RAnko Ubović, accused of laundering money from the head of the Kavač clan Radoja Zvicer, claims that he has not received a salary or any income for almost three decades, but he did not want to explain to the special prosecutors what he does for a living.
During the questioning, he said that he was not the owner of the "Bemaks" company, but also that he did not know where his son, a recent graduate, got the money to buy that construction company, explaining that he did not even ask him about it after the business transaction with his friend. Veselin Kovačević.
One of the largest private companies in Montenegro changed hands in July 2022, when Ivan Ubović bought a 100% share from Veselin Kovačević for 750.000 euros, who until then was listed as the official owner in the central register.
Prosecutors, however, call Ranko Ubović the hidden owner of the construction company.
This is stated in the documents on the investigation against Ubović, his long-time business partner. Aleksandar Mijajlović, former assistant director of the Police Administration Zoran Lazović, owner of the company "Master inženjering" Vladan Ivanovic and the President of the Board of Directors of "Bemaks" Veselin Kovačević...
He told prosecutors that he had been in construction since 1975, but that he had not received a salary since 1996.
"He also states that through working in construction since 1975, first in his father's company, he has gained a lot of experience, and that he likes that job, so today he has more motivation to do it for his son, and that since 1996 he has never received a salary or any financial compensation for his work in construction, and today he finds personal satisfaction in his son doing those jobs," the prosecutors quote his statement given in the defense.
Ubović did not explain to the special prosecutors at what price his son bought the construction company from Kovačević.
"Responding to the questions asked, he states that he does not understand why it matters at what price his son bought the company 'Bemax', that it is his right to agree, while when asked to explain the source of the funds for which his son bought this company, he states that he does not want to get involved in that and that the prosecution will have to ask him"...
He also told the prosecutors that he suggested to his son, who had returned from studying abroad, to buy the "Bemax" company from Kovačević, because the latter was "in poor health" and did not want to engage in construction on the scale he had been doing until then...
"He didn't ask where his son, who had just graduated from college, had the money to buy the Bemax company, but rather that it was his business, and that he had decided to keep it handy," the special prosecutors interpreted Ubović's defense.
The Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT), however, during the money laundering investigation, obtained clear witness statements based on which it concludes that Ubović is the informal owner of the construction company "Bemax".
"That the defendant Ranko Ubović is the informal owner of the defendant legal entity 'Bemax' doo from Podgorica, arises from the defendant's defense Vladan Ivanovic which he gave on 10. 10. 2025 when he stated 'as for the Master Kvart project, the only partner I had was the company 'Bemax'. It was a large project that I could not finance myself, so I agreed with Ranko Ubović that 'Bemax' would be involved. After the agreement with Ranko Ubović, I agreed on the technical details with the owner and executive director of 'Bemax', Vesko Kovačević'. Also, from the content of the show 'Načisto', broadcast on Vijesti television on 25. 11. 2021, in which the accused Veselin Kovačević was a guest, it follows that he said, among other things: 'In 2007, Ranko Ubović persuaded me to open a company. I have been friends and godfather with him for over 40 years. "He is also, alongside me, the informal owner of the 'Bemax' company and does not interfere in the work in the professional, technical or any other part," the special prosecutors state in the case files.
The claim that Ubović is the informal owner of "Bemax" is also based on a statement by the former mayor of Podgorica, Ivan Vuković, who, together with the defendant's daughter, presented to the public a plan to build an elementary school in Tološi, as a donation from the Ubović family and the legal entity "Bemax".
"No member of the Ubović family is a signatory to the donation contract, and considering that they present themselves as donors to the school that bears the name of a member of their family - the mother of the defendant Ranko Ubović, this is further evidence that the defendant Ranko Ubović is the hidden owner of the legal entity 'Bemax'...
Prosecutors explain that Ranko Ubović's son bought the company "Bemax" for just over 700.000 euros, and that the value of the company was later estimated by the Tax Administration at around 28.000.000 euros:
"It can be clearly concluded that this is obviously only a formal transfer of ownership to the actual owner, who was a hidden owner until that moment, because there is no other way to justify the fact that a legal entity worth 28 million euros is being sold for just over 700.000 euros, or 40 times less, and the allegations of the accused Veselin Kovačević that he was not interested in that actual value are both illogical and economically unacceptable. Therefore, it is clear that the accused Ranko Ubović makes all the decisions, or rather agrees on the terms and method of sale and payment of the real estate in question to the accused Radoje Zvicer, which all indicates that he is the informal and actual owner of the accused legal entity 'Bemax', because that is how he acts," the prosecution's files state.
He claimed he didn't know Zvicer and his wife.
Ubović also claimed that he did not know Zvicer or his wife Tamara Zvicer, whom he called Tatjana Zvicer, saying that he had never seen her in his life or communicated with her.
Prosecutors, however, claim that it was she who furnished five apartments in Podgorica's Master Quarter, which, according to their allegations, were paid for with money obtained from crime.
"He alleges that Vlado Ivanović, Aco Mijajlović and Zoran Lazović never mentioned any apartments to him, nor any trade in apartments, and he emphasizes that he had no contact with money, either cash or money in the account," prosecutors quote his defense.
Apartments in the Master Quarter were initially offered to the head of the Kavač clan, according to correspondence from the once protected Sky application, by suspended police officer Petar Lazović, son of former assistant director of the Police Administration Zoran Lazović.
Sold the company for only 0,5 percent of its value
Ivan Ubović bought a 100% stake in the company Bemaks from Veselin Kovačević for 750 thousand euros, who until then had been listed as the official owner in the central register.
This was stated in the share transfer agreement that "Vijesti" previously received from the Revenue and Customs Administration based on a request for free access to information.
The company "Bemax", according to official financial reports, at the end of 2021 - the year before the sale, had fixed assets worth 120 million euros, the company's total capital was estimated at 142 million euros, and the company also had net undistributed profit from previous years in the amount of 141 million euros.
"Bemax" achieved a net profit of 14 million euros that year, 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.
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