Alta Banka owner detained as Serbia pulls bank's license and payment permit

What happened and why it matters

Serbia's organized-crime prosecutor said police took Davor Macura and two associates into custody on Monday. Investigators plan to question them about suspected diversion of 45 billion dinars, or $430 million, covering the period from the Oct. 25 election onward.

Regulators moved in parallel. Over the weekend, the National Bank of Serbia withdrew Alta Banka's license, pointing to a worsening financial position days after a vote that led to Aleksandar Vucic's departure from the presidency. Prosecutors also searched Macura's home and the bank's offices while examining transfers that included money moved abroad.

On Monday, a message sent by Bloomberg to Alta Banka for comment was returned undelivered from the bank's servers. According to the Financial Times, Macura said he had been answering police inquiries at the bank's Belgrade headquarters since Saturday and he attributed the bank's problems to the financial regulator and politicians.

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How Alta grew and who it served

Alta Banka evolved from a chain of exchange bureaus into a full bank, and during Vucic's roughly decade in office it landed profitable public-sector deals. One contract allowed it to handle bill payments for the country's largest power utility and collect a fee on each transaction.

The lender also became a go-to for many Russians who left President Vladimir Putin's rule and settled in Serbia. "Everybody who came from Russia to live in Serbia opened an account in Alta Banka," said Leonid Stetsenko of the Belgrade-based association The Russian Diaspora in Serbia. He added that local branches of global banks commonly declined to provide such services to Russians.

The regulatory and political backdrop

By assets, Alta Banka ranks ninth among Serbian lenders and will come under the supervision of the Deposit Insurance Agency in Belgrade. The bourse has put a temporary hold on Alta's connectivity to its trading platform. The National Bank of Serbia, which regulates the sector, also stripped Alta Group of its electronic payments permit on Monday and said the broader banking system is unaffected, describing it as "well capitalized and highly liquid."

Macura, 45, was turned back from Montenegro last month before the Serbian vote, according to Podgorica-based Vijesti, which reported that multiple intelligence services warned he would pose a national security risk. Vijesti said he was born in Croatia and holds both Serbian and Croatian citizenship. Separately, Vucic tried to retain power by shifting to the prime minister's post, an effort that fell short after a student-led movement won a parliamentary majority.

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