BELGRADE, June 20 — A Belgrade court today jailed one of Serbia’s richest men, Miroslav Miskovic, for five years for tax evasion, local media said.

Miskovic, 70, was found guilty of helping his son Marko to evade taxes worth €3 million  (RM13.8 million), in the highest-profile case since an anti-corruption drive was launched in the Balkan country four years ago.

Father and son were arrested in December 2012 but faced separate trials. Marko Miskovic was sentenced in February to three and a half years in prison over the same crime.

His father, while convicted of helping his son evade taxes, was acquitted Monday of charges of embezzling more than €30 million during the privatisation of several state-run companies engaged in road construction.

One of the most influential businessmen in the Balkans, Miskovic had close ties to the late strongman Slobodan Milosevic and his wealth is estimated at around €2.3 billion.

He was released mid-2013 on a record €12 million bail ahead of his trial.

Local media have speculated for years about Miskovic’s influence on Serbian politics and ties with top-level politicians, which he allegedly used to obtain the best deals for his businesses.

Over the past decade, he has expanded his vast Delta Holding empire — which includes real estate, food production, retail and insurance — throughout the region.

But he has slowly begun to sell off some of his businesses, including the supermarket chain Delta Maxi, bought by a Belgian company in 2012 for almost one billion euros.

Delta Holding, which nowadays employs around 7,200 people, is still considered one of the most profitable companies in Serbia.

Miskovic’s arrest came amid a campaign to root out corruption, a key condition of Serbia’s bid to join the European Union, although critics say the government has failed to target many of the country’s biggest offenders. — AFP