Izvor: N1 televizija, 22.Nov.2018, 18:51 (ažurirano 02.Apr.2020.)
Serbian Minister’s father mediated arms deal with Saudis
The father of Serbia’s Internal Affairs Minister was involved in the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia, the BIRN investigative network said on Thursday citing documents it had obtained.
Branko Stefanovic, father of Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic, works for the Serbian company GIM which mediated the sale of munitions, including mortar shells and rockets, made by the Krusik military industry plant in Valjevo during a May 2017 visit to the plant by a three-member delegation of the Saudi >> Pročitaj celu vest na sajtu N1 televizija << Rinad Al Jazeera company.
BIRN said that GIM’s success can be attributed to the fact that the elder Stefanovic’s influence at the meeting in Krusik, adding that the Saudis have been buying Serbia-made weapons and ammunition for several years.
NIN weekly reported in October 2018 that Branko Stefanovic’s company United BG had been issued an arms trade permit by the Ministry of Trade after the Internal Affairs Ministry gave its approval. Minister Stefanovic denied NIN’s claims that his father was involved in the arms trade but BIRN now claims that it has documents showing that “the minister’s father is trading in arms through his engagement with the GIM company which is owned by Goran Todorovic”.
BIRN says the documents show that GIM has preferential treatment in Krusik in terms of lower prices. It added that neither of the Stefanovics or Todorovic replied to its requests for statements.
Former Krusik CEO Mladen Petkovic, who is a member of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), told BIRN that he isn’t sure exactly what role Branko Stefanovic played in GIM or the arms deal. “As far as I know, Stefanovic does not work for GIM. I can’t say for sure that he was or that he was not in the plant. I did not see him at Krusik because meetings with buyers are taken by the commercial sector, not myself,” he said.
According to BIRN, the documents show that GIM bought 43 million Dollars worth of military-grade ammunition from Krusik over the past year and sold them to the Saudis. GIM bought the munitions at prices lower than what other arms trade companies paid.
