Due to the long-standing attitude of the City of Novi Sad towards ATP “Vojvodina” and the neglect of contractual obligations, , last week, I filed a criminal complaint with the competent prosecutors in Novi Sad against two former mayors, Miloš Vučević and Milan Djurić, as weell as the city-s Secretary for traffic, Director of JGSP Novi Sad and state inspectors for road transportation with attach documents.

I remind you that, according to the contract I signed with the City of Novi Sad as an investor and majority owner of ATP “Vojvodina”, I was supposed to build a new intercity and international bus station, with a capacity that meets the city's expansion needs, in accordance with the new General Urban Plan and new traffic infrastructure that envisioned relocating 3,000 vehicles per day from the city center.

The City was obliged to relocate the suburban traffic terminal from “Riblja Pijaca” (Fish Market), to the site of the current bus station (6, Jaše Tomića St.) and to redirect all other traffic to the new ATP “Vojvodina” location.

After completing the investment, built in accordance with all technical and safety requirements, the new ATP “Vojvodina” bus station had a significantly larger capacity than the old station. It received a license from the competent Ministry and a construction use permit, and it was rated with the highest categorization score by the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia.

The City relocated the suburban terminal from “Riblja Pijaca” but did not transfer intercity and international traffic to the newly built ATP “Vojvodina” station, despite this being a contractual obligation and part of planning documents.

From that moment on, for the next ten years, intercity and international bus transport has been conducted illegally from a station that lacks the technical capacity and conditions for licensing and categorization.

Since the year 2017 (Sl.Official Gazette of the City of Novi Sad No. 9), it has only had partial permits for intercity and international transport from 6, Jaše Tomića St. How this permit was obtained under these conditions, and how the station operated illegally before that, is a question for the competent Ministry, which the prosecutor should investigate. Due to heavy congestion at the location where bus station services are still provided, and the lack of technical conditions for expansion, our suburban traffic and the part of the intercity traffic have been relocated by necessity in front of the Railway Station at 4, Jaše Tomića St. This location does not meet the prescribed conditions for obtaining a license — it lacks a mandatory arrival platform, a shelter of the required height, a station building, and land ownership as defined in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia dated January 2017.

Evidence: (GeoSrbija, Google maps, Railway Station Website)

Instead of a proper facility, the Railway Station’s canopy —the one that collapsed and killed 15 people — as illegally used for bus transport.

During all this time, city officials, who received a modern investment from ATP “Vojvodina” free of charge and without any subsidies, took part in its seizure—primarily through a staged bankruptcy process and via a judiciary that was corrupted in various ways. As a result, the new bus station and the authorized Setra and Mercedes service center, valued at EUR 100 million before bankruptcy, were ultimately sold for only five million euro — less than the cost of the construction materials. Had bus traffic been conducted from its licensed platforms, the tragic accident that claimed 16 lives would have been prevented.

After all this, the question remains for the Ministry and the Prosecution: Why did state inspectors fail to act on our complaints from 2007 onward?

If the Prosecutor's Office had worked on this case from the beginning, something would have been resolved. However, from the first criminal charges I had filed, the process was led by prosecutor Đorđe Ostojić in his home office, as well as in all other prosecutor's offices, in the interest of those who decided to take away my investment. This was also supported by Zagorka Dolovac, the Republic Public Prosecutor, who is from Novi Sad as well. The criminal charges were systematically dismissed, and the same thing happened when the Anti-Corruption Agency filed a report about the damage caused by the City’s failure to respect the contract about ten years ago. One of the pieces of evidence of the cover-up is the verdict which established that the City, which caused damage to ATP "Vojvodina", must pay over four million just for the three-year period for which the lawsuit was filed. However, no proceedings were initiated against those who caused the damage and harmed the city’s treasury, such as Maja Gojković, for example.

I alerted the competent prosecutor's office that the current bus station operates illegally and that it is using the area in front of the Railway Station without a legal basis after the canopy collapse. I received from the Higher Public Prosecutor of Novi Sad, Milan Mićić, response that JGSP “Novi Sad“ located at 6, Jaše Tomića St., possesses a Ministry license. However, having insight into the official GeoSrbija website, it is clear that 4, Jaše Tomića and 6, Jaše Tomića St., are separate land plots. Additionally, the review of the Official Gazette of the City of Novi Sad No. 9 clearly indicates that the City issued approval to JGSP “Novi Sad” to lease the plot 4967/9 (6, Jaše Tomića St.), so that this company could apply for a license. Nevertheless, transport from the location at 4, Jaše Tomića St. is still illegal, since the necessary technical conditions for legalization do not exist.

Sincerely,

Ilija Dević, Investor of ATP ”Vojvodina”