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Serbian tycoon Miroslav Miskovic will remain in detention for another three months as an investigation continues into alleged corruption in the sale of state road companies, a court in Belgrade announced on March 8.

Miskovic and his son Marko will be detained until June 9, Mirjana Piljic, media coordinator for the Court of Appeals in Belgrade, told Bloomberg. The prosecutors will have until that date to raise an indictment or the pair must be released, Piljic said. The decision came a day after the chief prosecutor for organized crime, Miljko Radisavljevic, urged the court to extend the detention.

Miskovic, owner of the closely-held Delta Holding that has interests in insurance, agriculture and property development, and his son were arrested on December 12, on suspicion of illegally earning more than €30m in the sale of state road companies. They have been held in detention since.

"The prosecution believes that it is necessary to extend the suspects' custody for another month because the investigation in the case is underway and it is necessary to perform certain procedures," Radisavljevic told B92.

Serbia needs to step up the fight against corruption and organized crime as part of efforts to convince the European Union that its fit for membership talks. The government is reviewing the sale of 24 companies after criticism from the European Parliament and is waiting on a date to begin entry negotiations.