Arrests in train station canopy collapse probe ordered by Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime

On November 1, 2024, a concrete canopy at the recently renovated Novi Sad main train station collapsed, killing 16 people and severely injuring one.

The TOK said the arrests stem from the ongoing efforts of a special task force investigating financial flows tied to the Modernization and Reconstruction of the Hungarian-Serbian Railway Line between Novi Sad, Subotica, and the State Border (Kelebija) project. Six people have been detained on suspicion of committing corruption-related crimes.

Those arrested include:

Tomislav Momirovic, former Minister of Construction, Transport, and Infrastructure from October 2020 to October 2022,

Anita Dimoski, former acting assistant minister and head of the Railways and Intermodal Transport Sector from November 2020,

Nebojsa Surlan, former acting general director of Serbia Railways Infrastructure from May 2020 to March 2024,

Nikola Trivic, a representative of the Belgrade-based company “Starting” Ltd., suspected of abuse of authority,

Sinisa Jokic, who served as director of the Novi Sad Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments from January to July 2023,

Veljko Novakovic, a public procurement officer at the same institute, charged with abuse of official position.

The investigation, led by the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime, also involves Goran Vesic, who served as Minister of Construction, Transport, and Infrastructure from October 2022 to November 2024. Vesic has been in hospital care since Thursday.

According to TOK, three more people are included in this investigation.

Searches and detentions of five additional individuals are ongoing.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime (TOK) said that Tomislav Momirovic, Goran Vesic, Anita Dimoski, Nebojsa Surlan, and Slobodanka Katanic caused damages to Serbia’s state budget amounting to 115,558,520 US dollars.