Serbian police arrested 79 people including a former minister on corruption charges including abuse of office, money laundering and financial crime, the interior minister said. Saturday's sweep marks the country's biggest anti-corruption investigation in decades and concerns alleged offences dating back to 2004, Nebojsa Stefanovic said.
Several executives of state-owned companies, two former interior ministry officials and several mayors were also among those arrested, who are accused of embezzling a combined 7.8 billion dinars ($70 million), he told a news conference. Authorities in Serbia, which on December 14 opened accession talks with the European Union, are working to root out a legacy of corruption and organised crime that gained a strong foothold during the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s.