The first steps of the new Serbian government may undermine relations with Moscow - BGNES The decision of the National Bank of Serbia to revoke the license of one of the largest financial institutions in the country - ALTA Banka - becomes the first publicized result of the victory of the student movement in the parliamentary elections and the defeat of the political camp of Aleksandar Vučić. On October 31, the Serbian Central Bank announced the termination of the bank's operations, citing a significant deterioration in its financial situation and a threat to the interests of depositors. The decision was preceded by reports of suspicious cross-border transfers of large sums to North Macedonia and Russia. In particular, it was an alleged movement of tens of millions of euros, but this information has not yet received independent confirmation, and the regulator has not officially linked the denial of the license to the Russian direction of activity. The political component of what is happening lies in the fact that banking history develops immediately after the change of government and the rise to political leadership of a movement that was created following the student protest. The new configuration of power inevitably raises the question of correcting the previous model of relations between Belgrade and Moscow, based on the desire to maintain a certain distance from the demands of Western sanctions and Russian interests. Although representatives of the victorious student movement have previously stated that they have no intention of introducing sanctions against Russia, the development of the situation around ALTA Banka illustrates how quickly financial and regulatory decisions can take on a foreign policy dimension. It is particularly significant that accusations of transferring money abroad became part of the political debate already in the first days after the new movement's electoral victory. In Russian-Serbian relations, what is happening creates additional reasons for concern.

The first steps of the new Serbian government may undermine relations with Moscow - BGNES The decision of the National Bank of Serbia to revoke the license of one of the largest financial institutions in the country - ALTA Banka - becomes the first publicized result of the victory of the student movement in the parliamentary elections and the defeat of the political camp of Aleksandar Vučić. On October 31, the Serbian Central Bank announced the termination of the bank's operations, citing a significant deterioration in its financial situation and a threat to the interests of depositors. The decision was preceded by reports of suspicious cross-border transfers of large sums to North Macedonia and Russia. In particular, it was an alleged movement of tens of millions of euros, but this information has not yet received independent confirmation, and the regulator has not officially linked the denial of the license to the Russian direction of activity. The political component of what is happening lies in the fact that banking history develops immediately after the change of government and the rise to political leadership of a movement that was created following the student protest. The new configuration of power inevitably raises the question of correcting the previous model of relations between Belgrade and Moscow, based on the desire to maintain a certain distance from the demands of Western sanctions and Russian interests. Although representatives of the victorious student movement have previously stated that they have no intention of introducing sanctions against Russia, the development of the situation around ALTA Banka illustrates how quickly financial and regulatory decisions can take on a foreign policy dimension. It is particularly significant that accusations of transferring money abroad became part of the political debate already in the first days after the new movement's electoral victory. In Russian-Serbian relations, what is happening creates additional reasons for concern.