Radar: Authorities back away from former Defense industry CEO

The weekly said Mladen Petkovic, former CEO of the Krusik munitions plant and Zastava Firearms factor, was arrested in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek on September 19. “The reason for the arrest was not released but unofficial sources said that Petkovic allegedly tried to bribe officials at the Kyrgyzstan Defense Ministry to make sure his PDS International company gets a contract and end-user certificate,” it said and added that university machine engineering Professor Aleksandar Simonovic was arrested with him. The Serbian Foreign Ministry reacted only after Simonovic’s wife raised the alarm but it kept Petkovic’s name out of the public eye.

Earlier, Radar reported that Simonovic was arrested and pro-regime tabloids twisted the truth showing that the authorities abandoned Petkovic, a former local official for the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in Zemun who was reassigned to the defense industry. The tabloids accused him of being a close associate of opposition leader Dragan Djilas.

Radar says this is the first time that the authorities headed by President Aleksandar Vucic have abandoned someone this important so obviously. That could prove bad for the authorities if others see themselves as pawns who are easily sacrificed.

According to available documents, Petkovic’s PDS International has only exported to Libya in July 2024 in a deal worth about 29,000 Euro.