VZCZCXRO3831
OO RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBW #1617/01 3390623
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 050623Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1838
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC 1397

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 001617 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/SCE, CA/P, CA/VO/P 
 
E.O.12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL CVIS SR
SUBJECT:  SUSPECT EMBASSY MEMO BECOMES PART OF 
POLITICAL BATTLE AND LEGAL PROCEEDINGS - REQUEST 
OPINION FROM L 
 
¶1. This is an Urgent Action Request - See Paragraphs 
12 and 13 
 
Summary 
--------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Serbian Liberal Party leader Cedomir 
Jovanovic has dragged the United States into the 
middle of a political and legal battle with Serbian 
tycoon Miroslav Miskovic.  Jovanovic has accused 
Miskovic of having offered to influence Serbia's 
Kosovo policy in exchange for a U.S. visa, and is 
basing his claim on an alleged internal Embassy 
document that post believes is fraudulent.  This claim 
is now part of larger criminal suit Jovanovic has 
brought against Miskovic and other Serbian government 
officials and the alleged embassy document has been 
submitted as evidence.  Post has been approached by 
the Special Prosecutor and asked to respond formally 
on the credibility of the documents as part of the 
investigation.  End summary. 
 
Background 
----------- 
 
¶3.  (U) Liberal Party (LDP) leader Ceda Jovanovic is 
running for President.  As part of his anti-corruption 
platform, he has taken on Serbia's most powerful 
tycoon, Miroslav Miskovic, conducting a public 
campaign against him over the past few months. On 
November 18, Miskovic countered by sending an open 
letter to a local news agency accusing Jovanovic of 
involvement in his abduction in 2001. In his letter, 
Miskovic labeled Jovanovic a mafioso and a member of 
the notorious Zemun gang, claiming that the politician 
had received a share of Miskovic's ransom and had 
helped arrange his kidnappers' release from jail. 
 
¶4. (U) The accusations continued on national 
television when Jovanovic accused Miskovic of, among 
other wrongdoings, attempting to trade political 
influence for a U.S. visa.  Jovanovic elaborated this 
theme November 19 and 20 on radio and in televised 
remarks in parliament, claiming that an intermediary 
of Miskovic had approached the U.S. Embassy in 
Belgrade in May 2007, offering to persuade the Serbian 
government to give up Kosovo in exchange for removing 
his name from a rumored "visa black list." 
 
¶5. (SBU) Jovanovic's evidence is an alleged internal 
embassy document that local journalists had previously 
brought to our attention.  Post conducted an internal 
investigation and consulted with embassy officers who 
were here at the time it was allegedly drafted and 
concluded that the document - allegedly a decision 
memo for the Ambassador based on the "approach" by the 
intermediary - is a fake.  After making his charges in 
parliament, Jovanovic leaked the memo to the press. 
The embassy responded with a press statement on 
November 22, stating that no American official had 
engaged in the meeting described in the memo, and that 
the memo was not an authentic U.S. Embassy document. 
 
¶6. (U) On November 22, the LDP initiated a private 
lawsuit and filed criminal charges with the Fourth 
Municipal Court and the Special Prosecution for 
Organized Crime against Miskovic for slander and 
criminal association with the aim of illegally 
obtaining profits.  The "criminal association" also 
allegedly includes Prime Minister Kostunica, Deputy 
Prime Minister Djelic and Ministers Mladjan Dinkic, 
Slobodan Milosavljevic and Dragan Jocic as well as 
journalists, lawyers and businessmen.  The 
announcement provoked several ministers and the Deputy 
Prime Minister to announce that they intended to 
counter sue. 
 
¶7. (SBU) The Embassy's statement enraged the LDP, who 
berated embassy officials for calling them liars and 
threatened to end the "friendship" between the party 
and the United States.  Jovanovic continue to espouse 
confidence in the source of the memo, saying that it 
came from someone on the "old Embassy staff" (65 
percent of the Embassy officers turned over this 
summer) both privately and in the media, where he 
speculates that our reaction signals a shift in policy 
towards favoring tycoons. 
 
BELGRADE 00001617  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
Public Prosecutor Involvement 
------------------------------ 
 
¶8. (SBU) On November 28 DOJ Corruption Advisor met 
with the Chief Organized Crime Prosecutor, Miljko 
Radisavljevic who stated that, as reported in the 
press, his office had received a request for an 
investigation against the Prime Minister and several 
Ministers from Cedomir Jovanovic, and that there were 
documents attached to the request relating to the U.S. 
Embassy.  The documents are the following: 
 
(1)  One-page document, undated, appearing to be a 
United States Embassy Belgrade Memorandum, addressed 
to The Ambassador, on the Subject, "Candidates for 
inclusion under 212(f): Corruption based Presidential 
Proclamation." [The one-page document constitutes most 
of the first page and a portion of the second page of 
an actual 10-page memo.] 
 
(2) Two page document, with no title or date, starting 
with the heading, "D. Milosevic-era [sic] who 
accumulated wealth through their association with 
him." [This two-page document constitutes part of the 
same 10-page memo.] 
 
(3) Four-page document, dated May 21, 2007, appearing 
to be a United States Embassy Belgrade, Decision 
Memorandum to the Ambassador, through DCM, from POL, 
subject:  "Proposal of Miroslav Miskovic, President 
Delta Holding." [The Embassy has no record of this 
document, and has determined it is not authentic.] 
 
¶9. (SBU) Documents 1 and 2 are parts of a legitimate 
Embassy Decision Memorandum to the Ambassador, drafted 
in June, 2006, regarding whether the Embassy should 
submit to the Department a number of potential 
candidates for consideration under Presidential 
Proclamation 7750, denying visas to individuals who 
engage in egregious corruption to the detriment of 
U.S. national interests.  This document was leaked to 
the media in the fall of 2006. Document 3 is the memo 
that we have determined, to the best of our knowledge, 
not to be an authentic Embassy document.  It is 
possible, however, that it was created by either a 
former or current local embassy employee based on an 
actual meeting and not shared with any American 
officer or forwarded to the Front Office. 
 
¶10. (SBU) The Prosecutor stated that the credibility 
of these documents is important for his office in 
evaluating the request for criminal investigation.  He 
would like a response in the form of a written 
response, not an interview or testimony, to two 
questions: 
 
(1)  Are the documents genuine or fraudulent U.S. 
Embassy documents? 
(2)  Are the contents of the documents genuine or 
fraudulent? 
 
¶11. (SBU) The Prosecutor stated that he was not 
requesting testimony to evaluate the request for 
investigation but that if a formal investigation was 
started, it would be up to the investigative judge to 
make such a request for testimony.  He said that a 
formal investigation was a possibility but he could 
not determine at this time if there would be a formal 
investigation or a request for actual testimony. 
 
Action Request 
---------------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) Embassy requests L's opinion on responding 
to the Prosecutor's request.  Copies of the documents 
in question can be forwarded by email.  Please contact 
IO Rian Harris at harrisrh@state.gov. 
 
¶13. (SBU) Embassy kindly requests immediate assistance 
with this matter as the issue is politically sensitive 
and the center of public attention.  Post would 
appreciate at least an interim response for the 
Prosecutor's office this week. 
 
MUNTER