Tepic: Keep Evidence of Forced Property Sales

Marinika Tepic, one of the leaders of the European Serbia election list, called today, September 24, on all citizens and business owners who were forced under pressure, blackmail and threats to sell companies, restaurants, land or other property to people tied to the government and criminal structures to preserve every piece of evidence they have. The call was issued by the Party of Freedom and Justice (SSP) in a statement carried by N1 and Nova that morning, N1 at 10:27 a.m. and Nova at 10:24 a.m.

Tepic said such deals, even when they look entirely legal on paper, are in reality neither agreements nor free sales once coercion is behind them.

“These are not isolated cases, but elaborate mechanisms for seizing other people’s property and mafia-style enrichment,” Tepic said.

She listed threats, endangering families, sending in inspectors, blocking businesses and the use of force as forms of coercion. According to her, the mere existence of a contract, a price and a signature does not prove that a sale was voluntary.

“There’s a contract, there’s a price, there’s a signature. But if you signed because someone had threatened you beforehand, endangered your family, sent in inspectors, blocked your business or used force, that is not a free sale. That is coercion and crime that exist nowhere else in Europe,” Tepic said.

Who Is the Call Aimed At, and What Does Tepic Promise?

According to the statement, the call is aimed above all at people who, as Tepic put it, understandably have no trust in state institutions and have therefore not reported what happened to them so far. She asked them to keep their documentation, regardless of whether they have already shared it with anyone.

In return, she announced that every documented case would be investigated if the European Serbia list takes part in a change of government.

“After the change of government, every documented case of forced seizure of property will have to be investigated. The guilty will be brought before justice, and those harmed will receive legal protection and compensation in line with the law. That is the European Serbia we are fighting for, a country where you are protected by the law, the police and the courts, no matter how powerful the person on the other side is,” Tepic said.

The statement does not cite any specific case, name or number of reports that would confirm the scale of the problem Tepic is describing, leaving open whether, and to what extent, citizens will respond to the call.

This is the second promise the European Serbia list has made during the campaign so far concerning public money and abuse of power. A day earlier, Tepic also announced a so-called anti-corruption radar, a systematic check of ownership and related parties before every major state contract is signed, which Srpske Novine reported on at the time. Both announcements come ahead of the early parliamentary elections scheduled for October 25, in which the European Serbia list is running before voters for the first time.