Alta Banka: Owner and Two Vault Staff Held Over 45bn-Dinar Withdrawals

Serbia’s Prosecutor’s Office for Organised Crime (TOK) has detained the owner of Alta banka, Davor Macura, and two of the bank’s vault employees on suspicion that more than 45 billion dinars, about €385 million, was taken out of the bank’s vault before its licence was revoked on 31 October. Macura’s lawyer, Isa Spahović, told N1 that his client was due to be questioned at the prosecutor’s office on Tuesday, 3 November.

What prosecutors allege

In a statement on Monday, the prosecution said Macura, 45, identified as the bank’s responsible person, is suspected of abuse of position by exceeding his authority and removing money from the vault without authorisation. The director of the vault and cash-management department, identified as G.M., 39, and a vault associate, I.P., 44, are suspected of aiding him by handing over access cards or using their own cards and presence to let him in.

The Interior Ministry put the alleged unlawful gain at 45,556,596,250 dinars, with the conduct lasting until 31 October. Police searched the bank’s premises for more than 30 hours from Saturday. All three suspects were held for up to 48 hours before being brought before the prosecutor. The allegations have not been tested in court, and Macura’s lawyers have not commented publicly on their substance.

Clients still waiting

For depositors the key date is still missing. The National Bank of Serbia (NBS) said on Monday that it would publish the conditions, locations and deadlines for payouts of insured deposits within three working days of the Belgrade Commercial Court opening bankruptcy proceedings. By Tuesday morning no ruling had been announced.

According to Kurir, 66,481 accounts are blocked: 56,390 belonging to individuals and 10,091 to companies. Deposits are insured up to €50,000 per person, and the Deposit Insurance Agency must begin payouts within seven working days of the bankruptcy ruling, through another bank. The NBS has also revoked the electronic-money licence of Alta Grupa, a payment company in the same group.

Wider impact

Employers’ representative Nebojša Atanacković estimated Alta’s share of the banking system at around 3%. For the many Russian relocants who banked with Alta, the practical advice is unchanged: open an account elsewhere now, and watch aod.rs for the name of the paying bank.