US Congress Members Raise Concerns About Serbia PM

"In anticipation of the visit of Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic to the United States, we write to you with concern about reports of the deteriorating situation in Serbia," the five American Congress members wrote to Vice-President Biden in the letter which was made public by Serbian media portal Teleprompter on Monday.

Letter, which BIRN obtained, was signed by five Congress members - Edie Bernice Johnson, Carlos Curbelo, Scott Perry, Adam Kinzinger and Zoe Lofgren.

The authenticity of the letter was confirmed to BIRN by congressmen Adam Kinzinger's office.

The Congress members alleged that a small group of people led by Vucic's brother, Andrej Vucic, and two of his close friends, Nikola Petrovic and Zoran Korac, "has consolidated their influence and interest in energy, telecommunications, infrastructure and all major businesses in Serbia".

Petrovic, the director of state company Elektromreze Srbije, is also widely believed to be close to PM Vucic.

The Serbian PM's controversial brother

The Serbian premier's brother Andrej Vucic has been at the centre of two public controversies over the past year.

At the Belgrade Pride Parade in September last year, he and his security guards were beaten up by members of the Gendarmerie special police unit after allegedly trying to break through a police cordon protecting the event.

The subsequent trial of eight policemen over the incident raised questions about why the PM's brother was able to use members of a Military Police unit as his personal security.

Vucic also hit the headlines in October 2014 when his ID was allegedly stolen and then used to register a company that became involved in financial fraud.

Serbian police then staged a series of...