UG Belgrade branch chief takes over as head of subordinate companies

United Group RS Beograd DOO CEO Vladica Tintor, Timothy Lincoln Pennington and Guibert Marie C. Schroyen were entered into the Serbian Business Registers Agency (APR) as directors of United Media Production (which includes Nova TV and Sport Klub), United Cloud and Direct Media alongside the existing heads of those companies. This gives them the right to represent those companies with the agreement and/or signature of just one more director.

Tintor was the CEO of the RATEL telecommunications regulator, who was recently appointed to manage UG RS Beograde DOO. He walked into the company building, escorted by police and lawyers, in August.

Serbian pro-regime media reported on Monday that police investigators walked into the UG RS Beograd headquarters to gather documents as part of an investigation into charges filed against dismissed company managers by Tintor.

United Group co-founder and minority shareholder Dragan Solak reacted saying that the police investigation ordered by a senior prosecutor and the coordinated release of this information to pro-regime media is part of an illegal political and media campaign agreed by UG majority shareholder BC Partners and the Serbian President, adding that their alliance was confirmed in a recently leaked recording of a conversation between UG CEO Stan Miller and the head of the state-controlled Telekom Serbia Vladimir Lucic.

Miller and 4 others were named to the board of Luxembourg-based Adria News S.à r.l. (the owner of record of N1 TV) on September 23.

Another thing worth noting is that the lawyers representing Telekom Serbia are appearing increasingly frequently with UG top managers. The Nova.rs portal expressed alarm, saying that Telekom Serbia is officially Belgrade’s main tool to suppress critical reporting by independent media, most of which operate as part of United Media.

The decision to register new directors in UM Production was made without a prior meeting of the board members of the parent company, UM Luxembourg. It should be recalled that ten days ago, the majority shareholders transferred the powers of the previous directors to five new members: Sten Miller, Niall John Martin, Timothy Lincoln Pennington, Thomas Probst, and Guibert Marie C. Schroyen. Although they now hold the majority on the board of directors, no meeting was ever held to approve such a decision.