BELGRADE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR ORDERS INVESTIGATION AGAINST MILOSEVIC

BELGRADE, Feb 28 (Hina) - The Belgrade Public Prosecutor's Office on Wednesday requested the Serbian interior ministry to "gather information" about all recent press reports saying former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic sold 173 kilograms of gold and put the money on the accounts of companies from Cyprus and Greece. The prosecution's request that the police launch an investigation is the first legal measure taken against the former Yugoslav president, who could face a wide range of accusations, from fraud to war crimes. Two days ago, the Swiss weekly 'Facts' reported, and the report has been confirmed by a Swiss customs official Rose Gouderon, that in September last year Milosevic transferred to Switzerland the said amount of gold in ingots, in five separate DM2.3 million-worth shipments. An anonymous source from the Yugoslav ruling coalition told the Belgrade-based Beta agency today the 'final deadline' for Milosevic's arrest was March 10. The source said the reason for the arrest was not only the illegal purchase of a villa or financial and similar malversation but the organisation of abductions and killings as well. The source, a senior member of the ruling coalition, told the agency Milosevic could also be put on trial for war crimes as well as that there were people from the former political leadership willing to testify against him. (hina) sb rml