„These are some truly ridiculous tales,“ the owner of Rad company, Radule Stevic, told KoSSev, commenting on the news that he was included in the SDN list by the US Treasury Office’s of Foreign Assets Control, as well as linked to Zvonko Veselinovic’s „organized crime group“.
Stevic states that he does not understand why sanctions were imposed on him and his company. He claims that he runs a legitimate business.
In the document issued by the US Treasury Office’s of Foreign Assets Control, Stevic is linked to three companies – „DOO RAD 028 ZVEČAN“ which is registered in Serbia, as well as „RAD DOO“ and „RADULE STEVIĆ B.I, P.T.P. RAD” – registered in Kosovo.
This morning, RFE published an article about the company „RAD“, stating that from August 2018 to September 2021, it won a total of 61 tenders worth €5.6 million on projects financed from the budget of the Kosovo government.
„I stand behind every job I did. I own a company registered in the Kosovo system, I pay taxes regularly, I am legitimate and one hundred percent clean,“ he told KoSSev.
Stevic revealed that he does not know how and why he was linked to Zvonko Veselinovic, claiming that this was the result of “gossip, as people say all kinds of things.”
When asked whether he believes that the US Department of the Treasury decided to impose sanctions based on gossip, Stevic replied that it has been twenty years since he has last seen Veselinovic.
„They can say whatever they want. It’s been twenty years since I’ve last seen Zvonko Veselinovic and I have never had any points of contact with him, so these are some really ridiculous tales,“ Stevic added.
Stevic, who owns a construction company that often wins tenders in northern Kosovo, says he received hundreds of calls from Albanian companies he works with today, adding that he does not expect that to change.
„Everyone knows who I am, how I do business. I stand behind each of my projects, all of my projects were fully completed. Given that everyone knows who I am, I think that this decision will not harm my business,“ Stevic said.
Previously, in a statement for KoSSev, a well-known businessman from the north of Kosovo, Sinisa Nedeljkovic, who was also included on the SDN list, described the news as “the stupidest thing I have ever heard”.
Nedeljkovic was also linked to Zvonko Veselinovic. He told KoSSev that he has no ties to Veselinovic, stressing that he is a legitimate businessman. Unlike Stevic, Nedeljkovic voiced concern over how this decision could affect his reputation among his long-term customers.
The US Department of the Treasury published an updated Specially Designated Nationals And Blocked Persons List of the Office of Foreign Assets Control yesterday. The updated list includes 16 persons – 13 from Kosovo and three from El Salvador.
In addition to Stevic, a businessman from Zvecan Sinisa Nedeljkovic, Zvonko Veselinovic and his brother Zarko, and Milan Radoicic, the list includes former high-ranking Kosovo police official Zeljko Bojic, as well as several other businessmen from the north, including the Radisavljevic brothers, one of whom is wanted by the Kosovo Police in connection with the October 13th action in the north.
Also, in addition to these individuals, a total of 24 entities with which they are linked were also added to the list. The majority of these entities, except for two, are registered in the Serbian and Kosovo systems, respectively. The remaining two entities are registered in Bulgaria and Croatia and are linked to Zvonko Veselinovic and Milan Radoicic.
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
