Serbia Arrests 17 in Crackdown

The group is suspected of forging documents for people who were then allocated military housing, pensions and compensation for wartime injuries, according to a defense ministry statement.

The statement said the group included former members of the Yugoslav army and some of their proxies from Croatia, as well as employees of state institutions in charge of veteran issues and housing for military personnel.

Serbia’s interior minister said the arrests were part of a bid to crack down on organized crime and corruption in the country, and said that no one will be immune.

“No one who discharges public duties can expect to use that as an alibi for crime and corruption,” interior minister Ivica Dacic told B92. “It goes without saying that in this battle, it doesn’t matter who is involved, just that they committed a criminal act.”

Seven Defense Ministry Workers

Seven of the group’s members were defense ministry employees, while two were doctors in the military’s medical academy, reported Serbian radio B92.

Most military personnel were entitled to free military housing under the old Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. When the country disintegrated in several wars in the 1990s, the military housing scheme also collapsed, leaving many who had returned to their native republics – including Serbia – without homes. Serbian authorities have allocated housing to some defense personnel based on their combat records or wounds sustained during the 1990s wars.

Also on Tuesday, police arrested eight people, including four state officials, for abuse of office, bribery and other crimes. The state officials included two from the economics ministry and two former assistant trade ministers.

-- Beth Kampschror