The request was made because of suspicion that Devetak's assets stemmed from war crimes, the Office said in a press release, adding that an investigation conducted in 2010 had provided grounds to suspect that the assets, worth about 13,000 euros, "are in evident disproportion" to Devetak's legal earnings.
War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic launched in September 2010 a financial investigation of three defendants in the Lovas war crime case which revealed that, when the crime was being committed, they took money, gold jewelry and other valuables from captured civilians, Vukcevic's office said.
Devetak was sentenced to the maximum prison sentence for the October 1991 war crime - 20 years - on June 26. The other 13 defendants were given sentences ranging from four to 14 years.
According to the indictment, Devetak, with the help of members of the Serbian National Renewal party led by Mirko Jovic, formed a unit of 60 volunteers in Sid and Nova Pazova, Serbia, with intent to attack the predominantly Croat village of Lovas. The Serbian forces attacked the village in the early morning hours of October 10, 1991, shooting randomly and throwing bombs at civilians in their homes and in the streets.
The local authorities led by Devetak ordered on October 17 that all men aged 18-65 should gather outside the local agricultural cooperative, and 70 or so villagers responded to the order. That day and the next, members of the Dusan Silni paramilitary unit brutally tortured about 20 civilian prisoners, and on October 18 they forced a group of some 50 villagers to walk across a minefield, as a result of which 20 civilians were killed and 12 were wounded.