Companies linked to U.S.-sanctioned Kosovo businessmen Zvonko Veselinovic and Milan Radoicic appear in the ownership structure of Serbia’s “Alta” group, whose bank plans to acquire a financial institution in North Macedonia, opposition politician Ivan Velickovski said on Monday.
Radoicic, a former deputy head of the Serb List party in Kosovo, is suspected of leading an armed group that carried out an attack in Banjska in 2023. According to Velickovski, through its “Alston” subsidiary, Alta Group has acquired a 1,550-square-metre construction project previously linked to partners of Veselinovic and Radoicic.
Alta Banka, part of Serbian businessman Davor Macura’s group, has announced plans to take control of Stopanska Banka Bitola, owned by North Macedonian businessman Orce Kamcev, who is also on the U.S. sanctions list.
Velickovski said Macura’s rise is closely tied to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and argued the deal was not only a financial matter but also a national security issue for North Macedonia. He warned the transaction could channel financial flows from Belgrade to Skopje amid political instability in Serbia, turning North Macedonia into a regional “offshore” comparable to Cyprus in the 1990s.
He called for legal changes to freeze assets of individuals sanctioned by the United Nations, European Union, United States, Canada and Britain, to prevent the legalisation or concealment of illegally obtained funds.
The Democratic Union for Integration (DUI), an ethnic Albanian party in opposition, voiced concern over what it described as an accelerating “Serbian World” influence in North Macedonia, saying Alta Bank’s entry into the market followed the expansion of Serbia’s state telecom operator. DUI called the bank deal a “structured political and economic operation” by Belgrade to secure strategic control over key institutions, alleging active involvement from government partners, including the VLEN alliance, an ethnic Albanian coalition.
Sources from DUI told to local media that Alta Bank’s local branch is expected to be led by Maja Kadievska Vojnovic, a former VMRO-DPMNE party presidium member and ex-deputy central bank governor, described as a close associate of the prime minister on economic matters. Her appointment, the sources said, followed personal lobbying by VMRO-DPMNE leader and Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski with Vucic, linking the bank directly to Serbia’s political structures.
According to the same sources, one reason for appointing Trajko Slavevski as central bank governor was his pledge to remove any obstacles to Alta Bank’s market entry, despite internal warnings from central bank professionals about potential risks to the country’s financial reputation with European authorities.
DUI said the move was part of a broader strategy it had previously denounced: prioritising ties with Belgrade and pro-Russian figures, promoting Corridor 10 over Corridor 8, involving Serbian religious leaders in state events, and accepting donations of Serbian origin. With influence over the banking sector, the party warned, the “Serbian World” could fund businesses close to the government, increasing corruption and dependence on Belgrade.
National security institutions, including the Intelligence Agency and the Security and Counterintelligence Agency, have either remained silent or become politically controlled, DUI said. The party accused the president’s office of downplaying or spreading disinformation about the deal.
“The integrity of our financial system and our Euro-Atlantic orientation are non-negotiable,” DUI said, urging a referendum in October to oppose the ‘Serbian World’ agenda.