Folk diva charged with stealing millions from football transfers

Mar 29, 2011, 9:14 GMT

Belgrade - Serbia's top folk star, Svetlana Raznatovic, faces trial over accusations that she stole millions of dollars from transfers of football players between teams, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Raznatovic is accused of embezzling 4 million German marks (2.9 million dollars) - before the introduction of the euro in Germany - and 3.5 million dollars from the transfer of 10 players from the Obilic football club to foreign sides, prosecutor Zagorka Dolovac told B92.

She inherited the club from her husband, the underworld boss and paramilitary leader Zeljko Raznatovic 'Arkan,' who was gunned down in Belgrade in 2000.

The singer, who routinely draws huge crowds to her concerts, will also be tried for illegal possession of 11 handguns, found in a raid in 2003. At the time, she said the weapons were her husband's.

Charges related to embezzlement were also raised against her sister and Dragisa Binic, a former winger, later manager, who won the European Champions Cup with Red Star Belgrade in 1991.

Binic was allegedly involved in the sale of Obilic's Milan Obradovic to Lokomotiv Moscow in 2002 for 3.5 million dollars, of which nothing landed in the account of the Serbian club.

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