Dragan Šolak (businessman)

Dragan Šolak is a Serbian businessman and media mogul. He is the founder and erstwhile majority owner of the United Group media house. Šolak founded United Group back in 2000. Initially starting as just a small cable operator in central Serbia, the company has since become one of the most dominant media companies in Southeast Europe, providing broadband, mobile and TV services in eight countries.[1] He holds the position of Chairman of the advisory board and retains 33% share in the entity. In early 2022, he became the owner of EFL Championship club Southampton F.C., as the lead investor in Sport Republic, which bought 80% of the shares in Southampton from the Chinese businessman Gao Jisheng for about £100m.[2][3] His net worth was estimated at €1.22 billion, and as of 2021 was understood to be the richest man in Serbia.[1]

Dragan Šolak
Born
Dragan Šolak

1964 (age 58–59)
Kragujevac, SR Serbia, Yugoslavia
NationalitySerbian
OccupationBusinessman
Known forUnited Group, Sport Republic

Money laundering investigations

On 13 May 2023, the Slovenian information portal N1info, owned by Šolak, reported extensive and irregular investigations conducted by the Slovenian Office for Money Laundering Prevention in December 2021. The investigations occurred amidst a politically charged atmosphere in Slovenia as the elections approached. Evidence obtained suggested that the head of the office, Damjan Žugelj, appointed by the SDS party, facing time constraints, received an anonymous tip enabling him to initiate the investigation, presumably in the context of a pre-election agreement between Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and former Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša to gather potentially damaging information on their opponents through the respective anti-money laundering offices.[4][5] Janša has denied the allegations of an agreement with Vučić, while Žugelj has characterised the N1info portal's publications as political revenge.[6]

References
  1. "Who is Dragan Solak? Details on the investor behind Saints' new owners". Daily Echo. 5 January 2022. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  2. "Dragan's den: meeting Southampton's new billionaire owner". the Guardian. 2022-01-27. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
  3. "Serb mogul completes Saints takeover". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  4. Šeruga, Katja (13 May 2023). "Brskanje po bančnih računih, kakršnega ne pomnimo: od šefa N1 do šefa Pop TV" [Bank Account Digging Like no Other: From the Boss of N1 to the Boss of Pop TV]. N1info (in Slovenian).
  5. "Odziv Dragana Šolaka po razkritju dokazov o verjetni zlorabi in zavrženi ovadbi" [Dragan Šolak's Reaction After the Disclosure of Evidence of Alleged Abuse and the Dismissal of the Indictment] (in Slovenian).
  6. "Žugelj: Gre za maščevanje tistih, ki so ugrabili policijo in tožilstvo" [Žugelj: It's About Revenge of Those Who Hijacked the Police and the Prosecutor's Office]. Nova24TV (in Slovenian). 13 May 2023.


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