The director of the Serbian Institute for Oncology and Radiology, Nenad Borojevic, and several other employees of this institution have been arrested on suspicion o taking bribes from pharmaceutical companies, Interior Minister Ivica Dacic stated on June 30.

"They are suspected of having prescribed more medication than needed in order to increase medicine consumption," Dacic told Parliament's Committee for Defense and Security.

Dacic said that seven people were arrested and that they are believed to have received bribes adding up to around EUR1 million in the past two years.

Police also arrested the head of the pediatric ward, the head pharmacist and deputy director, as well as senior executives of the Serbian divisions of Roche, Pharma Swiss, and Astra Zeneca.

According to Dacic, the operation was performed by the division for fighting organized crime, and the suspects had been under surveillance for 14 months.

Health Minister Tomica Milosavljevic stated that it is up to prosecutors and police to establish the culpability of the institute director, whose arrested he learned about on TV.

Asked whether medical institutions are subject to Health Ministry checks, Milosavljevic replied that the ministry does not do hand-holding and that procedures and protocols exist for the purchase of cancer medication.