The well-known German media breaks the scandal that is shaking Belgrade: This is how President Vu?i? collaborated with Israeli hackers to eliminate the opposition leader from politics

The German weekly "Zeit" has published an article in which it is claimed that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has used falsified information from a group of Israeli hackers to launch a campaign against Dragan Dilas. After the revelation of the big scandal about the Israeli hacker group "Team Jorge", which manipulated elections around the world for money, a group of investigative journalists, which included German journalists from the weekly "Zeit", now announce that it was involved and the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic. According to the newspaper, in March 2021, he used information about alleged secret accounts abroad that were given to him by Israeli hackers against opposition politician Dragan Dilas: "Vucic claimed that the former mayor of Belgrade hid his wealth in banks in around the world". Pro-government media then reported on alleged accounts of millions in Mauritius and Switzerland. In the end, it turned out that the information was falsified", writes "Zeit".

Manipulation of elections in 33 states

The paper then describes how investigative journalists secretly investigated the activities of the "Team Jorge" group for months, only to publish the results in February. It attracted the attention of worldwide media. "A group with a leader named 'Jorge', former member of the Israeli army Tal Hanan, claimed to undercover journalists that he was active in 33 election processes "at the presidential level". The group offers clients a wide range of influence operations , among them the hacking of profiles of political opponents as well as disinformation campaigns. "Zeit" emphasizes that the Israeli team cooperates with the agency "Cambridge Analytica" and that there is evidence that it is also engaged in Europe.

Vucic's deception

"In March 2021", as the newspaper writes, "Serbian President Aleksandër Vucic faced accusations of links to organized crime. During his visit to the United Arab Emirates, he reacted to the allegations in front of the cameras of a pro-government television, claiming that the former mayor of Belgrade, Dragan ?ilas, was behind them. He then said that Dilas was illegally hiding his wealth in banks around the world. He promised that the details would come to light soon. "A few days after that," Zeit recalls, "the pro-government press started publishing articles about Dragan Dilas' alleged accounts abroad. One newspaper's front page claimed he had hidden 6.4 million euros in Switzerland and Mauritius. For weeks everywhere there was talk of money laundering and fiscal evasion. The Minister of Finance even showed a report according to which Dilas allegedly had dozens of accounts full of stolen money. He denied everything and contested the claims in court and showed a document from the bank confirming that he had no account there. The charges were dismissed.

Roli i Tal Hanan

“Gjatë punës së fshehtë investigative të Konsorciumit, që përfshin më shumë se 100 gazetarë nga 30 organizata mediatike, ‘Team Jorge' prezantoi një shërbim që dyshohet se gjeti të gjitha llogaritë bankare të një personi, duke përfshirë edhe totalin e shumës në ato llogari. Platforma investigative 'Projekti i Kërkimit të Krimit të Organizuar dhe Korrupsionit' (OCCRP), e cila është pjesë e konsorciumit të gazetarisë investigative, posedon një kopje të raportit, të cilin ministri serb i financave tregoi dikur para kamerave. Formati dhe struktura e raportit mbi pasurinë e supozuar të Dragan ?ilas është i ngjashëm me raportet e paraqitura para gazetarëve ‘të maskuar’ si klientë gjatë hulumtimit të tyre. Ka gjasa që një këshilltar politik izraelit që ka punuar për Vuçiçin që në vitin 2017, dhe në të kaluarën ka punuar edhe për Benjamin Netanyahun, ka luajtur një rol të caktuar në të gjithën këtë. Një gazetare e “Zeit” thekson gjithashtu se ky nuk është rasti i parë që Tal Hanan akuzohet për shitje të dokumenteve false nga sektori bankar. Në vitin 2014, një spiun zviceran dyshohet se i ka paguar Hanan 88,000 dollarë për informacionin e llogarisë së ish-shefit të shërbimit sekret gjerman August Hanning, por dokumentet rezultuan të rreme.