POLITICAL CONNECTIONS, CONFLICT OF INTEREST, ENORMOUS MONEY, A VILLA IN DEDINJE Šolak’s modus operandi is best seen in the case of his dismissed director Bojana
The most recent example, that of the newly dismissed director of United Group Bojana Mijailović, not only confirms the modus operandi of her former boss, but also reveals new tentacles Šolak had within the state apparatus. The Mijailović family shows an entire web of risky patterns that encapsulates Šolak’s business philosophy, or rather his unethical and illegal conduct, from conflicts of interest between state and private functions, through possible corruption via privileged dealings with the state, to nepotism in scholarships, and all the way to ties with Russian oligarchs. Kurir has written in detail about this last point, exposing the false image of United Group, which presents itself publicly as a pro-Western company, while Šolak, far from the public eye, was establishing links with Russian interests. Within that Russian network even the philanthropy of United Group can be linked to projects financed by the Kremlin.
Trading in influence
The latest information obtained by Kurir graphically proves that Šolak’s modus operandi can be traced very precisely through the case of Bojana Mijailović. Namely, she held a senior position in United Group while her husband Nenad Mijailović was a senior official in the Ministry of Finance of Serbia, responsible for agencies that oversaw the operations of United Group (the tax administration, money laundering prevention, etc.). Such intertwining of functions caused serious suspicions of trading in influence and favouritism. There are reports that investigations against the owner of United Group, Dragan Šolak, such as the suspicious offshore transaction of 17.7 million euros, were softened during the mandate of Nenad Mijailović, which was precisely the period when his wife Bojana worked in Šolak’s company. These problematic relations of the Mijailović spouses may have represented a violation of government ethics rules, as well as of United Group’s internal rules on conflicts of interest, which prohibit relationships that may jeopardise the integrity of the company.
A villa in Dedinje
On the other hand, the lifestyle of Nenad and Bojana Mijailović significantly exceeds their known income. Thus, it remains unclear how Bojana Mijailović was the official purchaser in 2017 of a luxury state-owned villa in Dedinje, which she bought for about 400,000 euros, far below the market value of the 285-square-metre villa in that prestigious area. The sale at a preferential price was approved while Nenad Mijailović was in office, and the Ministry of Finance was supervising the sale of state property. All this suggests abuse of office. In addition, the family invested significant funds in renovating the villa and financed their daughter’s expensive studies at Columbia University. All these expenses of the Mijailović family can hardly be reconciled with Nenad’s then official salary of about 770 euros a month. Even the additional income from membership of the Board of Directors of NIS, amounting to 3,400 euros a month, is not sufficient to explain the gap between declared income on the one hand, and assets and expenditure on the other. Suspicion of undeclared financial sources is therefore justified.
Nepotism and the daughter’s scholarship
And the scholarship of their daughter Mina Mijailović is not without question. She received a scholarship or award in 2017 from the SBB Foundation, the corporate foundation of United Group, for achievements in mathematics. Support for talented young people is in itself positive, but the choice of Mina Mijailović falls under the shadow of nepotism. For her mother Bojana at that time was a senior executive in United Group, responsible for the group treasury, which calls the impartiality of the decision into question. Moreover, claims that Mina attended the Mathematical Grammar School in Belgrade or won the “Borba” award are not accurate, as those successes belong to another person of the same name from Šabac. The daughter of Bojana and Nenad Mijailović finished an international secondary school and then enrolled at Columbia University in New York.
“Paradise Papers”
The career of Bojana Mijailović in United Group began in 2016, when, as a financial expert, she came to the position of group treasurer. Later she was promoted to Executive Director for Investor Relations and Strategic Analytics. She was in practice overseeing United Group’s operations in Serbia, but in August 2025 she was suddenly removed from her director’s post. United Group, majority owned by BC Partners, appointed Vladica Tintor in her place, which N1 and Nova S, media outlets still under Šolak’s influence, presented as an attempted hostile takeover and political pressure. The problematic aspect of Bojana Mijailović holding high positions in United Group lies in the fact that her rise in the company coincided directly with the mandate of her husband Nenad Mijailović, who was State Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and right-hand man of the then minister Dušan Vujević. From 2008 to 2018 he was in charge of the Tax Administration and the national system for the prevention of money laundering, while United Group, as a large telecommunications and media conglomerate with complex offshore structures, fell directly under the jurisdiction of those bodies. Thus, when United Group employed Bojana Mijailović, a conflict of interest immediately arose – the wife of a key regulator became a senior executive in the very company that regulator oversaw. The media later wrote that at the time Nenad put the investigation into Šolak in a drawer, deciding not to initiate proceedings regarding the information from the “Paradise Papers” about his offshore dealings. Although solid evidence of favouritism has not emerged, suspicion has remained that United Group hired Bojana at least in part to gain the favour of the Ministry of Finance.
Conflict of interest
The powers of Nenad Mijailović in the Ministry of Finance directly overlapped with the interests of United Group. While he was coordinator in Serbia’s national anti-money-laundering system (AML), information appeared on possible tax evasion and money laundering linked to United Group and its then owner. For example, at the end of 2017 the authorities received information about an offshore network and a suspicious payment of 17.7 million euros connected with the purchase of Direct Media, a company previously owned by Dragan Đilas. However, Mijailović took no visible action. His inaction coincided with the period when his wife Bojana was employed by Šolak himself, which further compromised his objectivity. Even if there was no direct intent to protect Šolak, the mere perception of a conflict of interest was inevitable – precisely what ethics laws seek to prevent.
Kurir.rs/PHOTO CREDIT: Screenshot, Graham Hunt/imago sportfotodie
