On November 11, 2026, former Serbian Economy Minister Rade Basta was arrested in Belgrade. He was detained at Nikola Tesla Airport on the orders of the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade. Basta is suspected of abuse of office during the period when he headed the public utility company “Beogradske elektrane” (Belgrade Power Plants).
According to the prosecutor’s office, between November 27, 2020, and June 6, 2022, while serving as director of the company, Basta issued 10 decisions allocating monetary donations to various sports clubs and associations totaling 14.1 million dinars (approximately €120,000). Recipients included small football and basketball clubs, as well as an equestrian club from Belgrade, Sopot, and Mladenovac. Investigators believe these payments were unjustified and caused damage to the company.
As part of the same operation, seven other people were also detained, including the company’s executive director for economic and financial affairs and the legal representatives of several sports organizations. The operation was carried out by officers of the Anti-Corruption Service.
Rade Basta served as Minister of Economy from October 2022 until the summer of 2023. He was nominated by Dragan Marković Palma’s United Serbia party. He lost the ministerial post after publicly calling on the Serbian government to urgently consider imposing sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine. After his dismissal, he founded the “European Path” movement.
Before entering public service, Basta worked as a police officer, practiced kickboxing, and was involved in business.
