Unwanted in Croatia, Welcomed with Open Arms in Serbia Companies with documented corruption histories, like Germany’s DBEC and France’s Egis, have been awarded significant infrastructure project contracts in Serbia. This is in stark contrast to Croatia, where similar companies have been excluded from public procurement due to prior corruption convictions or sanctions. The article suggests a pattern of systemic corruption in Serbia, where international corruption cases and sanctions appear to act as a recommendation for securing lucrative state contracts, especially for large-scale infrastructure projects agreed upon through intergovernmental agreements.

• Deutsche Bahn Engineering & Consulting (DBEC) and Egis, companies with documented corruption cases, have been awarded key roles in Serbian infrastructure projects.
• In contrast, Croatia banned DBEC’s subsidiary in 2019 due to employee convictions for corruption in Germany, while Serbia awarded DBEC a contract the following year.
• Egis and its subsidiaries were also subject to sanctions and blacklisted by international institutions for corruption and fraud before being selected for Serbian projects.
• Despite international legal exclusions for companies with corruption ties, Serbia has engaged DBEC and Egis in major projects including railways, the Belgrade metro, and potentially Expo 2027 and the National Stadium.
• The article suggests a systemic pattern in Serbia where companies with corruption records are favored for multi-billion euro infrastructure projects, often secured through closed-door intergovernmental agreements.
• The Croatian State Commission for Public Procurement Control excluded a consortium including DBEC based on legal rulings against its former employees, demonstrating a stricter regulatory approach.
• The quality of supervision on Serbian projects involving these companies is questioned, citing reports of irregularities and critical engineering signatures on construction logs.