Jezdimir Vasiljević (
Serbian Cyrillic
The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet (, ), also known as the Serbian script, (, ), is a standardized variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language. It originated in medieval Serbia and was significantly reformed in the 19th cen ...
: Јездимир Васиљевић; born 2 November 1948) is a Serbian
convicted
In law, a conviction is the determination by a court of law that a defendant is guilty of a crime. A conviction may follow a guilty plea that is accepted by the court, a jury trial in which a verdict of guilty is delivered, or a trial by jud ...
criminal
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...
and television personality. He is most known for running a nation-wide
Ponzi scheme
A Ponzi scheme (, ) is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays Profit (accounting), profits to earlier investors with Funding, funds from more recent investors. Named after Italians, Italian confidence artist Charles Ponzi, this type of s ...
in the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...
in the 1990s. In 1992, he established the
Jugoskandik Savings Bank, the first privately owned bank in
Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
(which was, at the time, part of
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...
). Although Jugoskandik operated in Serbia, the banking license was provided by ''Banka Privatne Privrede'' (BPP), bank owned by the local government of
Montenegro
, image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg
, coa_size = 80
, national_motto =
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map = Europe-Mont ...
(another constituent republic within
Yugoslavia
, common_name = Yugoslavia
, life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation
, p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia
, flag_p ...
). He unsuccessfully ran for
President of Serbia
The president of Serbia (), officially styled as President of the Republic (), is the head of state of Serbia. The current officeholder is Aleksandar Vučić, who was elected in 2017 and has held the role since 31 May 2017.
According to the C ...
in the
1992 election.
Vasiljević also organized and sponsored the
1992 match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky, which took place in the exclusive resort of
Sveti Stefan
Sveti Stefan ( Montenegrin and Serbian: Свети Стефан, ; lit. "Saint Stephen") is a town in Budva Municipality, on the Adriatic coast of Montenegro, approximately southeast of Budva. The town is known for the Aman Sveti Stefan resort ...
and drew significant media attention both in Yugoslavia and abroad. Since Yugoslavia was under UN sanctions at the time, participation in the match caused
Bobby Fischer
Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943January 17, 2008) was an American Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Chess Champi ...
legal trouble and practically forced him to live as an
émigré
An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social exile or self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French verb ''émigrer'' meaning "to emigrate".
French Huguenots
Many French Hugueno ...
.
According to some sources, Vasiljević's initial investment capital was made through a marriage with a Swedish woman from a wealthy family. However, Jugoskandik itself was merely a front for a Ponzi Scheme (this scheme was also described in his country as a
Pyramid scheme
A pyramid scheme is a business model which, rather than earning money (or providing Return on investment, returns on investments) by sale of legitimate product (business), products to an end consumer, mainly earns money by recruiting new members ...
, although the two terms are not entirely identical in meaning) . The obtained money was used to bypass internationally imposed sanctions and import oil into Yugoslavia via Montenegrin seaports. The oil was later sold within Yugoslavia (mostly in Serbia), and Jugoskandik savers were paid off from the profit. According to Vasiljević's own words, at the request of BPP's CEO Milorad Vukotić, some 62,000 tons of oil were confiscated from the Montenegrin repositories in
Bar
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
** Chocolate bar
* Protein bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...
and
Kotor
Kotor (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian language, Italian: ), is a town in Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has ...
, a move which marked the end of Jugoskandik. The Jugoskandik collapse, together with the almost simultaneous collapse of another pyramidal bank, ''Dafiment'', represented a disastrous blow to the Serbian economy, already weakened by the
Yugoslav Wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place from 1991 to 2001 in what had been the Socialist Federal Republic of ...
. An estimated 80,000 people were left without their money. Vasiljević sued the state of Montenegro in 1993, but without success. He fled Yugoslavia on 8 March 1993.
Vasiljević made claims that, in early 1993, he supplied the Serbian side in the
Yugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place from 1991 to 2001 in what had been the Socialist Federal Republic of ...
with a "Hertz-machine", allegedly a machine which kills people via phone by emitting strong frequencies. Such claims were almost immediately debunked by the Serbian media.
In 2001, Vasiljević and the PBB's ex-CEO were charged separately for embezzlement. In 2004, Vasiljević's trial began in front of the Serbian court of law; he escaped to the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, where he was arrested and extradited to Serbia. He was sentenced to five years of prison.
In 2013, Vasiljević entered the popular TV reality show "Farma", where some contestants confronted him regarding their missing savings. He was kicked off due to low votes.
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasiljevic, Jezdimir
1948 births
Living people
Serbian businesspeople
Serbian criminals
Pyramid and Ponzi schemes
20th-century Serbian people
Chess patrons
Candidates for President of Serbia