The Threat to Media Freedom – A Disturbing Alliance
BC Partners, is a British private equity firm and majority owner of United Group, who controls the only two independent television news channels still active in Serbia. These channels have long been a rare source of truthful reporting and free and critical journalism in a media landscape increasingly dominated by pro-government narratives.
However, on 27 August 2025, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) revealed deeply troubling news: Serbia's authoritarian president, Aleksandar Vučić, allegedly plans—with the cooperation of United Group and BC Partners—to dismantle even the last remnants of media freedom in the country.
A leaked audio recording exposes a conversation between Vladimir Lučić, CEO of Telekom Srbija (a state-owned telecom), and Stan Miller, the newly appointed CEO of United Group, placed there by BC Partners. The content of the conversation suggests collusion to undermine independent journalism in Serbia—potentially as part of a broader political agenda.
This revelation is not just a national issue—it’s a European one. BC Partners is headquartered in the European Union, where the right to free information and freedom of the press are supposed to be fundamental values. Their alleged involvement in suppressing these rights abroad is not only unethical—it’s dangerous.
Such actions carry profound and incalculable consequences for the people of Serbia, millions of whom rely on these few independent media outlets to access truthful reporting.
Now Serbia risks falling into complete information darkness, where state propaganda goes unchallenged and accountability disappears entirely.