Smailović is a relative - reportedly a nephew - of the head of the Islamic Community in Serbia, Mufti Muamer Zukorlić, who made the claim about the arrest earlier on Thursday.

The operation was carried out in several cities in Serbia, including Novi Pazar, southwestern Serbia, resulting in arrests of over twenty people suspected of involvement in financial fraud that incurred damages to the state budget.

Gendarmerie officers arrested owners of two import and export companies.

At a press conference today, Zukorlić accused Gendarmes of "torture against the citizens of Novi Pazar", warning that "if it continued, Bosniaks (Muslims) would have no other option but to organize themselves and confront it".

The mufti also denied reports that the police had searched his house but said that they "demonstrated use of force" in front of his house, which, he said, was "apparently aimed at sending a kind of a political message and making threats".

He also accused Labor Minister and Social Democratic Party of Serbia leader Rasim Ljajić of being "responsible for today’s police operation".

Ljajić responded by saying he would file a lawsuit against the mufti, qualifying his statements as untrue.

MUP told Tanjug earlier today that the police checked the documentation of a company owned by Smailović, and that accountancy services were provided to that company by another - owned by Zukorli's wife.