1-576x495.jpg 576w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Znak-upozorenja-na-putu-za-SNS-salas-na-Palicu-1-966x830.jpg 966w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Znak-upozorenja-na-putu-za-SNS-salas-na-Palicu-1-768x660.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Znak-upozorenja-na-putu-za-SNS-salas-na-Palicu-1-1536x1319.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Znak-upozorenja-na-putu-za-SNS-salas-na-Palicu-1-150x129.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Znak-upozorenja-na-putu-za-SNS-salas-na-Palicu-1.jpg 1800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31773\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Warning sign on road to Serbian Progressive Party<br \/>farm near Pali\u0107; photo: CINS<\/figcaption><\/figure><p>What lies 670 meters from the sign is a picturesque <em>sala\u0161 <\/em>farm with a swimming pool and a small house in a yard, which <em>Center for Investigative Journalism of Serbia <\/em>(CINS) journalists toured.<\/p><p>These buildings are owned by the <em>Serbian Progressive Party<\/em>.<\/p><p>Research conducted by CINS shows how the <em>Serbian Progressive Party <\/em>went from being a party with no real estate to becoming the owner of buildings and land worth upwards of 224 million dinars after it came to power. In 2014, the ruling party changed, in urgent procedure, the Law on Financing Political Activities, thereby allowing parties to buy real estate also by using budget funds. However, even though parties formally report whether they have used public or private money to purchase a piece of real estate, in reality that is difficult to control, CINS\u2019 interlocutors say.<\/p><p>The <em>Serbian Progressive Party <\/em>paid just over 7.1 million dinars for this farm in Vojvodina in July 2019. According to <em>Republic Geodetic Authority <\/em>data, the structures in question occupy a surface area of close to 700 square meters.<\/p><div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-31815 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-medium'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/serbian-progressive-party-from-being-a-tenant-to-owning-real-estate-worth-millions\/sns-salas-gledan-sa-puta-2-2\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"576\" height=\"432\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SNS-salas-gledan-sa-puta-1-576x432.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-31779\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SNS-salas-gledan-sa-puta-1-576x432.jpg 576w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SNS-salas-gledan-sa-puta-1-966x725.jpg 966w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SNS-salas-gledan-sa-puta-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SNS-salas-gledan-sa-puta-1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SNS-salas-gledan-sa-puta-1-853x640.jpg 853w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SNS-salas-gledan-sa-puta-1-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SNS-salas-gledan-sa-puta-1.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-31779'>\n\t\t\t\tThe Serbian Progressive Party farm viewed from the road; photo: CINS\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/serbian-progressive-party-from-being-a-tenant-to-owning-real-estate-worth-millions\/vesic-sa-svojim-knjigama-u-sns-salasu-2-2\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"576\" height=\"432\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Vesic-sa-svojim-knjigama-u-SNS-salasu-1-576x432.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-31781\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Vesic-sa-svojim-knjigama-u-SNS-salasu-1-576x432.jpg 576w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Vesic-sa-svojim-knjigama-u-SNS-salasu-1-966x725.jpg 966w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Vesic-sa-svojim-knjigama-u-SNS-salasu-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Vesic-sa-svojim-knjigama-u-SNS-salasu-1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Vesic-sa-svojim-knjigama-u-SNS-salasu-1-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Vesic-sa-svojim-knjigama-u-SNS-salasu-1-853x640.jpg 853w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Vesic-sa-svojim-knjigama-u-SNS-salasu-1-150x113.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-31781'>\n\t\t\t\tBelgrade Deputy Mayor Goran Vesi\u0107 with his books at the farm near Pali\u0107; photo: For Serbian People and State Foundation\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/serbian-progressive-party-from-being-a-tenant-to-owning-real-estate-worth-millions\/ksenija-vucic-drzii-predavanje-na-sns-salasu-2-2\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"576\" height=\"324\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Ksenija-Vucic-drzii-predavanje-na-SNS-salasu-1-576x324.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-31777\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Ksenija-Vucic-drzii-predavanje-na-SNS-salasu-1-576x324.jpg 576w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Ksenija-Vucic-drzii-predavanje-na-SNS-salasu-1-966x543.jpg 966w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Ksenija-Vucic-drzii-predavanje-na-SNS-salasu-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Ksenija-Vucic-drzii-predavanje-na-SNS-salasu-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Ksenija-Vucic-drzii-predavanje-na-SNS-salasu-1-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Ksenija-Vucic-drzii-predavanje-na-SNS-salasu-1.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-31777'>\n\t\t\t\tAleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107\u2019s ex-wife, Ksenija Vu\u010di\u0107, giving a lecture in the yard of the Progressive party farm; photo: Ksenija Vu\u010di\u0107\/Twitter\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/serbian-progressive-party-from-being-a-tenant-to-owning-real-estate-worth-millions\/ksenija-vucic-drzi-predavanje-pored-bazena-na-sns-salasu-2-2\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"576\" height=\"322\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Ksenija-Vucic-drzi-predavanje-pored-bazena-na-SNS-salasu-1-576x322.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-31775\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Ksenija-Vucic-drzi-predavanje-pored-bazena-na-SNS-salasu-1-576x322.jpg 576w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Ksenija-Vucic-drzi-predavanje-pored-bazena-na-SNS-salasu-1-966x540.jpg 966w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Ksenija-Vucic-drzi-predavanje-pored-bazena-na-SNS-salasu-1-768x429.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Ksenija-Vucic-drzi-predavanje-pored-bazena-na-SNS-salasu-1-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Ksenija-Vucic-drzi-predavanje-pored-bazena-na-SNS-salasu-1.jpg 1059w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-31775'>\n\t\t\t\tKsenija Vu\u010di\u0107 with students of the Serbian Progressive Party Academy, in front of the swimming pool near Pali\u0107; photo: Ksenija Vu\u010di\u0107\/Twitter\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/serbian-progressive-party-from-being-a-tenant-to-owning-real-estate-worth-millions\/default-2\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"576\" height=\"324\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Salas-iz-vazduha-576x324.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-31791\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Salas-iz-vazduha-576x324.jpg 576w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Salas-iz-vazduha-966x543.jpg 966w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Salas-iz-vazduha-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Salas-iz-vazduha-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Salas-iz-vazduha-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Salas-iz-vazduha.jpg 1800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-31791'>\n\t\t\t\tA photograph of the Progressive party farm near the border with Hungary, taken by a drone; photo: CINS)\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/vucic-drzi-predavanje-u-sns-salasu-2\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"576\" height=\"324\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Vucic-drzi-predavanje-u-SNS-salasu-576x324.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-31722\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Vucic-drzi-predavanje-u-SNS-salasu-576x324.jpg 576w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Vucic-drzi-predavanje-u-SNS-salasu-966x543.jpg 966w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Vucic-drzi-predavanje-u-SNS-salasu-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Vucic-drzi-predavanje-u-SNS-salasu-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Vucic-drzi-predavanje-u-SNS-salasu-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Vucic-drzi-predavanje-u-SNS-salasu.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-31722'>\n\t\t\t\tAleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107 giving a lecture at the Progressive party farm; photo: For Serbian People and State Foundation\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<p>Although the entirety of what is located at the farm and the purposes for which the farm near the Hungarian border is used are not known, educational sessions for students of the party\u2019s Young Leaders Academy were held there at least twice last year. The lecturer was <em>Pink TV <\/em>journalist and ex-wife of President <strong>Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107<\/strong>, <strong>Ksenija Vu\u010di\u0107<\/strong>.<\/p><p>A number of state and party officials have also passed through the property near Pali\u0107 \u2013 from Minister of Finance <strong>Sini\u0161a Mali<\/strong>, through <em>Post of Serbia <\/em>acting director <strong>Zoran \u0110or\u0111evi\u0107<\/strong>, to the president of Serbia and the Progressive party, Vu\u010di\u0107.<\/p><p>Psychologist and former MP of the <em>Liberal Democratic Party <\/em><strong>\u017darko Kora\u0107 <\/strong>also spent an afternoon at the <em>Serbian Progressive Party <\/em>farm. He says he was invited two years ago, when the Academy \u201cwas at its beginning,\u201d so that the students could \u201clearn to talk with someone who thinks differently.\u201d He adds he also got a small fee for that.<\/p><div class=\"antrefile-container\"><div class=\"antrefile\"><h2 class=\"antretitle\">What is the Serbian Progressive Party Academy?<\/h2><div class=\"antrefilecont\"><p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\">The Young Leaders Academy aims to educate young members of the <i>Serbian Progressive Party <\/i>through lectures on various political topics, with an emphasis on debating and public presentation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\">The Academy is run by the <i>For Serbian People and State Foundation<\/i>,<i> <\/i>which the <i>Serbian Progressive Party <\/i>founded in September 2019. The Foundation\u2019s Articles of Association were personally signed by <b>Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107<\/b>. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;\">Three months before this foundation was established, the <i>Serbian Progressive Party <\/i>paid the Public Policy Institute, represented by <b>Vladimir Beba Popovi\u0107<\/b>, 1.6 million dinars to put together an educational program.<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>Three months before this foundation was established, the <em>Serbian Progressive Party <\/em>paid the Public Policy Institute, represented by <strong>Vladimir Beba Popovi\u0107<\/strong>, 1.6 million dinars to put together an educational program.)<\/p><p>\u201cI was just taken there and back. (\u2026) They (students of the Academy, journalist\u2019s note) were very decent, I must say. But I later heard that no one from that group joined the <em>Serbian Progressive Party<\/em>,\u201d Kora\u0107 told CINS.<\/p><p>Kora\u0107 could not say what was located inside those rooms, but he thinks that is where the young people sleep.<\/p><p>A portion of the farm, spanning 146 square meters and built without a permit, is owned by <strong>Dejan Mati\u0107<\/strong>, a former head of Belgrade\u2019s Municipality of Zemun and the incumbent acting director of the <em>Directorate of Joint Affairs<\/em>.<\/p><p>Despite the fact that in the latest report on assets and income late last year Mati\u0107 did not report his ownership of the real estate, representatives of the <em>Anti-Corruption Agency <\/em>told CINS they had not noticed any irregularities and would not be launching a procedure against Mati\u0107.<\/p><div class=\"fullwreg\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LGtLWfxZB1w\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><h2>All the Progressive party real estate<\/h2><p>CINS wrote earlier\u00a0about the office space in Novi Beograd, at the so-called Old Mercator, where the party headquarters is located. The space used to belong to the <em>Vetfarm <\/em>company which went bankrupt, and then a consortium of 27 people, predominantly from Kru\u0161evac, headed by then local Progressive party alderman Velibor Jovanovi\u0107, bought it at an auction for about 250,000 euros.<\/p><p>They donated the space to the party in 2017, but as\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/unallowed-donation-of-1-3-million-eur-to-the-ruling-party\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CINS learned<\/a>\u00a0the value of that gift far surpassed the permitted value, which is why the <em>Anti-Corruption Agency <\/em>is investigating the case.<\/p><p>However, not long after the farm in Subotica, the Progressives purchased more office space at the Old Mercator, spanning 418 square meters. According to <em>State Audit Institution <\/em>(SAI) data, they paid 43.5 million dinars for it.<\/p><p>The space in question comprises several offices which used to be occupied by the <em>Beolink <\/em>company. The office space was previously owned by the wife of the company general manager, <strong>Sa\u0161a Stojkovi\u0107<\/strong>, who says that the sale and purchase agreement was signed with Vu\u010di\u0107.<\/p><figure id=\"attachment_31765\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31765\" style=\"width: 576px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-31765\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Oglas-za-poslovni-prostor-koji-je-kupio-SNS-2-576x261.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"576\" height=\"261\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Oglas-za-poslovni-prostor-koji-je-kupio-SNS-2-576x261.jpg 576w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Oglas-za-poslovni-prostor-koji-je-kupio-SNS-2-966x438.jpg 966w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Oglas-za-poslovni-prostor-koji-je-kupio-SNS-2-768x348.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Oglas-za-poslovni-prostor-koji-je-kupio-SNS-2-1536x697.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Oglas-za-poslovni-prostor-koji-je-kupio-SNS-2-150x68.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Oglas-za-poslovni-prostor-koji-je-kupio-SNS-2.jpg 1825w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31765\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Advertisement for the office space the Progressive party bought in Novi Beograd<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure id=\"attachment_31767\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31767\" style=\"width: 432px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-31767\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Ulaz-u-nove-prostorije-u-Starom-Merkatoru-na-Novom-Beogradu-432x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"432\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Ulaz-u-nove-prostorije-u-Starom-Merkatoru-na-Novom-Beogradu-432x576.jpg 432w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Ulaz-u-nove-prostorije-u-Starom-Merkatoru-na-Novom-Beogradu-724x966.jpg 724w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Ulaz-u-nove-prostorije-u-Starom-Merkatoru-na-Novom-Beogradu-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Ulaz-u-nove-prostorije-u-Starom-Merkatoru-na-Novom-Beogradu-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Ulaz-u-nove-prostorije-u-Starom-Merkatoru-na-Novom-Beogradu-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Ulaz-u-nove-prostorije-u-Starom-Merkatoru-na-Novom-Beogradu-640x853.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Ulaz-u-nove-prostorije-u-Starom-Merkatoru-na-Novom-Beogradu-150x200.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Ulaz-u-nove-prostorije-u-Starom-Merkatoru-na-Novom-Beogradu-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 432px) 100vw, 432px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31767\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Entrance to the office space in Novi Beograd purchased in 2019; photo: CINS<\/figcaption><\/figure><p>The SAI listed the purchase in its 2019 audit report, but refused to provide the data from the sale and purchase agreement to CINS. As the Institution representatives put it, the matter is a business secret.<\/p><p>CINS has discovered that the party became the owner of yet more office space at the same address \u2013 with a surface area of 268 square meters, which it mortgaged to <em>Halkbank <\/em>in 2020.<\/p><p>The <em>Serbian Progressive Party <\/em>has another piece of real estate near a border, this time the Serbia\u2013Romania one.<\/p><p>In Srpska Crnja, a small town in Vojvodina\u2019s Banat region, the ruling party owns a strip mall.<\/p><div class=\"fullwreg\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4Xzja8hTxnY\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><p>According to cadastral data, the structure spans 384 square meters and the party also owns the field behind the structure. However, apart from a six-room commercial space that houses the party\u2019s municipal chapter, the Progressive party does not own the other stores in the mall.<\/p><p>One of them is a caf\u00e9. Owner <strong>Aleksandar Zuki\u0107 <\/strong>says the <em>Serbian Progressive Party <\/em>bought the commercial property two years ago.<\/p><p>CINS tried to confirm this, but the telephone number of the local chapter listed on the party website is no longer in service. The journalists contacted municipal administration official <strong>Ana Grahovac<\/strong>, who promised to give the number to the party secretary in Srpska Crnja, but he did not call us.<\/p><p>The <em>Serbian Progressive Party <\/em>did not answer the questions we sent them.<\/p><figure id=\"attachment_31786\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31786\" style=\"width: 414px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-31786\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Prostorije-Opstinskog-odbora-SNS-Nova-Crnja-1-414x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"414\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Prostorije-Opstinskog-odbora-SNS-Nova-Crnja-1-414x576.jpg 414w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Prostorije-Opstinskog-odbora-SNS-Nova-Crnja-1-695x966.jpg 695w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Prostorije-Opstinskog-odbora-SNS-Nova-Crnja-1-768x1067.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Prostorije-Opstinskog-odbora-SNS-Nova-Crnja-1-1105x1536.jpg 1105w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Prostorije-Opstinskog-odbora-SNS-Nova-Crnja-1-1473x2048.jpg 1473w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Prostorije-Opstinskog-odbora-SNS-Nova-Crnja-1-150x208.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Prostorije-Opstinskog-odbora-SNS-Nova-Crnja-1.jpg 1544w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 414px) 100vw, 414px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31786\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Office of the Progressive Party Municipal Chapter, Nova Crnja; photo: CINS<\/figcaption><\/figure><p>We also wrote earlier\u00a0that the Progressive party became the owner of a commercial property in Kru\u0161evac, too, in February 2016. <strong>Velibor Jovanovi\u0107<\/strong>\u00a0led a consortium of 20 citizens who bought a commercial property on Balkanska Ulica Street in downtown Kru\u0161evac and then donated it to the Progressive party two months later. At the time of purchase, the property was worth just over 13 million dinars.<\/p><figure id=\"attachment_31788\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31788\" style=\"width: 576px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-31788\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Prostorije-Gradskog-odbora-SNS-a-u-Krusevcu-1-576x432.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"576\" height=\"432\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Prostorije-Gradskog-odbora-SNS-a-u-Krusevcu-1-576x432.jpeg 576w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Prostorije-Gradskog-odbora-SNS-a-u-Krusevcu-1-966x725.jpeg 966w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Prostorije-Gradskog-odbora-SNS-a-u-Krusevcu-1-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Prostorije-Gradskog-odbora-SNS-a-u-Krusevcu-1-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Prostorije-Gradskog-odbora-SNS-a-u-Krusevcu-1-853x640.jpeg 853w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Prostorije-Gradskog-odbora-SNS-a-u-Krusevcu-1-150x113.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Prostorije-Gradskog-odbora-SNS-a-u-Krusevcu-1.jpeg 1800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31788\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Party Office in Kru\u0161evac; photo: CINS<\/figcaption><\/figure><h2>Other parties are tenants<\/h2><p>Up until 2014, political parties were able to buy office space using only their own money. However, amendments to the Law on Financing Political Activities enabled parties to use budget funds as well to buy real estate which they would use for their own needs.<\/p><p>The amendments were proposed by <em>Serbian Progressive Party <\/em>MPs, and the person tasked with presenting this act was then MP <strong>Zoran Babi\u0107<\/strong>.<\/p><p>Before the amendments were adopted, <strong>Tatjana Babi\u0107<\/strong>, who was the director of the <em>Anti-Corruption Agency <\/em>at the time, warned that parties could buy multiple pieces of real estate \u201cwhich could be used for a purpose that significantly surpasses the boundaries of political activities.\u201d<\/p><p><strong>Nemanja Nenadi\u0107<\/strong>\u00a0of<em>\u00a0Transparency Serbia <\/em>says that parties cannot earn income from office space, i.e. lease it out, for example, rather they can only use it for political activities. Nonetheless, he adds that it is difficult to control but does not even know whether anyone has ever attempted to control it.<\/p><p>There is another problem <strong>Zoran Stojiljkovi\u0107<\/strong>, a former chairman of the <em>Agency <\/em>Board, warns about. In the absence of legal regulations, parties might sell the office space they purchased using citizens\u2019 money and then keep that money:<\/p><p>\u201cThe big question is what will happen to what was bought with state money. There are no clear limitations for that. (\u2026) If it is their property, those limitations are non-existent.\u201d<\/p><p>Aside from sale, a motive for buying real estate can also be owning property which a party would use as loan collateral, Stojiljkovi\u0107 adds.<\/p><p>CINS reveals that it was exactly the <em>Serbian Progressive Party<\/em> that mortgaged the office space in Novi Beograd and the commercial property in Kru\u0161evac it had received as gifts, to <em>Halkbank <\/em>in May 2020, as collateral for a loan worth two million euros.<\/p><p>Besides the ruling party, the only other party whose property has increased since the legal amendments made in 2014 is the <em>Socialist Party of Serbia<\/em>. According to the 2020 financial statement, the Socialists have real estate worth as much as 1.6 billion dinars.<\/p><p>However, vice president of the Socialist party\u2019s Executive Committee <strong>\u0110or\u0111e \u010cabarkapa <\/strong>explained to CINS that this was not a matter of buying new property, but rather of registering existing property.<\/p><p>The <em>Democratic Party<\/em>, the <em>Freedom and Justice Party<\/em>, <em>Dveri<\/em>, the <em>Free Citizens Movement<\/em>, and the <em>People\u2019s Party <\/em>do not own any party office space.<\/p><p>Just over a year after the aforementioned legal amendments, the Democrats lost the villa at 69 Krunska Street, where the party had \u201cresided\u201d for 20 years. As CINS reported earlier, after restitution the villa was given back to the heir, who later sold it to TDI Radio co-owner\u00a0<strong>Milo\u0161 Krd\u017ei\u0107<\/strong>, the man who privatized broadcaster <em>Studio B <\/em>in 2015.<\/p><p>Nemanja Nenadi\u0107 points out that the legal amendments pertaining to the purchase of real estate with public funds benefited the <em>Serbian Progressive Party <\/em>the most.<\/p><p>\u201cThey are the only ones who have excess money since they have been getting by far the most (money) from the budget for years, on account of being the most represented in the parliament. They are the only ones who can afford it.\u201d<\/p><div class=\"rmbox\"><div class=\"rmboxteaser\"><p>Thank you for reposting CINS articles! When doing so, you need to state that you have taken the<strong> story over from the Center for Investigative Journalism of Serbia, and provide a link to the article you are reposting.<\/strong><\/p><p><strong>More information at: <a href='\/en\/terms-of-use\/' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>cins.rs\/en\/terms-of-use<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><h6>This investigative story has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union, as part of the project\u00a0\u2018PrEUgovor Policy Watch: building alliances for stronger impact in uncertain future\u2019. The contents of this story are the sole responsibility of the authors and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.<\/h6><p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-31758\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/eu-za-tebe-576x54.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"576\" height=\"54\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/eu-za-tebe-576x54.png 576w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/eu-za-tebe-966x91.png 966w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/eu-za-tebe-768x72.png 768w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/eu-za-tebe-150x14.png 150w, https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/eu-za-tebe.png 1137w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Near Pali\u0107, some 200 meters from the border with Hungary, is a sala\u0161 (a traditional type of farm in the Pannonian Plain) with a swimming pool, surrounded by fields, owned by the ruling party. It is just one of the four locations at which the Serbian Progressive Party has real estate worth 224 million dinars in total, CINS reveals. Aside from the party\u2019s needs, the real estate may serve as loan collateral, and regardless of whether it bought the real estate with its own or with citizens\u2019 money the party can also sell it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1352,"featured_media":31700,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1492,1573],"tags":[1620,1650,1611],"class_list":["post-31815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-investigative-stories","category-political-parties","tag-aleksandar-vucic-en","tag-preugovor-en","tag-serbian-progressive-party","ciTrackContent"],"acf":[],"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SNS-prostorije-u-Starom-Merkatoru.jpg","author_additional":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1352"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31815"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31815\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32337,"href":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31815\/revisions\/32337"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cins.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}