Category: Money and deals
Period: from Feb 2023
Outcome: Guilty verdict (as of 12 Mar 2026)
The chief of staff of Belgrade mayor Aleksandar Šapić, Nenad Milanović, offered the Turkish company Kentkart in March 2023 a rigged tender for a new contract if it agreed to terminate by mutual consent its contract for fare collection in city transport. Kentkart refused the offer and, over the termination of the contract, filed an arbitration claim against Serbia; Šapić says it is seeking 17 million euros. Milanović was finally convicted and given a suspended sentence of eight months in prison for giving a bribe, and according to him Šapić was not aware of the details.
Kentkart had collected fares on Belgrade's public transport since 2011, and a new ten-year contract was signed in 2021. Because Šapić was dissatisfied with the fare collection, the City Assembly voted in February 2023 to terminate the contract.
In March 2023, as recordings showed, Šapić's chief of staff Nenad Milanović offered Kentkart new business through a rigged tender at meetings in the City Assembly building if it agreed to end the contract by mutual consent. Kentkart turned the offer down, and according to the recording, Milanović threatened to publicly accuse its Serbian partner of ruining public transport.
BIRN published the recordings on 10 April 2023, and a Kentkart representative confirmed they were authentic. The Higher Public Prosecutor's Office opened a case on 12 April. Šapić recognised Milanović's voice but said he did not know whether the recording was authentic or doctored, adding that he welcomed an investigation and was ready to bear the consequences.
On 20 June 2023, Šapić said he had filed a criminal complaint against his chief of staff. In June 2023, Milanović sued BIRN for damage to his reputation and honour, seeking 200,000 dinars; BIRN calls the lawsuit a SLAPP.
On 6 June 2024, the prosecution filed an indictment for giving bribes in the course of business, an offence that carries a sentence of three months to three years in prison. At the first hearing on 18 September, Milanović pleaded not guilty: he confirmed that he had offered Kentkart business, but claims he lied in order to terminate the contract.
According to him, Šapić was not aware of the details and only told him „Do whatever you can“. At the hearing on 9 October, the court rejected the defence's motion to exclude the recordings from evidence; Milanović says he did say everything that can be heard on them, but that the recordings were edited.
The Higher Court in Belgrade convicted Milanović on 6 December 2024 and gave him an eight-month suspended prison sentence, with a probation period of three years and a three-year ban from holding office. On 3 April 2025, the Court of Appeal overturned that verdict and sent the case back for retrial.
In the retrial, the Higher Court convicted him again on 22 July 2025 and handed down the same sentence. The verdict has been final since March 2026, when the Court of Appeal upheld it.
In explaining the first verdict, the judge said the court was convinced that Milanović really meant what he said, and that it was “hard to believe” he had acted on his own, independently of anyone's knowledge, but that this was not what the trial was about.
In April 2023, Šapić said: “It's not just that I should resign; I and everyone else should be held criminally accountable.” At the trial, Milanović says Šapić did not know the details.
Kentkart filed a request for arbitration against Serbia with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes in Washington, which registered it on 1 April 2024. Šapić said Kentkart is seeking €17 million in damages, but claimed it cannot get more than a million.
The case materials are not available on the centre's website.