An investigative report published by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) has exposed deep financial and logistical links between the September 24, 2023, armed standoff in Banjska, North Kosovo, and a lucrative network of Belgrade-based shell companies.
The investigation reveals that two armored Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUVs seized by Kosovo Police from the armed Serb paramilitary group led by Milan Radoičić are legally owned by a Belgrade vehicle-chartering firm named Pent Rent d.o.o.
According to the report, Pent Rent operates as a critical financial conduit within a broader corporate web controlled by Radoičić and his close associate and godfather, Zvonko Veselinović. Despite being blacklisted by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for organized crime and corruption, companies within this network continue to secure multi-million euro state contracts in Serbia’s energy and infrastructure sectors.
The Paper Trail: Weapons Licenses and Asset Ledgers
Following the deadly clashes in Banjska, which resulted in the deaths of one Kosovo Police officer and three Serb gunmen, authorities in Pristina confiscated a massive arsenal of military-grade hardware and vehicles.
The Pristina Prosecutor’s Office confirmed to BIRN that a certified weapons license explicitly issued under Milan Radoičić’s name was recovered from the glove compartment of one of the G-Class SUVs. The vehicles, originally painted black, had been wrapped in olive-drab matte vinyl camouflage and outfitted with fraudulent KFOR (NATO peacekeeping force) emblems to evade local law enforcement detection during the operation.
[Asset Tracking: Seized G-Class SUV]
├── 2018: Registered to Pent Rent d.o.o. as loan collateral (Addiko Bank).
├── 2023: Deployed in Banjska attack disguised with KFOR military vinyl wraps.
└── 2023: Seized by Kosovo Police; Radoičić's weapons license recovered inside.
Furthermore, BIRN cross-referenced the vehicle identification numbers (VIN) against the official Serbian State Pledge Registry. The search confirmed that one of the seized SUVs was registered in 2018 as financial collateral for a commercial credit line secured by Pent Rent d.o.o. through Addiko Bank, legally locking the vehicle to the Belgrade firm long before the cross-border assault.
Auditing the Corporate Web: Pent Rent and C&LC Group
Public financial disclosures and business registry data from the Serbian Business Registers Agency (APR) demonstrate that Pent Rent does not function as a standard commercial car rental company.
The firm’s formal owner of record is Duško Đenadija. Corporate intelligence sources cited by BIRN identify Đenadija as a personal driver for Milorad Lovrić, the executive director of C&LC Group. C&LC Group is a massive transport conglomerate that recently secured a ten-year public transit contract in Belgrade worth approximately 142.6 billion dinars (€1.2 billion), making it the single largest private transit operator in the capital.
An analysis of Pent Rent’s 2024 financial audits reveals an unusual operational model:
| Revenue Stream / Metric | Financial Volume (RSD) | Operational Purpose |
| Core Car Rental Revenue | 28.4 Million RSD | Formal commercial cover for vehicle acquisition. |
| Inter-company Financial Transfers | 85 Million RSD | Primary revenue source derived from sister firms. |
| Short-term Cash Injections (Loans) | Up to 157 Million RSD | Capital buffering and untraceable cash routing. |
Industry insiders explained to BIRN that the car rental designation was likely maintained as a deliberate tax avoidance strategy. In Serbia, registered rental agencies enjoy full value-added tax (VAT) write-offs on luxury vehicle acquisitions, allowing the network to purchase high-end, armored vehicles with state tax subsidies for the personal use of Radoičić, Veselinović, and their inner circle.
Elektroizgradnja: The Financial Clearinghouse
The operational center of this corporate network is Elektroizgradnja Bajina Bašta, a major infrastructure firm 100% owned by Pent Rent. Over the last six years, Elektroizgradnja has secured uncompetitive state utility tenders worth over 21 billion dinars (€180 million) from the state-owned power grid operator, Elektrodistribucija Srbije.
Financial statements show that Elektroizgradnja acts as a massive internal bank, routing state funds to other nodes of the Veselinović-Radoičić network via interest-free, short-term cash advances:
[State Funding Loop]
Elektrodistribucija Srbije (State Utility Contracts)
│ (€180 Million in Tenders)
▼
Elektroizgradnja Bajina Bašta (Owned by Pent Rent)
│ (1.08 Billion RSD Outbound Advances)
├──► C&LC Group (725 Million RSD)
└──► Subsidiary Shells (Beaz, Niel Group, Labah)
While dispensing over 1 billion dinars in interest-free loans to private partner firms, Elektroizgradnja simultaneously padded its own capital reserves by drawing highly favorable, low-interest state-backed development loans, including a €1.6 million facility at a mere 1.8% interest rate from the state Development Fund.
Complete Lack of Domestic Prosecution
Despite public admissions of guilt regarding the Banjska attack, Radoičić remains entirely free in Serbia, insulated from criminal prosecution. While three of his subordinates—Blagoje Spasojević, Vladimir Tolić, and Dušan Maksimović—were captured and sentenced to lengthy prison terms in Pristina (up to life imprisonment), Radoičić continues to expand his real estate empire in Belgrade.
BIRN previously reported that Radoičić and his current wife, Ema Radoičić, are constructing a massive luxury estate spanning over 2,300 square meters on Dedinje, Belgrade’s most exclusive residential neighborhood. The multi-million euro compound sits directly adjacent to a luxury villa owned by the wife of Zvonko Veselinović.
The Higher Public Prosecution in Belgrade (VJT), led by Chief Prosecutor Nenad Stefanović, has continuously refused to respond to media inquiries regarding whether investigators have audited Pent Rent’s accounts or analyzed the logistics network that supplied the armored vehicles used in the Banjska attack.
