Nenad Nešić's Undeclared Properties in Serbia

(Patria) - Nenad Nešić, president of the Democratic People's Alliance (DNS) and Minister of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), along with his wife Maja, owns an apartment and a house in Novi Sad, Serbia, which he did not declare in his asset declaration form filled out before taking office.

He told a journalist from the Center for Investigative Journalism (CIN) that he had contacted the Council of Ministers of BiH and was told that spouses' assets are not declared.

"The questionnaire does not mention marital property anywhere, it says property registered in your name," Nešić commented. However, after the journalist read him the regulations, he hung up the phone.

In January 2023, Nešić was appointed state minister. Prior to that, he was obliged to submit a completed declaration to the Council of Ministers with data on his work experience, education, party affiliation, and assets owned in BiH and abroad.

The undeclared 98-square-meter apartment is located in the immediate center of Novi Sad, while the 177-square-meter house is in a quiet neighborhood on the other side of the Danube, near the Petrovaradin Fortress, a recognizable historical symbol of this city.

In the declaration form, Nešić stated that he owns two apartments of 182 and 164 square meters, and two garages of 13 square meters each in Tivat, a town in the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro. He also declared land in Novi Sarajevo and East Sarajevo. He stated that he is the owner of the trading company "N-group", where his wife is the director. Nešić also stated that he is the director of the company "N trade", which is owned by his brother Predrag. He added that his brother is the director of the company "Energoinvest-automatika", which deals with renting machinery and equipment. His father, Rade, owns the trading company "Dar-Company".

The State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) verifies the accuracy of the data provided by candidates for the Council of Ministers of BiH in their declarations. However, they only check assets located in BiH.

SIPA previously told journalists that even if they find that certain data is untrue, they state it in the final report, which they forward to the prime minister-designate for the formation of the Council of Ministers. He then decides how to proceed based on the information received and does not inform SIPA about it.

This is not the first time Nešić has forgotten to declare everything he owns. At the end of 2021, CIN journalists found that Nešić had failed to disclose that he owned the company "N-group", which he founded in 2016. He did not declare this company in the asset declaration he submitted to the Central Election Commission in 2018 after being elected as a Member of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH.

At that time, he declared apartments in Novi Sad, Serbia, and in Budva, Montenegro, which he has since sold.

Nešić is a law graduate and began his professional career as an intern at the Public Security Center East Sarajevo in 2006. After a year, he worked as a criminal police inspector in this institution until 2014. That year, he joined the DNS. Two years later, he was appointed acting director of the Public Enterprise "Roads of Republika Srpska", which he held until 2020, when he became president of the DNS.