A businessman Ranko Ubović He was arrested yesterday on suspicion of money laundering, and in the same operation by the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT), his business associate was also handcuffed. Veselin Kovačević.
The SDT explained that they were handcuffed because there was a reasonable suspicion that they had committed multiple criminal offenses - money laundering, but without specifying what they were. Last night they were ordered to be detained for up to 72 hours.
According to information from "Vijest", former assistant director of the Police Administration Zoran Lazović and recently arrested Aleksandar Mijajlović and Vladan Ivanović will give statements in the same case today.
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"The Special Police Department has deprived RU and VK of their liberty due to the existence of grounds for suspicion that they have committed multiple criminal offenses of money laundering and continues to carry out urgent evidentiary actions in Podgorica, at the order of special prosecutors and in accordance with the decisions of the competent court, with the aim of collecting evidence and traces of criminal offenses," the SDT statement reads.
The news outlets were unofficially told that the action would continue.
Ubović is the informal owner of the multi-million dollar construction company "Bemaks", and Kovačević is the former official owner and current chairman of the board of directors of that company.
Apartments in PG and BD
One of the newspaper's interlocutors claims that this is a case in which the owner of the construction company "Master Inženjering" Vladan Ivanović was recently arrested, but there is no official confirmation of this.
Ubović's legal representative, lawyer Zoran Piperović announced last night that the report, in addition to Ubović and Kovačević, also includes Aleksandar Aco Mijajlović, Zoran Lazović and Vladan Ivanović.
He said that they are being charged with money laundering in two cases - the so-called Radoje Zvicer apartments in the Master Quarter, as well as Bemaks' apartments in the Perla building in Budva.
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The lawyer said that the prosecution has practically nothing against his client, explaining that "Ubović was arrested for something that Vlado Ivanović was already arrested for."
"So, now it wasn't Vlado who took the money from Zvicer for five apartments, it was Ranko Ubović who took it."
He said that he asked the prosecutors on what basis they were making this claim, but that it "remained unanswered."
Ivanovic was arrested on suspicion of committing the same crime, and according to unofficial information, he is accused of having stolen several apartments in the "Master Kvart" that were purchased by the fugitive head of the Kavač clan. Radoje Switzerland, left the company's records to conceal the true owner.
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Vijesti published details of court documents about the case a year ago, according to which Zvicer's wife Tamara - once warned a worker who was furnishing apartments in the Master Kvart district not to tell police inspectors at any cost whose properties they were and who he was working for. She did this, as it says, after he called her on the phone and informed her of the inspector's presence.
The Supreme Court stated that it was Radoje Zvicer's wife who took care of furnishing those five valuable properties, which, among other things, indicates that they were theirs, and not the property of the Master Engineering company, as officially registered in the cadastre.
Piperović also said that they also mentioned five apartments "that we discussed in Perla in Budva."
He said prosecutors claim the building in the tourist metropolis was built with money from crime.
He claims, however, that everything is clear and that evidence has been presented that the investor Modena Gradnja ceded five apartments to Bemkas in exchange for the execution of works.
"... Where did he take one for himself, one Vesko Kovačević, one Zoran Lazovic, one Zoran Tomcic, one Aco Mijajlovic...It was explained that these are Bemax apartments, which Bemax gives to friends, they use them when they are free, they return the key to the reception and that's it," said Piperović.
Vijesti reported in mid-last year that the SDT had blocked two luxury apartments worth millions in a building near the Old Town, which their investigators determined were owned by former Assistant Director of the Police Administration Zoran Lazović and businessman Aleksandar Aco Mijalović, one of the former, informal owners of the construction company "Bemax".
This is confirmed by real estate documents that "Vijesti" had access to.
Temporary measures were registered on apartments of 170 square meters, on the last 11th floor, as well as on a comfortable apartment of 120 square meters on the ninth floor, which were registered with the company "Bemax".
The Special State Prosecutor's Office, however, found that Lazović and Mijajlović are the off-book owners of those properties.
"Temporary security measure - prohibition of the disposal and use of real estate by order of the Special State Prosecutor's Office on the apartment of 170 square meters, property 'Bemax' 1/1 (off-book owner Aleksandar Mijajlović)", it says in the real estate sheet.
The paw of investigators led by Vladimir Novović was then placed on the Lazović apartment.
"Temporary security measure - prohibition of the disposal and use of real estate by order of the Special State Prosecutor's Office on the apartment of 120 square meters, property 'Bemax' 1/1 (off-book owner Lazović Zoran)", reads the list of real estate that "Vijesti" had access to.
The saga of the sale of Bemax
Some of the newspaper's interlocutors state that the prosecution could also deal with the case of the sale of the "Bemaks" company.
Ivan Ubović, son of Ranko Ubović, signed a purchase agreement on July 1, 2022, purchasing the company from Veselin Kovačević for 750 thousand euros.
According to official financial reports, at the end of 2021, the company "Bemax" had fixed assets worth 120 million euros, the company's total capital was estimated at 142 million euros, and the company also had net retained earnings from previous years in the amount of 141 million euros.
"Bemax" achieved a net profit of 14 million euros in 2021, and 27,5 million euros in 2020.
This means that Kovačević voluntarily sold his company for only 0,5 percent of its value, i.e. the total capital. The value for which the company was sold is only five percent of last year's net profit.
The contract states that Kovačević founded the company with an initial investment of only 12 thousand euros in January 2007, and that he subsequently paid an additional investment of 300 thousand euros and transferred non-cash funds of 437,8 thousand euros to it.
So his invested money and funds in the company were worth 749,8 thousand euros, that is, after 15 years of managing the company and the dizzying growth of its value, Kovačević earned only 200 euros from the sale price.
According to the Income Tax Act, the difference between the money invested in a company or part of it and the amount for which it was sold is a capital gain on which tax is calculated, which was then nine percent. The tax return for capital gains is filed in the year following the year in which it was realized.
"Vijesti" published a text about this transaction with details from the contract at the end of October 2022.
Amendments to the law
In early December 2022, the Parliament adopted amendments to the Personal Income Tax Law. According to the amendments adopted at that time, owners who sell a company or a share in a company will pay capital gains tax on the actual value, rather than the amount they stated in the contract. The adopted amendment, proposed by a group of deputies, gives the tax authorities the opportunity to retroactively check contracts concluded since January 1, 2018.
In June 2024, Deputy Prime Minister Momo Koprivica filed a criminal complaint against the owner of Bemax on suspicion of evading taxes and contributions, also alleging that the full amount of taxes based on the sale of the company in July 2022 had not been paid.
Koprivica stated in March this year that the Tax Administration had determined the actual tax liability on the sale of Bemaks to be 28,5 million euros. According to the law, the taxpayer is the seller, in this case Kovačević, unless otherwise agreed.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bemax, Veselin Kovačević, responded that falsehoods were spread about the alleged tax debt, and that the amendment to the law from December cannot apply to the contract from July of that year.
In April of this year, in his appeal against the tax ruling, Kovačević also stated that he was initiating court proceedings to terminate the purchase and sale contract because he was not aware at the time of signing that the Income Tax Act would be amended subsequently and would have retroactive application. He also argued that the administrative procedure for determining the tax liability should now be suspended until the Basic Court decides on his lawsuit to annul the contract. It is not known whether these court proceedings have been initiated.
Based on the report of an authorized expert, the Tax Administration determined a tax liability for Kovačević in the amount of 23,7 million euros because he sold the company, worth 158,2 million euros, to Ivan Ubović for 750 thousand euros in July 2022. The decision also determined the corresponding interest of 4,7 million euros from the date of the tax liability until the decision was issued on February 20 of this year.
In his appeal against the tax ruling, Kovačević also stated that he had initiated proceedings before the Constitutional Court, seeking the annulment of two articles of the Law relating to retroactivity.
Millions for elections, jeeps for the police?
Ubović's name is mentioned in several communications between members of the Kavač clan and police officers associated with them on the then-protected Sky application.
He was most often mentioned by the now-detained agent Petar Lazović, stating, among other things, that Tigar, as he was called, "spends a couple of million just for one election."
In another correspondence with accused drug lord Darko Šarić, the former member of the Sector for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption claimed that Ubović had bought them six jeeps.
"Brother, I can do this with the guys, I gave all the money I had to the guys, so that Z wouldn't know, so that they would follow me, I don't stop and he can't even stop me, he knows. I already gave everything, brother, Tigar is participating non-stop, he bought us 6 jeeps," the policeman wrote, explaining that the cars were 2017 models - "Toyota, X5, etc."...
"Whatever he asks for, he'll be speechless, but I won't ask anyone," the security guard adds.
The police did not answer Vijesti's questions at the time - where are the vehicles that Lazović claims they received as gifts...
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