Alta Bank Owner Davor Macura Arrested Over Vault Cash
Organized crime prosecutors suspect the Alta Bank owner, with two vault employees, of taking out more than 380 million euros in cash. All three are held for up to 48 hours.
Alta Bank owner Davor Macura was taken into custody on Monday, November 2, on orders from the Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office. Prosecutors suspect that until October 31 he removed cash from the bank’s vault, about 45 billion dinars in total, which is more than 380 million euros. Two bank employees were arrested with him, and all three can be held for up to 48 hours.
Who was arrested and what are they suspected of?
The prosecutor’s statement gives only initials and job titles. Macura appears as D.M., the responsible person at Alta Bank a.d. Belgrade, and media outlets and his lawyers confirmed that it refers to him. The arrests were ordered by the prosecutor’s office and carried out with the Criminal Police Directorate, its Organized Crime Unit and its Organized Financial Crime Department:
- D.M., the bank’s responsible person, suspected of abuse of position by a responsible person under Article 227, paragraph 3, in connection with paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code
- G.M., director of the Vault and Cash Management Department, suspected of aiding
- I.P., vault operations associate, suspected of aiding
How did the money allegedly leave the vault?
According to the prosecutors, D.M. exceeded the limits of his authority. G.M. and I.P. were in charge of directly handling valuables in the vault. They are suspected of handing him vault access cards, or of letting him into the “Depo” room with their own cards and in their presence. Prosecutors claim he took money out of that room and so obtained an unlawful gain of about 45 billion dinars. Guilt has not been established, and the prosecutors speak of grounds for suspicion.
Police searched the bank’s premises and the suspect’s home on October 31 and November 1, and the cash in the vault was inventoried. Macura was brought in on Monday morning, although Vreme reports that this happened overnight. He was served the detention order the same day.
What does the defense say?
Macura’s lawyer Ahmed Delimedjac says the search of the bank began on Saturday at 4 a.m. and that his client came to it on his own:
The search of the bank has been going on since Saturday, since 4:00 in the morning. I was with him from the moment he was called to come to the bank, after which he was not allowed to leave the premises. He was present for the whole search, to which he came of his own accord. Nobody chased him, nor did he want to run away, or anything like that.
Another defense lawyer, Isa Spahovic, confirmed that Macura will be questioned at the Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday, November 3, after 12 p.m. When the 48 hours expire, the prosecutor decides whether to propose pretrial detention. The prosecutor’s office said: “The Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office will inform the public in a timely manner about all measures and activities undertaken in this case.”
What else has happened around Alta Bank?
The National Bank of Serbia revoked Alta Bank’s operating license on Saturday morning, and management was transferred to the Deposit Insurance Agency, which insures deposits up to 50,000 euros per depositor. The search has since lasted more than 30 hours.
On the same day, the Belgrade Stock Exchange, by decision of chief executive Laza Ostojic, suspended the bank and its brokers from the trading system for up to November 6 at the latest and withdrew their active orders. The Securities Commission said that some investment funds held fixed-term deposits at Alta Bank, and explained:
An investor who has put money into a fund is not a depositor of Alta Bank.
In spring 2026, Macura also took over the Serbian retail arm of the Fortenova group, with Idea, Roda and Mercator stores, which employ more than 7,000 people.
