Opposition Claims Belgrade Arena Security Contract Awarded to SNS-Linked Firms Amidst Financial Woes

Mila Popović, president of the Belgrade board of the Freedom and Justice Party (SSP), has accused the city administration of mismanaging funds, alleging that while Belgrade Arena struggles financially, lucrative contracts are being awarded to companies with ties to the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).

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Belgrade on the auction block, no money for the Arena, but for T&M Group Solutions – there is 244.8 million dinars.

Popović specifically pointed to a contract worth 244.8 million dinars awarded to T&M Group Solutions, in partnership with PSB Security, for the security and maintenance of Belgrade Arena. She criticized the city's leadership, including former officials like Siniša Mali and Goran Vesić, and current deputy mayor Aleksandar Šapić, for allegedly ruining the Arena through poor management and debt accumulation.

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They ruined the Arena, like other Belgrade companies. They drove it into debt, did not maintain it, managed it poorly, and ruined it, everyone from Siniša Mali, through Goran Vesić, to Aleksandar Šapić.

According to Popović, the city now intends to hand over the Arena to an "investor" through an opaque process, while continuing to award business to favored SNS-affiliated firms. She highlighted T&M Group Solutions' alleged involvement in past controversial events, including the transport of "phantom voters" to the Arena in December 2023, when members of the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) were reportedly denied entry.

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Now they want to hand it over to some 'investor', in God knows what procedure, but business for the favorite progressive firms goes on.

Popović further asserted that T&M Group Solutions, co-owned by Dane Šijan, a relative of an SNS official allegedly linked to phantom voters, has secured billions of dinars in various tenders. She concluded by stating that the city administration views Belgrade as a "cash machine" for its allies, neglecting crucial public enterprises like the Arena and Apoteke Beograd, which are allegedly on the brink of bankruptcy. Popović vowed that those involved in the alleged "plundering of Belgrade" would be held accountable.

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T&M Group Solutions provided security for the Arena when phantom voters were brought in, and RIK members were not allowed to enter and determine what was happening inside.