Fake Diplomas: 3 More Arrests, Novi Pazar School Clerk
Three people were arrested on orders from the Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime. Police suspect an administrative employee of a Novi Pazar school issued the forged documents.
Police have arrested three more people in an ongoing operation against crimes involving forged documents, suspecting them of producing fake diplomas and school certificates in an illegal print shop in Belgrade. The arrests were made on orders from the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime. They were carried out by members of the Criminal Police Directorate, its Organized Crime Unit, together with the Anti-Corruption Unit and the Crime Suppression Unit.
Who was arrested and what are the charges?
The suspects are J. A. (born 1986), D. R. (1981) and V. M. (1974). They are charged with conspiracy to commit crimes and forgery of documents over an extended period, and D. R. and V. M. are also charged with abuse of office. The three were ordered held for up to 48 hours, after which police will bring them before the competent prosecutor’s office along with a criminal complaint.
The complaint also covers two people who are already in custody. They are B. D. (1974), suspected of organizing the group and the person in charge at a secondary school in Novi Pazar, and V. Dj. (1954).
What are the suspects accused of?
According to the Interior Ministry, the suspects produced the documents in an illegal print shop in Belgrade, and the buyers were meant to use them as genuine documents, lawfully obtained. Police said in a statement:
The suspects, between October 2021 and June 2026, in an illegal print shop in the territory of Belgrade, are suspected of producing more than 100 fake, forged documents: school certificates, diplomas from various secondary, higher and university institutions, certificates of passed exams, and master’s diplomas.
In this way, police suspect, they obtained illegal financial gain of about 20 million dinars for themselves and the group.
The role of the school’s administrative employee
Police suspect that D. R., as an administrative employee of the school in Novi Pazar, exceeded his authority. He allegedly issued forged certificates, diplomas and confirmations from that school to a number of people. V. M. is suspected of finding interested clients and passing their data and paperwork to D. R. so the forgeries could be made.
According to the statement, searches were under way at several locations in Belgrade, Novi Pazar and Raska. By then, several dozen forged documents, diplomas and certificates had been found, along with cash. Police did not say how much money.
What happened in June, and what is different now?
The first wave of arrests in this investigation came in June, when four people were detained, among them B. D. and V. Dj., who are still listed as being in custody. At that time, more than 120 documents were reported, a value of about 20 million dinars and a period of activity starting in October 2025.
The new statement speaks of more than 100 documents, but of a period that begins four years earlier, in October 2021. The statement does not explain the difference in the number of documents. Searches are now also mentioned in Raska, in addition to Belgrade and Novi Pazar.
All suspects are presumed innocent until a final verdict, and the prosecutor’s office will decide on further proceedings after the detention period.
