Swiss deny Milosevic link to gold

ZURICH, Switzerland -- A Swiss metal trading company has denied that it handled gold linked to former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic.

The sales would have violated international embargoes if the proceeds had gone to any of the hundreds of bank accounts belonging to Milosevic, his family, aides or state companies which remain blacklisted.

International pressure on the toppled Balkans strongman, remains high with increasing pressure on the new administration to hand him to the International Court of Justice to face charges of genocide.

He has already been indicted by the United Nations war crimes tribunal and currently faces an investigation over allegations of fraud in Belgrade.

Milosevic's supporters have recently begun staging round-the-clock vigils near his home to try and thwart any attempted arrest of the former president.

"The people in the street -- a few dozen on Thursday night -- are a reminder of the fact that Milosevic still enjoys substantial support," said CNN Belgrade Bureau Chief Alessio Vinci.

"About one out of five voters cast their ballots for Milosevic in Serbia's parliamentary elections in December, making his Socialist Party the main opposition group," Vinci added.

The vast majority of Serbs, including some who would now like to see him face charges over claims of enriching himself during the years of regional conflict, support Milosevic for having stood up for what they consider Serbian interests during 1999's conflict with NATO

Strict rules

Earlier in the week the Belgrade district prosecutor's office said it was checking reports that Milosevic sent gold to Switzerland and deposited the sale proceeds in Greece and Cyprus.

But Geneva-based MKS Finance SA, whose refinery handles hundreds of tonnes of precious metals each year, said it followed strict rules on identifying the origins of metals it accepts for processing.

Its checks "did not establish any link between the gold that has transited through the MKS refinery and Milosevic or any individuals or companies related to Milosevic," it said.

Swiss customs have confirmed the arrival of four shipments of unrefined gold from Yugoslavia's Bor mines -- one of 42 kg on September 21, another 42 kg on September 22, 59 kg on October 27 and 30 kg on November 2.

The gold was refined in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino and sold on the open market.

But Swiss officials have said they have found no indications that cash from the sale of 173 kg (380 lb) of gold, worth some 1.8 million Swiss francs ($1.1 million), had gone to Milosevic.

Cyprus has always denied accusations that it helped make Milosevic rich by allowing him to deposit the proceeds of Yugoslav gold sales during his last days in power.

Asked about the latest accusations, Cypriot government spokesman Michalis Papapetrou said: "We have repeatedly urged those who make such allegations to provide us with evidence, but they have not."

He said the authorities were "ready to facilitate any investigation."

Last autumn the island's Central Bank froze the accounts of six companies suspected of having close ties with Milosevic, at the behest of the U.N. war crimes tribunal.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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