The Third Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade has opened a case regarding a criminal complaint filed against the President of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), Miloš Vučević.
The complaint was lodged after N1 journalists uncovered and documented that citizens were paid cash in hand to attend the party’s rally at the Belgrade Arena, N1 has confirmed.
The criminal complaint – filed with the Supreme Public Prosecution Office in Belgrade by Democratic Party MP Srđan Milivojević against the Progressive leader Miloš Vučević – was passed to the Third Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office. This followed N1 journalists exposing and documenting how extras were recruited to attend the ruling party’s rally at the Arena and paid daily allowances in cash.
In a statement to N1, the Third Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office noted that a preliminary investigation is currently under way in this specific case.
The Prosecutor’s Office refused to disclose details regarding the investigation itself – requested by N1 under a freedom of information application – reasoning that doing so could compromise proceedings.
“It could jeopardise, complicate, or impede the detection of any potential criminal offence, the conduct of the preliminary investigation, and ultimately the prosecution of any offence that may have been committed,” the Prosecutor’s Office stated in its response.
Just a few days after N1 published a report and article titled Extras “on Assignment”: N1 Journalists at the SNS Rally – From Recruitment to Cash Payouts, Srđan Milivojević filed a criminal complaint against Vučević. He alleged that “officials and activists of this organisation paid citizens to attend the event, directly breaching the Law on Financing Political Activities.”
Ahead of the local elections in March this year, N1 journalists went undercover at the Progressive rally in the Belgrade Arena. They captured on camera how people were brought to the rally in an organised manner, the exact sums being paid, and ultimately, the cash-in-hand payments being handed out.
(Nova, 28.07.2026)