Serbia detains Alta Bank owner Davor Macura after bank used by Russian emigrants loses license

Davor Macura, the owner of Alta Bank and a businessman with close ties to the Serbian Progressive Party, has been detained in Serbia, the local news outlet Nova.rs reported. At the time of the report, there had been no official announcement of his detention.

Police spent more than 30 hours searching the bank’s premises before detaining Macura.

Prosecutors later confirmed that Macura and two other Alta employees had been detained: the director of the bank’s treasury and cash management department and one of his subordinates. Macura is suspected of embezzling 45 billion dinars (about $430 million) from the bank.

Macura has tried to leave Serbia twice in recent weeks, according to the Financial Times. Sources told the newspaper that he was denied entry to Montenegro in mid-October and tried to leave for Moscow after the election. Macura said he had not tried to leave the country.

Alta Bank was one of Serbia’s largest banks and one of the few that opened accounts for Russian emigrants. On October 30, the National Bank of Serbia revoked Alta’s license, and its customers’ accounts were frozen. The regulator said it had revoked the license to “protect depositors’ interests and preserve the stability of the financial system.”

Serbian authorities have promised to reimburse the bank’s customers for up to 50,000 euros in lost deposits shortly after bankruptcy proceedings formally begin. The proceedings are expected to begin today.

Serbia’s organized crime prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into whether funds were transferred abroad from Alta.

Alta Bank collapsed shortly after Serbia’s early parliamentary election on October 25. The ruling Serbian Progressive Party and its leader, former President Aleksandar Vučić, lost the election.