Dec. 26, 2015, 6:02 AM 32 BELGRADE (Reuters) -

Serbian police arrested 79 people including a former minister on corruption charges including abuse of office, money laundering and financial crime, the interior minister said. Saturday's sweep marks the country's biggest anti-corruption investigation in decades and concerns alleged offences dating back to 2004, Nebojsa Stefanovic said. Several executives of state-owned companies, two former interior ministry officials and several mayors were also among those arrested, who are accused of embezzling a combined 7.8 billion dinars ($70 million), he told a news conference. Authorities in Serbia, which on Dec. 14 opened accession talks with the European Union, are working to root out a legacy of corruption and organized crime that gained a strong foothold during the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s. The ex-minister arrested was Slobodan Milosavljevic of the opposition Democratic Party, who held the Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management portfolio from May 2007 to July 2008, Stefanovic said. He said police were searching for five more suspects.

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