Serbian Tycoon Milan Beko Shot in Ambush

Serbian businessman Milan Beko was wounded in a shooting in Senjak in Belgrade, Serbian media report, as relayed by the BH News Agency Patria. According to Blic, the injuries are extremely serious and he is currently in the operating room. According to initial information from the police, Beko was shot in an "ambush" in front of his house. The police are searching for the attacker.

Otherwise, Milan Beko is, according to media reports so far, one of the richest men in Serbia. Besides being a shareholder in some of the largest companies in Serbia through his offshore companies, Beko is also known for his political connections.

He was the best man of the murdered Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić, allegedly a financier of the Liberal Democratic Party, and is also on friendly terms with the current President of Serbia, Tomislav Nikolić, so during the election campaign, Beko was mentioned as a person who could become the new Prime Minister of Serbia.

After Miroslav Mišković, Milan Beko is referred to as the second tycoon of Serbia.

He began his career in a private company, but became known to the public in 1996 when Slobodan Milošević appointed him Minister of Privatization, who sold Telekom Srbija for 1.5 billion German marks.

He remained in the republican and then federal government until 2000, after which the public began to call him a businessman from the shadows. Through his offshore companies, he participated in the privatization of dairies and the mineral water producer Knjaz Miloš.

He bought shares of Večernje novosti and the retail chain C Market, but also Luka Beograd, for which the Council for Combating Corruption filed a criminal complaint against him three years ago because, as they stated, it was a case of large-scale corruption.

The Council stated that Luka was sold for 40 million euros to a Luxembourg-based company with a share capital of only 30,000 euros, while the state and shareholders were damaged by 21 million euros.

Milan Beko does not hide that he is close to all political parties, and he publicly visited the current president Tomislav Nikolić in the hospital while he was on a hunger strike. On that occasion, Nikolić called him his great friend.