Serbian prosecutor in Belgrade Trump tower case likely targeted with spyware

Rade Bajić, a member of the specialised organised-crime unit that brought a landmark indictment over the project, said his involvement in the case was the only reason for what he called an unlawful attack. “In my opinion, my involvement in this case was the sole reason for this unlawful spyware attack,” he said, according to The Guardian. The case is believed to be the first criminal case related to the Trump family’s global business drive, which critics describe as a “pay to play” scheme trading the US administration’s favour for business opportunities.

Researchers at Citizen Lab, a digital forensics laboratory, have not established who was behind the attack, the newspaper reported. The lab said the indications were “a high confidence indicator that his device was likely targeted with mercenary spyware, such as Pegasus”. In August, Bajić received a message from Apple saying it had “detected a targeted mercenary attack against your iPhone”, according to the report.

Citizen Lab analysed Bajić’s phone with the Share Foundation, a Serbian rights group. The organisations had previously identified spyware attacks against anti-government protesters in Serbia, and in at least one case found Pegasus on a protester’s phone, The Guardian reported. “A zero-click infection with Pegasus spyware would not have been visible to the target, and would give the Pegasus attacker total access to the device,” the researchers said of that discovery. NSO Group, the Israel-based maker of Pegasus, has been approached for comment, the report said. The Guardian’s Pegasus Project has previously shown how journalists, activists and politicians were targeted by governments using the spyware.

The report follows The Guardian’s revelations last week that Serbia’s president, Aleksandar Vučić, personally ordered that a cherished site in Belgrade be stripped of legal protection so it could be handed over for a $500m Trump hotel and tower. Vučić hosted Donald Trump Jr and Jared Kushner as he ingratiated himself with the Trumps, the newspaper reported. At the weekend, Vučić responded to the revelations by confirming details of a previously secret meeting and indicating he had done nothing wrong. “I fought for my people,” he said. “And that’s what I’ll continue to do in the future.”

Last year, prosecutors brought a landmark indictment against senior members of Vučić’s regime, accusing them of abusing their office to unlawfully strip the General Staff building, a monument to Serbia’s recent difficult history, of its protected status. They face years in jail if convicted. Kushner, who was leading the Trump Belgrade development, called off the plans after the charges were made public. Vučić vowed reprisals and denounced the prosecutors, including Bajić. Bajić has said he was taken off the case without explanation shortly before the indictment was published. In February he addressed one of the rolling protests against the regime triggered by widespread corruption, telling demonstrators: “The law will be equal for all.”

Vučić stepped down late last month and called snap elections for 25 October, hoping to prolong his 12-year rule by switching from president to prime minister, according to The Guardian. He has been approached for comment, as has the prosecutors’ unit, which has said it may bring more charges in the General Staff building case. Representatives of the Trumps and Kushner have denied they engaged in “pay to play” arrangements and said they were not involved in the Serbian authorities’ decision to strip the building of its protected status.