Šolak’s mechanism: Kurir exposes a complex system for eliminating competition through media propaganda, political influence, bribery, and manipulation
The rise, and especially the fall, of Dragan Šolak in Serbia’s and the region’s business sphere has helped the wider public closely observe the complex and well-oiled mechanism for destroying competition that enabled his business empire to experience astonishing growth — difficult to explain within the framework of regular and fair business practices.
The recent developments within United Group and the removal of Šolak from the decision-making zone have finally shed light on the harmfulness of this mechanism, which Kurir has been writing about in a series of investigations.
For years we have been pointing to the segments of his business which were skillfully and lucratively networked to practically create a parallel reality that benefited him alone. Put simply, it is a network of connected politicians, instrumentalized media, and non-governmental organizations formed with the aim of removing anyone who represented competition or an obstacle to Šolak’s companies in achieving excess profits.
Kurir’s investigations have made a significant contribution to bringing the truth to light, one of the key results being the dismantling of the false image of Šolak’s company. Although the activities of its corporate mechanism, while Šolak was pulling the strings, were persistently ideologically wrapped for both domestic and international audiences in the guise of a fight for the ideals of democracy, independent media, and a free market, our detailed analysis of this conglomerate’s operations has clearly shown that everything was the very opposite of its proclaimed goals.
The mechanism created in this way enabled Šolak to act publicly as an advocate of democracy and media freedom, while in the background he protected and developed his own interests, eliminated competition, and controlled the flow of capital through non-transparent means, primarily through hidden ownership structures and shady dealings via offshore zones.
Kurir took on the challenge of exposing all those illusions about Dragan Šolak — above all, the complex, multilayered, and powerful system through which he established market dominance by influencing the media, politics, regulatory institutions, and competitors. Šolak’s mechanism consisted of several interconnected components, each with a precise role in consolidating power and financial gain. The elimination of competition and the establishment of monopoly were set as the ultimate goal, which is why the first targets of Šolak’s attacks were telecom operators, as well as media outlets, production companies, and anything else that could pose an obstacle to the growth and expansion of his business empire.
Through numerous examples, we have shown how Šolak’s strategy operated, using almost every prohibited means — from bribing individuals in state institutions, regulatory bodies, or rival companies, to wiretapping associates and launching media-political campaigns whenever opponents needed to be discredited.
In short, Šolak held in his hands a powerful apparatus composed of the following parts:
1. Financial, i.e. offshore business operations,
2. Media wing serving propaganda purposes,
3. Lobbying-political influence,
4. Corporate network of associates for siphoning money from the group,
5. Repressive-discreditation unit activated whenever interests needed protection,
6. International web of various lobbying structures.
In addition to the political “club”, whose essence consists of Dragan Đilas and his Party of Freedom and Justice along with all its satellites, the media wing of Šolak’s mechanism is, of course, led by the media under the roof of United Group — N1, Nova, Danas... There now exists a vast archive of material that unequivocally proves these media acted as Šolak’s propaganda tool, and that their editorial policies followed his corporate interests.
Besides directly controlled media, “silent partners” were also included in the mechanism — organizations, NGOs, commentators, analysts, lobbying agencies, and media outlets formally presenting themselves as independent but in fact connected to Šolak through mutual interests. We have demonstrated in several cases how Šolak used these channels to launch campaigns whenever he needed to change a narrative in certain institutions, in Serbia or abroad, to portray competitors negatively, or to secure a decision — all with the aim of protecting his own interests.
As a significant source of support in all this, certain non-governmental organizations and non-profit media (BIRN, CINS, KRIK, BIRODI, Istinomer, Crta, IPI, BFMI...) regularly served Šolak. They were primarily in charge of building trust in Šolak’s mechanism and promoting it beyond Serbia’s borders, within EU structures and international media organizations.
A striking example of the mechanism’s operation were the media spins in supposedly objective and independent reports by IPI (the International Press Institute) and BFMI, which Kurir exposed as pure manipulation. By revealing that individuals sitting on the boards of those organizations were connected to Šolak or even on his payroll, we have shown time and again that these were, in fact, attempts at presenting to the general public virtually commissioned reports as independent research. As in all segments of Šolak’s business, behind it all stood the lobbying-driven interest-based machinery of Dragan Šolak.
Kurir Editorial Team