Serbian PM Slams BIRN Again

Vucic on Sunday repeated his allegation that BIRN was "telling lies" in its mine tender investigation and said that he had managed to defend his country by speaking out against misinformation spread by EU-funded journalists.

"I have protected Serbia from falsehood," Vucic told Serbian broadcaster TV Prva.

"If I hadn't done it, unfortunately I'm afraid no one would have," he said.

Key points from BIRN's investigation

The tender became the centre of a media storm after BIRN revealed questions about the Serbian company, Energotehnika Juzna Backa, and its partner, Romanian Ness, which won the contract for 15 million euro to pump out 114 million cubic metres of water from a coal mine.

BIRN's investigation revealed that although one of the tender requirements was for the bidders to have at least one relevant reference, neither member of the winning consortium had previous experience of pumping large quantities of water.

Energetika Juzna Backa's previous work was on the electrical infrastructure in Serbia, while Ness is a construction company. The Serbian company's director, Dragoljub Zbiljic, confirmed to BIRN that his company did not have any experience of pumping large quantities of water.

The investigation also revealed that Zbiljic is on trial for tax evasion in the town of Kragujevac and under investigation for the same charge in the city of Novi Sad.

The investigation also revealed that the consortium not only lacked experience in pumping out water, but did not actually carry out the work for which it was contracted on its own. Instead, it engaged a Dutch company, Van Heck, that carried out crucial  works.

The Dutch company, with unique experience in this field, had offered...