Belivuk and Miljkovic Trial: Final Witnesses Testify

The evidentiary phase of the money laundering trial against Veljko Belivuk, Marko Miljkovic and their co-defendants closed on September 7. The Higher Court in Belgrade’s Special Department for Organized Crime heard the last round of defense witnesses on that day. The prosecutor’s closing argument comes next, followed by statements from the defendants and their lawyers.

The defendants include Veljko Belivuk, Marko Miljkovic and Filip Ivanovski, along with their wives, Bojana Belivuk, Tanja Miljkovic and Marija Milutinov. Snezana Djordjevic, Belivuk’s mother-in-law, is also on trial. All of them face charges of continued money laundering as co-perpetrators, allegedly committed between 2015 and 2020, except Djordjevic, who is charged with money laundering as a co-perpetrator without the continued-offense designation.

According to the indictment, money obtained through criminal activity was funneled into legal channels through purchases of real estate, vehicles and luxury goods. More than 70 witnesses have testified in the trial so far.

Who testified about the wedding money

The last defense witness was Vladimir Gagic, co-owner of a nightclub where Miljkovic worked as security starting in 2011. Gagic said he hadn’t seen Miljkovic in ten years, but that he gave him 50,000 euros in an envelope for his wedding in 2015.

I gave him the envelope because he was young and wanted to get married, so I was glad they’d be able to buy an apartment and settle down.

Gagic said that over five years of working together, Miljkovic earned tens of thousands of euros, both from his club work and from services he provided. According to his testimony, Miljkovic drove and accompanied business partners who came from Russia, and he himself traveled to Russia, where Gagic organized mixed martial arts tournaments and brought in athletes.

The final witness heard, Goran Antonijevic, said that he and his late brother each gave 10,000 euros in envelopes for the same wedding. He said he is a close friend of Miljkovic’s parents and has known the defendant since childhood.

“We each gave 10,000 euros, since Misko and Marina, Miljkovic’s parents, deserved it,” Antonijevic told the court.

Marko Miljkovic’s wedding was held in October 2015 at the Hotel Metropol. Miljkovic had earlier stated in his defense that around 300 guests attended and that more than 200,000 euros in gifts were collected, money he claims he later used to buy real estate and cars.

Prosecutor’s closing argument comes next

After the judge declared the evidentiary proceedings closed, the floor passes to prosecutor Predrag Cetkovic, who will deliver the prosecution’s closing argument. The defendants and their lawyers will then have their turn to speak before the verdict.

Belivuk and Miljkovic are also being tried before the same court, in a separate and earlier proceeding, as alleged organizers of a criminal group charged with seven killings as well as drug and weapons trafficking. The money laundering case was split off from that proceeding but is being pursued against the same defendants for the same period, from 2015 to 2020, during which they are accused of acquiring the assets in question.