Prosecutor: Novi Sad Accident Investigation Should Be Transferred to Office for Organized Crime

Railway Station in Novi Sad, Nov. 6 2024 (Betaphoto/Dragan Gojic)

Jasmina Paunovic, a prosecutor of the Belgrade High Prosecutor’s Office, said on Nov. 14 that the case of the Nov. 1 Novi Sad Railway Station collapse should be re-assigned to the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime because this body has “the capacities and experience to thoroughly conduct the necessary two-pronged investigation.”

Speaking for the latest edition of the Nova daily, Paunovic explained that one direction of the investigation should aim to seize all the documentation from all parties involved in the reconstruction of the railway station. An in-depth perusal of these records could then potentially lead to measures such as the detention of certain individuals.

“The second direction of the investigation should be into possible corruption. Above all, anyone who signed off on the [reconstruction], namely the Railway Infrastructure Office and the Ministry of Construction and all those institutions which called tenders, should be scrutinized,” the prosecutor stated.

The Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime is best suited for the job since it has experience in leading such complex proceedings, Paunovic concluded, adding that any investigation into potential corruption should entail “a thorough financial audit.”