Serbian arms dealer's firm earns millions under Vucic's rule despite US sanctions

Belgrade-based company Partizan Tech owned by Serbian arms dealer Slobodan Tesic made a profit of around one million euros in 2025, despite years of sanctions from the United States.

In the company's financial report, which was published on the website of the Serbian Business Registers Agency (APR), it can also be seen that the company had significant receivables from customers abroad.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty was unable to determine which countries the company exported to, because Serbian institutions do not publish this data, and the company "Partizan Tech" did not respond to questions.

The Ministry of Internal and Foreign Trade, which issues permits for the export of weapons and military equipment, also did not respond to REL's questions.

One of the largest arms dealers in the Balkans, as Tesic was labeled by American institutions, generated revenue in a year when exports were banned for eight months, under the instructions of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

Vučić announced in 2025 that weapons would be exported with special approvals in the future.

Financial reports show that other companies in Serbia that were on the US sanctions list due to ties to Tesic in previous years were closed and merged with his company "Partizan Tech".

Slobodan Tesic has been on the US sanctions list since 2017 because, as stated in the explanation, he bribed officials to secure arms export contracts with several countries.

The sanctions mean that all of his assets in the US are frozen and American citizens are prohibited from conducting transactions with Tesic. This effectively means a ban on exports to that country.

The US Treasury Department later linked him to the former head of the Serbian intelligence service, Aleksandar Vulin, who, it is alleged, “assisted him in the illegal arms trade.”

Vulin is also on the US sanctions list due to his ties to Russia and corruption.

He did not respond to Radio Free Europe's questions regarding the allegations of links to Tesic.

Doing business despite the export ban

Serbia, following the instructions of President Aleksandar Vučić, suspended arms exports at the end of June 2025 – at the height of the then-Israeli-Iranian conflict and frequent accusations from Moscow that it was exporting ammunition to Ukraine through intermediaries.

According to information previously confirmed to Radio Free Europe by two state-owned arms factories, exports abroad have resumed since February 2026.

After years of operating at a loss, the company "Partizan Tech" owned by Slobodan Tesic turned a profit in 2025, according to the company's published financial report.

In the previous year, 2024, the company suffered losses of more than one million euros, and had recorded losses in previous years as well.

Tesic's company is also mentioned as an arms exporter in the 2018 report of the state auditor of the "Prvi Partizan" arms factory in Užice, western Serbia.

Partizan Tech is just one of the companies in Serbia linked to Tesic that is under US sanctions.

Also on the blacklist since 2017 is the company "Technoglobal Systems", which was closed a year later and merged with the company "Partizan Tech".

In 2019, the US Treasury Department published a broader list of companies linked to Slobodan Tesic.

All of these companies, including "Falcon Strategic Solutions", "Vectura Trans" and "Araneks", as well as "Velcom Trade", merged with the company "Partizan Tech" during 2025 and 2026.

Profits of “related” companies

Three other companies in Serbia that are linked to Tesic operate profitably in the defense industry.

Belgrade-based Valir company had a profit of almost two million euros in 2025. Its financial report shows that most of its income comes from exporting goods to foreign markets.

This company gave Tesic's company, "Partizan Tech", a loan with a low interest rate of 0.1 percent, according to the latest financial report of the company "Partizan Tech".

The BIRN investigative network previously linked the company “Valir” to Tesic, through a number of individuals associated with him, alleging that Tesic was using this company to circumvent US sanctions and sell weapons to that country.

The company went public in July 2021 when a Ukrainian plane crashed in northern Greece. It was found to be transporting practice mines to Bangladesh, which the Serbian company Valir had purchased from the state-owned Krushik factory.

Another company that the media linked to Tesic and that exports to the US despite sanctions is "Zenitprom", which in 2025 had a profit of more than 900 thousand euros.

This company also generated most of its revenue that year from selling goods abroad.

Rel has determined through its financial reports that this company provided an interest-free loan to Tesic's company, Partizan Tech, in 2021.

Another company linked to Tesic is operating profitably.

The company "Sofag", owned by Jelena Petrovic, Tesic's daughter, made a profit of around 940 thousand euros. Financial reports show that it made financial income of around 33 million euros from the sale of goods on the foreign market.

The companies "Sofag", "Zenitprom" and "Valir" did not respond to Radio Free Europe's questions about which countries they exported weapons to.

In addition to US sanctions, Tešić was on the United Nations “blacklist” for nearly a decade for violating UN sanctions against arms exports to Liberia.

Relations with Aleksandar Vulin

Six years later Teshikit, the then director of the Security and Intelligence Agency (BIA), Aleksandar Vulin, also found himself under US sanctions.

The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Vulin in 2023 for corruption and involvement in drug trafficking, as well as ties to Russia.

The statement linked him to Tesic.

“Vulin maintained a mutually beneficial relationship with Serbian arms dealer Slobodan Tesic, helping Tesic’s illegal arms shipments move freely across Serbia’s borders,” the US State Department said.

The leader of the Socialist Movement, Aleksandar Vulin, does not currently hold any government position.

Tesic's company, "Partizan Tech", did not respond to questions about the connection to Vulin.

No response came from the Socialist Movement of Vulin either./REL.