EditSerbian finance minister under scrutiny for offshore wealth and illicit activities
Siniša Mali has a €5 million Bulgarian portfolio acquired through offshore companies
Serbian Finance Minister Siniša Mali, a key ally of President Aleksandar Vučić, faces scrutiny over his wealth and alleged illicit activities, including owning 24 luxury apartments worth €5 million on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast. Reports reveal Mali’s financial dealings through offshore companies, raising questions about corruption and misuse of power.
While serving as Belgrade’s mayor, Mali received €235,000 from offshore entities to fund his children’s education at a prestigious private school. “Our children go to a private school, and the cost of the three children – 60,000 euros a year – is covered by my friends. The friends who finance my children are friends I met abroad and who have no connection with Serbia,” Mali said during a 2016 court case with his ex-wife.
However, it was uncovered that one of the paying companies, Alessio Investment, registered in the British Virgin Islands, is linked to Mali himself. This company, implicated in a decades-old corruption scheme, also facilitated the illegal acquisition of 10 hectares of state land near Vršac.
Additional payments of €50,000 each came from Cyprus-based Avant Trade Technical Limited, tied to the Moscow-based Komita group, and Evon Invest & Trade Corp., owned by Serbian businessman Branko Jovanović, who admitted to acting as a payment intermediary to conceal the true source.
Additional €50,000 payments arrived from two sources. Cyprus-based Avant Trade Technical Limited, connected to Moscow’s Komita group, made one payment. The other came from Evon Invest & Trade Corp., owned by Serbian businessman Branko Jovanović, who admitted to being a payment intermediary to obscure the original source.
Mali’s Bulgarian property purchases, made in 2012-13 while he advised Vučić on economic matters, were executed through offshore firms Brigham Holding & Finance Inc. and Etham Invest & Finance Corp.
Leaked documents from the Pandora Papers, reported by Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), confirmed Mali’s ownership of these companies, contradicting his claim of only owning one apartment. The apartments were bought from a company linked to Srđan Dabić, former director of Lukoil’s Serbian branch, whom Mali worked with during the 2003 privatization of Beopetrol, a deal later found to have caused millions in losses due to Lukoil’s non-compliance.
Serbian lawyer Jovan Raič, called Mali a linchpin in a Vučić-led crime network, controlling public and illicit finances. Raič pointed to Mali’s role in the unpunished 2014 Savamala demolitions as evidence of his impunity.
Mali’s offshore dealings were identified in the Pandora Papers coverage as indicative of Serbia’s broader transparency issues. This case highlights a pattern of systemic corruption, where judicial action against powerful individuals appears to be lacking. The government, including Mali, has been characterized as consolidating power through the use of cronyism and the suppression of media freedoms. Mali’s property scandal is seen as a typical example of how elites in the Balkans utilize offshore structures to conceal their wealth.
Mali’s wealth, far exceeding his official income, and his offshore manoeuvres expose Serbia’s governance flaws.
Freedom House’s latest report labels Serbia a “partly free” country with eroded political rights and civil liberties, with pressure on independent media, the political opposition, and civil society organizations. Moreover, according to Transparency International’s 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index report, Serbia scores 35 out of 100 points, with 0 being highly corrupt.
Mali’s ties to Russian (Lukoil) and Emirati interests, via investment talks, highlight murky Balkan financial flows.
Siniša Mali’s €5 million Bulgarian property portfolio, built on opaque offshore deals, epitomizes allegations of high-level corruption in Serbia. From education funds to land grabs, his actions demand scrutiny as Serbia’s EU aspirations hinge on governance reforms.
Sources: BGNES, N1, OCCRP, KRIK, POLITICO, Euractiv, Transparency International, Freedom House, edited by p.p.p.
Caption: Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto (not seen) and Serbian Minister of Finance Sinisa Mali hold a press conference after their meeting in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade office in Budapest, Hungary, 30 April 2020. [EPA-EFE/Zsolt Szigetvary]
Updated: May 9, 2025 - 05:56
