In a major investigative breakthrough, journalist Domagoj Margetić has released photographic and video evidence purportedly linking Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić’s inner circle to illegal mining operations on Bukova Kosa, near Prijedor.
Margetić alleges that despite elaborate efforts to conceal the operation—including removing company branding from heavy machinery and using vehicles without license plates—a critical error was made on Monday, April 20.
The “Smoking Gun”: Inkop Machinery on Site
According to Margetić, at precisely 12:07 PM on Monday, he captured footage of heavy machinery belonging to the company Inkop, based in Ćuprija, Serbia.
Inkop is widely known to be owned and controlled by Zvonko Veselinović, a figure currently on the international “blacklist” and under severe sanctions by the United States and the United Kingdom for organized crime and corruption.
“They tried in every way to hide the presence of Vučić’s mafia,” Margetić stated. “But today they made a mistake. I recorded an Inkop machine at the very location of the illegal mafia mine on Bukova Kosa.”
Money Laundering and Budget Plunder
The investigation suggests that these mines serve a dual purpose: the illicit extraction of natural resources and a sophisticated scheme to “wash” and plunder the Serbian national budget. Margetić alleges that public funds from Serbia are being funneled into these illegal Bosnian operations, effectively siphoning taxpayer money into private, criminal hands.
The Bukova Kosa Controversy
The site at Bukova Kosa has been a flashpoint for over two years. Local residents have consistently protested the mining, citing:
Environmental Devastation: Unauthorized clearing and destruction of local landscapes.
Lack of Transparency: Opaque concessions granted to firms like “Drvo-Export,” which critics say act as fronts for higher-level political interests.
Security Concerns: The presence of unidentified “security personnel” driving unlicensed Jeeps to intimidate locals and observers.
An Open Letter to the International Community
Following the discovery, Margetić issued a direct challenge to international oversight bodies, tagging the U.S. Embassy in BiH, the European Parliament, Ursula von der Leyen, and EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos.
“How is it possible that a person and a company on an international black list and on an international list of sanctioned persons and companies smoothly lead mafia-run, illegal mines—and in another state, in BiH?” Margetić asked.
The Strategic Implication
The timing of these revelations is particularly sensitive for the Serbian government. With Commissioner Marta Kos already threatening to freeze €1.5 billion in EU funds due to concerns over the rule of law and judicial independence in Serbia, documented evidence of sanctioned individuals operating illegal cross-border enterprises could be the “final straw” for Brussels.
As of Tuesday morning, neither the Serbian Presidency nor the authorities in the Republika Srpska (RS) entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina have commented on the footage. However, legal experts suggest that if the presence of Inkop machinery is verified, it would constitute a flagrant violation of international sanctions, demanding an immediate response from SIPA (Bosnia’s State Investigation and Protection Agency) and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in Washington.
