Serbia arrests RHMZ director on money-laundering allegations
Published · Updated
What happened
N1 reported that police arrested RHMZ director Jugoslav Nikolić and two other suspects over allegations of laundering at least EUR 650,000 through purchases of apartments and commercial property, alongside asset-reporting issues.
Why it matters
RHMZ is Serbia's core state institution for meteorological and hydrological forecasting, warning products, and monitoring data used by civil protection and sectoral agencies. A criminal case against its director can alter command continuity, signature authority, and external confidence in agency outputs until an acting management arrangement is clarified.
Serbian authorities arrested Republic Hydrometeorological Service (RHMZ) director Jugoslav Nikolić and two other people on suspicion of laundering at least EUR 650,000 and failing to report assets, according to N1. The case reaches the leadership of Serbia's central weather and hydrometeorological institution, which supports forecasting, flood and storm warnings, and environmental monitoring. The immediate operational question for ministries and emergency managers is whether RHMZ leadership and data operations continue without disruption while the investigation proceeds.
Watch for
Government of Serbia decision naming an acting RHMZ director by 2026-11-07 RHMZ homepage or official bulletin confirming uninterrupted issuance of daily forecasts and hydrological warnings through 2026-11-07 Higher Public Prosecutor's Office announcement on detention request or release terms for Jugoslav Nikolić by 2026-11-07 Ministry of Environmental Protection or Ministry of Interior notice assigning interim coordination with RHMZ on warning and monitoring functions by 2026-11-07
Sources
Researched and written by AI from the sources listed, under published rules. How V³ Aware is made