Novi Sad: Impakt Association Rep Arrested
The representative of Novi Sad's Impakt association was arrested on suspicion of using fake reports on 23 projects to defraud the city and Vojvodina of 6.3 million dinars.
Officers from the Criminal Police Directorate’s Anti-Corruption Service arrested M. Z. (38) on September 1, the representative of a Novi Sad based civic association, the Association for Civic Activism and Non-formal Education Impakt. The arrest was carried out on the order of the Special Department for Combating Corruption at the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Novi Sad, the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia announced on September 1 at 3:04 p.m.
In brief
- M. Z. (38), representative of the Novi Sad based Impakt association, arrested
- Suspected over 23 projects and 6,300,000 dinars from the city and the province, with no activities carried out
- Damage established at 6,298,646 dinars
- Charged with the continuing criminal offense of abuse of position by a responsible person
- Held for up to 48 hours, ahead of questioning at the prosecutor’s office
Suspicion of 23 fake reports
According to the Interior Ministry’s statement, between 2020 and July 7, 2025, the association received funding from Novi Sad’s city administrations and provincial secretariats for 23 projects, totaling 6,300,000 dinars. Prosecutors suspect the project activities were never carried out, and that the suspect instead submitted false reports to the funding bodies.
“Project activities were not carried out, and the suspect submitted false reports to the funding bodies to justify the use of the allocated money, describing project activities, such as workshops and lectures, that never took place,” the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia said in its statement.
According to the investigation’s findings, the budgets of the City of Novi Sad and the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina were damaged by 6,298,646 dinars. M. Z. is charged with the continuing criminal offense of abuse of position by a responsible person. He has been ordered held for up to 48 hours, after which he is expected to be questioned at the Special Department for Combating Corruption of the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Novi Sad.
Two names for the same association
Sources disagree on where the association is based. Tanjug, citing the Interior Ministry’s statement, describes M. Z. as the representative of a “civic association from Kovilj.” Portal 021, citing the prosecutor’s office, identifies the association as the Association for Civic Activism and Non-formal Education Impakt, headquartered in Novi Sad. The damage figure, 6,298,646 dinars, and the number of projects, 23, match in both sources.
Third case in a month
M. Z.’s arrest is not an isolated case. In August, following the same pattern, I. B. (38) was arrested, suspected of causing 5,580,000 dinars in damage through his association, followed by M. M., representative of the Novosadska fabrika znanja (Novi Sad Knowledge Factory) association, over 8,690,000 dinars across 31 projects. In May, N. M., representative of the Organizacija za ideal (Organization for the Ideal) and Skok u buducnost (Leap into the Future) association, was also arrested on suspicion of abuse of position. All four cases involve representatives of Novi Sad based civic associations and money they received for projects from local and provincial institutions.
Portal 021 published the story, citing the prosecutor’s office, on September 1 at 9:39 a.m., and Tanjug carried the Interior Ministry’s statement the same day at 3:04 p.m.
