“Milosevic money sent mainly to Cyprus, only to Laiki”

Public funds controlled by the regime of former Yugoslavia’s then-dictator Slobodan Milosevic was sent mainly to Cyprus in 1993 and 1994, in sacks of cash to evade the UN sanctions and these ended up exclusively at Laiki Popular Bank, according to a witness testimony during a hearing of a court case on Monday.

Dusan Colic, head of Beogradska Banka’s Treasury Department in Belgrade at the time, gave a vivid explanation of the procedure he admitted was “secret” and only 50 people, mainly members of the regime, knew of its operations.

He said that millions of deutsche marks and other currencies were packed in hundreds and whisked out of the country by senior officials of the bank with full approval of the Yugoslav National Bank.

His testimony reinforces the court claims by Serbian businessman Predrag Djordjevic who claims that the Cyprus Popular Bank (Laiki) conspired with Beogradska Banka officials in Cyprus and did not hand over the amount of DEM 899,450 owed to him for a UN-approved cotton contract.

Instead, Djordjevic’s company Genemp Trading only received DEM 537,000in a trasnfer from Popular Bank account of Antexol, a trading company identified by the Hague Tribunal investigators as one of eight money-laundering operations for Milosevic and his cronies.

The past directors of Antexol – lawyers Pambos Ioannides and Nayiri Merheje – as well as the company secretary and former Laiki chairman, Kikis Lazarides, paraded through court and did not recall dealing with the company, even though it was registered by Tassos Papadopoulos’ law office where the two lawyers worked and transactions by the company often reached tens of millions of dollars.

The funds were reportedly used to finance arms purchases for Milosevic to fight his war in Bosnia.

In court on Monday, Colic was grilled by Kikis Talarides, the defense lawyer for Laiki who tried to prove that there was no connection between the bags of money, the Cyprus offshore branch of Beogradska and the Popular Bank.

Talarides also tried to cast doubt on the witness’ credibility. He will now prepare his defence which the judge wants to hear by the end of the month.