Draft:Dejan Đorđević

Dejan Đorđević (born 1971 in Leskovac) is a Serbian businessman and political figure. He founded the Conservative Reformist Party (KRST) and is best known for the disputed 2019 sale of Megatrend University in Belgrade to a German-led investment consortium he represented. An investigation by the broadcaster N1 later found that the consortium and its leadership did not genuinely exist.

Background

Little about Đorđević's early life has been independently confirmed. Istinomer, a Serbian fact-checking organisation, and the newspaper Politika both report that he was born in 1971 in Leskovac. Beyond that, most of what has circulated about his education and early career, including claims that he studied law and medicine and later worked in medical insurance in Germany, traces back to a biography he posted on his party's website, which was later taken down. Both outlets caution that these details are difficult to verify independently.

Political career

Conservative Reformist Party

Đorđević served as the first president of the Conservative Reformist Party (KRST, Konzervativno reformistička stranka), which ran on a platform of economic, healthcare, and judicial reform it called "Program 100." He did not stay in the role for long: Politika reported that he was pushed out of the party leadership after failing to make good on a pledge to fund it, leaving behind unpaid debts. Đorđević disputed this version of events.

Alleged attacks on party officials

In January 2019, KRST vice president Nenad Janković said unknown assailants had fired shots at his car, and that an earlier attempt had also been made on Đorđević's life near Dedinje. He described the two incidents as connected and politically motivated. Serbia's Ministry of Internal Affairs said the claims were false.

Megatrend University

Sale and appointment as rector

The university's founder, Mića Jovanović, announced in late November 2019 that he had sold the private institution for €56.1 million to a German-led consortium of investment funds represented by Đorđević, who was installed shortly afterward as acting rector. The sale came after years of unflattering press coverage of Megatrend, capped by an N1 documentary examining a government minister's disputed diploma from the university.

Dispute and fraud findings

Within days, the deal was unravelling. Jovanović said he had been defrauded and wanted out of the agreement; Đorđević insisted the contract stood. N1's investigation, later summarised by Danas, went further. The "consortium," EFAS Europe, turned out to be neither a consortium nor a fund but a small firm Đorđević had registered for office services and the import and export of photocopier machines. The executives he presented as its leadership did not exist; their photographs were traced to stock images of models.

Belgrade prosecutors brought Đorđević in on suspicion of making a false report, Večernje novosti reported at the time. Danas later noted that several criminal cases against him, including allegations of abuse of office and fraud, were ongoing during this period.

Lawsuit against Danas

Đorđević sued Danas, its editor, and its publisher for defamation over their coverage of him, seeking damages. The Higher Court in Belgrade dismissed the suit in October 2023; his representative has appealed the decision.