CINS: Company Whose Weapons Were Transported by the Cargo Plane That Crashed in Greece Linked to Serbia’s Army and State

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Serbian private arms manufacturer Valir, whose weapons were in the cargo plane that crashed in Greece on July 16, not only is connected with arms dealer Slobodan Tesic, but is linked with the Serbian Army Headquarters and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it says in the report published by the Center for Investigative Journalism of Serbia (CINS) on Aug. 3. 

According to CINS’ findings, Vera Dikovic, one of the company’s employees, is married to Nemanja Dikovic, son of the former chief of the general staff of the Serbian army, Ljubisa Dikovic. Dikovic junior, CINS says, served for a time in the Serbian Embassy in Greece, and is now employed by the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as the third secretary, and is an active participant in the issuance of permits for import, export, transport and transit of weapons and military equipment.

Valir’s current owner is Mladen Bogdanovic, son of Luka Bogdanovic who, during the 1990s, held several managerial positions within the Serbian law enforcement and was a witness in various war crime cases before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Another person linked to Valir is the daughter of Dragan Kapetina, the first man of Republic of Srpska’s arms and military equipment trade directorate and director of several companies owned by Slobodan Tesic. 

Mid-July, a privately owned Ukrainian cargo plane crashed near Kavala in Northern Greece, carrying 11.5 tons of mines manufactured by Serbian arms manufacturer Krusik, which were sold to the Bangladeshi Defense Minister by Valir.