“The New York Times article was written by one of our people, collaborating with the band of Veljko Belivuk!” This was the first reaction of Aleksandar Vučić, after a New York Times article claimed to have found ties of the Serbian President to the organized crime.

Speaking to local media, Vučić said he knows the person who wrote the article and claims that said person has close ties to Belivuk.

The article describes crimes committed by Belivuk’s group in detail. He is the head of a so-called football club and has been arrested alongside 29 other members in 2021.

The article written by journalist Robert F. Worth mentions court transcripts, where Belivuk is cited to have said that “his band was organized by Vučić’s orders and for his needs”. Belivuk also described some of the jobs that his band supposedly had done on behalf of the government, such as intimidation of political rivals and mentioned that he had personally met with Vučić.

During his communication to the local media, the Serbian president spoke on other issues as well. He said he expects big problems until the end of the month, regarding Kosovo.

“They tried to cheat again into taking something from Serbia, while we get nothing. This will never happen again,” concluded Vučić.