Zoran Bećirović returns to Avala
After a year, a businessman from Kolasin proved before a court in London that he is one of the owners of the company that manages Budva's elite hotel.
Kolašin businessman Zoran - Ćoćo Bećirović won the case before the High Court of Justice of England and Wales in London, which he initiated a year ago to prove his ownership in the company Beppler & Jacobson Ltd, which owns the attractive Avala hotel in Budva.
Bećirović, who was literally "kicked out" of the hotel a year and a half ago, after it was taken over by Russian businessmen with whom he was in cahoots, filed a lawsuit, and "Vijesti" was confirmed by several sources that the court ruled in his favor.
Bećirović is one of the owners of Caldero Trading Limited from Cyprus, which is one of the shareholders of Beppler & Jacobson Ltd from London. This London company is the XNUMX% founder of the Montenegrin subsidiary Beppler & Jacobson Montenegro, which manages the Avala hotel complex.
Officially, in the Real Estate Administration, the ownership of Avala and the villas, as well as the land complex on which the hotel facilities were built, was registered to the London company.
On May 3, the High Court of Justice of England and Wales initiated the liquidation of the company Beppler & Jacobson Ltd England - Budva. As previously confirmed by his lawyer, Bećirović filed a lawsuit in the London court to protect his rights in the company Beppler & Jacobson Ltd from London and the company Beppler & Jacobson Montenegro from Budva.
In the meantime, while the court proceedings were being conducted in the British capital, the High Court appointed Marek Lorinc, the former head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development office in Montenegro, as a temporary liquidator in the company Beppler & Jacobson Ltd.
The verdict also revealed how Bećirović and his former Russian partner got Avala (PHOTO: Vuk Lajović).
Last year, after his management rights in Avala were taken away and a new management was installed, Bećirović accused his former main partner, Igor Lazurenko, with whom he bought the Budva hotel and numerous attractive land locations on the coast, of fraud. They were a tandem that managed to buy real estate in Montenegro worth a total of 78,5 million dollars. First, elite Avala from Budva, Bjanka from Kolašin, then land in the hinterland of Drobni pijesak beach, in Reževići and numerous properties in Kolašin passed into their possession.
After Bećirović's report against his partner, the Moscow company TNK-VR, where the controversial Russian was a top manager, filed a criminal complaint against him for embezzlement of 13 million dollars.
TNK-VR CEO Herman Hahn has launched two legal proceedings in the High Court in London, accusing his former manager Lazurenko of organizing fraudulent schemes through which he embezzled millions of dollars from the company.
On August 14, the court in London made a decision to prohibit Lazurenka and the affiliates that are in business with him from disposing of assets estimated at 39 million euros. The company TNK-VR simultaneously turned to the District Court of the US state of Arkansas with a request to implement restrictive measures against the company Roychamp Trading LLC, which, as TNK-VR suspects, is also connected to Lazurenko. It was through this company that Bećirović bought four hectares of land in the hinterland of Drobni Pijesk.
Bećirović to the court: Ivo told me how much to offer to get the hotel
The tender procedure for the sale of Avala began on April 22, 2002, and ended on June 21 of the same year. Zoran Bećirović, as stated in the judgment of the court in England where the dispute between Bećirović and his partner from Russia Igor Lazurenko, had meetings with the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro in order to "consider the situation".
The Prime Minister at that time was Filip Vujanović, and the President of Montenegro was Milo Đukanović, with whom Bećirović had a friendly relationship.
Bećirović, as pointed out in the verdict, had specific conversations with Ivo Armenko, then director of the state-owned company that also owned the Avala hotel. It is stated that he heard from Armenko that a possible offer with a price of 3 to 3,5 million for the purchase of the hotel with the obligation to invest 9 million euros for reconstruction and renovation "would be well received".
"Mr. Bećirović conveyed this to Mr. Lazurenko and they agreed to make an offer for the tender, which included a price for the purchase of the hotel of 3,2 million euros with the obligation to invest 9 million euros for its renovation. The offer with these details was submitted on June 19, 2002," states the judgment of the English court. RM
Armenko: I don't remember that, the decision on Avala was made by the court
Yesterday, Armenko told "Vijesta" that he did not remember talking to Bećirović, nor that he suggested to him what kind of offer would be acceptable to the tender commission.
“I really don't remember, it was a long time ago. I know that we in the Budva Riviera were dissatisfied with both the submitted offers, and with the part of the offered purchase price and investment. We announced it publicly at the time and, as you know, the decision on the winner of the tender was made in court," said Armenko.
Upon clarification that Bećirović mentioned his name in court with the claim that it was he who suggested to him what price would be acceptable in the tender, and when asked if that was true, Armenko repeated that he did not remember that. The winner for Avala became the second-ranked bidder, which was behind the Danish company Merienlist Hotels and Casinos, which offered 7,5 million, then gave up the tender.
Beppler appealed the decision to cancel the tender and the panel of judges of the Supreme Court, which at the time included the sister of Prime Minister Đukanović, Ana Kolarević, ruled in his favor. She later became Beppler's lawyer. The contract for the sale of the Avala hotel and villas was concluded on January 16, 2004 for the amount of 3,2 million, which was far below the market value. RM
The municipality can take the complex
While there is a struggle for supremacy in Avala, the Municipality of Budva is preparing a decision on the forced collection of four million euros on behalf of utilities, owed by the company Beppler & Jacobson Montenegro for the reconstruction and extension of the complex.
The municipality is ready, if the hotel management continues to be deaf, to implement the same measure as in the case of the Fab Live company from Podgorica, and confiscate the property.
Gallery
( Rajko Milić, Vuk Lajović )