Gas Station Worker Arrested Over Cash Embezzlement
G.B., born in 1985, was arrested for embezzling cash from a gas station and its currency exchange counter. He is accused of taking 7,101,480 dinars and 28,000 euros between July 20 and 28.
A man identified as G.B., born in 1985, has been arrested on suspicion of embezzling cash from a gas station. Officers from the Anti-Corruption Service, part of the Criminal Police Directorate, brought him in on orders from the Special Department for Combating Corruption at the Belgrade Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office. He is charged with embezzlement in the course of business activity. The Interior Ministry, known as MUP, announced the arrest on August 4.
According to police, the suspect worked as the person responsible for handling money at a gas station run by a private company. A currency exchange counter also operates on the premises, so both dinar and foreign currency cash passed through his hands. Investigators suspect he took money from the daily cash takings, the money that is supposed to go into the till every day.
What the Interior Ministry Statement Says
The ministry’s account of the arrest was brief. It gives no detail on how the shortfall was discovered or who reported it. It states that the suspect was arrested “on grounds of reasonable suspicion that he committed the criminal offense of embezzlement in the course of business activity,” and it puts the amount of damage down to the exact dinar.
“unlawfully appropriated money from daily cash takings, in a total amount of 7,101,480 dinars and 28,000 euros”
That is how MUP describes the financial loss. Along with the statement, the ministry released footage of the arrest showing two police officers leading the handcuffed suspect away. His face is blurred in the video, and his full name has not been released.
The foreign currency portion of the sum points to the exchange counter. Fuel at the pump is paid for in dinars, while euros come in through currency exchange transactions, meaning both cash flows sat under the control of the same person.
The ministry says the arrest came as part of the continued fight against corruption and financial crime, wording that in Interior Ministry statements usually signals a case not handled by a regional police department. Here too, the case was taken over by the Anti-Corruption Service, an organizational unit of the Criminal Police Directorate, even though the victim is a private company rather than the state budget.
The order itself came from the Special Department for Combating Corruption at the Belgrade Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office, a unit that covers economic crime and corruption cases spanning more than one municipality. That means the gas station named in the statement is not necessarily located in Belgrade.
How Much Money Disappeared Each Day?
The period cited by prosecutors, from July 20 to 28, spans nine calendar days. Divided across that span, close to 790,000 dinars and roughly 3,100 euros went missing from the till every day. That is not an amount that slips through as rounding on a small shortfall.
The narrow time frame is the most striking detail of the case. The alleged embezzlement was not spread out over months in small increments, but according to prosecutors, was confined to a little over a week. Cash takings are recorded daily and deposited to an account, so a gap between turnover and the cash actually handed in cannot go unnoticed for long.
What Happens After the 48-Hour Hold
The suspect has been ordered held for up to 48 hours. The clock runs from the moment of arrest, so along with the criminal complaint he had to be brought before the competent prosecutor’s office by August 6 at the latest. The prosecutor from the Special Department for Combating Corruption will decide what happens next.
The name of the company that owns the gas station has not been disclosed. It is also not known whether the company itself filed the complaint or whether the money has been recovered. Until a final verdict, G.B. is presumed innocent and remains listed in the case file as a suspect.
