Behind the words “loan”, “help” and “quick money” lies a pattern of systemic violence that has been destroying families in Montenegro for years. Citizens’ testimonies testify to suicides, threats to children, physical violence, confiscation of property, flight from the country and complete collapse of life. Loan sharks are no exception, they are an open secret, often protected by the fear of the victims and social hypocrisy.
The research by "Vijesti" shows that there is almost no settlement or family in Montenegro that does not know of at least one case of borrowing from loan sharks. It also shows that most people know who the loan sharks in the neighborhood are, how they have become enormously rich over the years, who the "strong" guys are who collect debts for them...
However, few people talk about it publicly, and the consequences of lending money at interest are rarely discussed publicly. Meanwhile, the power of moneylenders grows, aided by fear, silence, and citizens' distrust of the institutions of the system. Although the names and methods of operation are informally discussed in every city, cases rarely reach a court conclusion.
Feelings of shame, guilt, and the belief that reporting would only make the situation worse further reinforced silence, which for many was not a choice, but the only way to avoid threats, violence, and serious consequences for their lives.
Some respondents stated that they took money out of necessity, at times when institutional help was unavailable or too slow. However, the research also shows that a significant number of people went into debt to maintain a lifestyle beyond their realistic means, or to repay gambling losses, decisions that the interviewees today, in their conversation with the journalist, recognize as serious personal mistakes.
Several people interviewed by "Vijesti" emphasize that security services have operational knowledge about actors involved in loan sharking in almost all environments, but that the key problem is the lack of testimony.
"Victims, burdened by fear of reprisals against themselves and their family members, most often refuse to cooperate with institutions, thus closing the circle of impunity and further deepening the feeling of legal insecurity," said one of the sources from the security sector.
Official security reports indicate that loan sharking is an integral part of a broader criminal ecosystem linked to the activities of organized crime groups.
According to public data from the Serious and Organized Crime Threat Assessment (SOCTA), illegally acquired money, predominantly through drug smuggling and distribution, is systematically placed in legal channels precisely through usury, as one of the key mechanisms for money laundering and further increase in criminal capital.
"Vijesti" sources explain that the security sector, as the most drastic organizers and actors of usury, has registered all organized crime groups, which have been "fertilizing" their dirty money through usury for years...
They claim that they are assisted in this by certain lawyers and notaries, who, by drawing up contracts that debtors are forced to sign, help usurers seize property from their debtors...
This is confirmed by several of Vijesti's interlocutors, who were forced to give everything they had to loan sharks, even though they had previously given every penny for years...
When asked how it protects citizens from usurious loan agreements, the Notary Chamber of Montenegro has practically no answer. Official responses show that it does not keep any records of loan agreements, does not have data on the amount of interest, collateral, or any reports of suspicious cases to the competent authorities. The responsibility is completely shifted to individual notaries, while the role of the Notary Chamber is reduced to organizing training and referring to legal regulations, without mechanisms for control, monitoring or preventive protection of citizens from possible usuriousness.
"Many usurers sign a loan agreement with interest with a notary. The state legalized it," was one of the responses in a "Vijesti" survey, which was completed by 691 citizens.
106 of them from Nikšić wrote down the exact names of the loan sharks, but also described how they had defrauded hundreds of people and stolen property worth millions.
Family business
Speaking about one of the loan sharks from the town near Trebjes, whose nickname was "Black Box", the interviewee expressed doubt that this now deceased Nikšić resident had protection in the local court.
"He made half of Nikšić miserable... He is no longer alive, but he has heirs - sons... They do the same thing. He was in our court every day, as if he worked there, and everyone knew very well what he did. That is why I believe he had protection, or that he worked with someone who could protect him."
"Vijesti" has received confirmation from several sources in the security sector about the family "business" of the now deceased Nikšić resident.
In Nikšić alone, according to operational data from security forces, there are around 120 people who lend money at interest. Among them are members of Nikšić cells of all Montenegrin clans, members of the former criminal group Kvartasi, a former member of the 7th Battalion of the Yugoslav Army...
"The people who run the moneylending business in the Nikšić area have been brothers for years. Baćović - Radomir called Boban, Rajko i Rade, then Ranko Radulović and his organized crime group, the brothers Vilotijević, brothers Banicevic, brothers Hives, brothers Banicevic, Radovan Mujović, Radan Scepanovic, škaljarac Andrija Marković, brothers Višnjić, brothers Bojović, brothers Nikcevic, brothers Vojicic, brothers Bojović, brothers Kovacevic, brothers N., A. i S. Perovic, Zoran Žuti Đukanović, from Kavčan Zdravko Perunović, brothers Ballerina, brothers Žižić, brothers Vojinovic, Petar i Mirko Cicmil from Pluzine, Petar Ilic...”, operational data from security services show.
Some of them, in addition to members of their organized crime groups, hire thugs from the town near Trebjes "for physical attacks in order to collect debts," explain "Vijesti"'s interlocutors from the security sector.
Security officers also registered how and for how much money the former Nikšić police officer lost his hotel in Danilovgrad.
Most of the names of Nikšić's loan sharks, registered by the services, are repeated in almost every response from "Vijesti" respondents from the town near Trebjes.
He left his hometown because of interest.
A middle-aged man from Nikšić, who left his hometown after years of serious problems with loan sharks, tells "Vijesti" about the beginning of a hell that has lasted for more than two decades.
He left Montenegro in 2013. Since then, he has been living in a Scandinavian country, under a changed identity and with institutional protection.
He says he had a private company, successful and profitable, which local powerful people targeted back in 2007.
"I didn't want to sell it. I wanted my children to be in charge of it. They pressed hard, because they wanted to kidnap it. I went to meetings in Podgorica, Nikšić... and every time I refused the offer. After that, the pressure started - intrigues, interceptions, attempts to kill me in traffic, to push the car I was in out of the way. And then institutional pressure started, attempts to stifle the company," he says.
At that moment, he says, he was forced to look for money to survive and save the company.
"The only option was the greengrocers."
He borrowed 100.000 euros. He quickly realized that they were not secondary actors either, but part of the same game of taking over the company.
"I returned 350.000 euros. That's when the open pressure began. One of the people who gave me the money, known in Nikšić as a big thug, exhausted me for months. When it became unbearable, I went to his yard and said: 'I'm here. You know how much you gave me and how much I gave you back. I also know how much more you want. Don't let you or your dogs accidentally intercept my children. Then it won't end well'. And they didn't - they didn't touch my children. Of course, they suffered, they survived the stress because of everything the local powerful people and loan sharks did to me," he testified.
The turning point, he says, occurred when the loan shark, instead of money, asked to enter the company's ownership structure, while he was lying in the hospital.
"I didn't agree. Not even then. Then the interest started - first eight, then ten, then twenty percent. He justified it by saying that we were sharing the profits, because he supposedly saved the company. I gave the car, sold the apartment, paid off as much as I could. At one point I realized that enough had been given."
After that, threats followed.
"The messages were conveyed to me indirectly. I realized that it was intentional, first the police told me that I was threatened, and then they arrested me because I had armed myself. I had to leave Montenegro in 2013. I left because I realized that it was smarter to leave than to do something stupid that would make my children and the entire family suffer for the rest of their lives," he said.
He also talks about other cases - people who borrowed money to treat a family member, and then, due to interest on interest, were left without everything.
"They sold houses, plots of land, everything they had created their entire lives. And the blackmail never stopped - they pressured them, their children, and their grandchildren. These are the tragedies of ordinary people."
He adds that those who got rich off of others' misfortune are still powerful today.
"They're still doing the same thing. They have half of Nikšić."
The interlocutor of "Vijesti" claims that the scale of usury in Montenegro is unprecedented.
"There is nothing like this anywhere in the world on this scale. The state must put an end to it. I am no longer there, but there are people who still live in fear today."
He pointed out that, despite everything he has survived and the fact that he now lives under a different identity, he believes it is his obligation to speak out so that, at least one day, all those who participated in destroying the lives of others will be held accountable.
What does the law say?
Whoever lends money or other consumable items and thereby contracts a disproportionate material benefit shall be punished by imprisonment for up to three years and a fine, reads the description of the criminal offense of "usury" in the Criminal Code (CC) of Montenegro.
If the usurer "takes advantage of the poor financial situation, difficult circumstances, necessity, frivolity or insufficient ability to reason of the injured party", he will be punished with imprisonment from three months to three years and a fine.
The Criminal Code stipulates that a loan shark can be punished with imprisonment from six months to five years and a fine if serious consequences have occurred for the injured party or the perpetrator has obtained material gain in an amount exceeding three thousand euros.
They don't keep records, but they go to trainings.
And while several of Vijesti's interlocutors, those who have been trying for years to break free from the shackles of usury and the noose that is tightened around them every day, claim that some notaries are part of a usurious network, the Notary Chamber practically has no answer to the question of how they protect citizens from usurious loan agreements.
Their official responses to "Vijesti" show that they do not keep any records of loan agreements, do not have data on the amount of interest, collateral, or any reports of suspicious cases to the competent authorities. The responsibility is completely shifted to individual notaries, while the role of the Chamber is reduced to organizing training and referring to legal regulations, without mechanisms for control, monitoring, or preventive protection of citizens from possible usury.
"The Chamber of Notaries does not have the authority to keep records of notarial acts (contracts, powers of attorney, statements, etc.) drawn up by notaries, including loan agreements. According to the Law on Notaries, each notary is independent in his work and responsible for the actions taken when drawing up notarial acts, as well as drawing up loan agreements. Also, each notary individually keeps records of notarial acts he draws up and is not obliged to submit data on this to the Chamber of Notaries," they replied to "Vijesti" when asked if they keep records of loan agreements that are certified by notaries, including data on the amount of interest and means of security (mortgages, pledges, sureties).
It explains that notaries are obliged to apply the Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism when they draw up notarial acts and certify documents related to prescribed transactions, as well as in loan agreements.
"A notary is obliged to provide the Financial Intelligence Unit with accurate and complete data for each transaction based on a loan agreement with a value of 10.000 euros or more, without delay, and no later than three days from the date of conclusion of that legal transaction. Therefore, each notary is individually responsible for the accurate and timely submission of this data to the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Police Directorate."
"Vijesti" asked them whether notaries have had a legal or professional obligation in the last five years to report to the competent authorities loan contracts suspected of containing disproportionately high interest or elements of usury, and whether the Notary Chamber, during that period, recorded cases in which notaries reported suspicious loan contracts to the prosecutor's office or other authorities, and if so - how many such reports there were.
"As already answered, the Notary Chamber does not keep records of loan agreements, and therefore is not aware of any reports regarding suspicious loan agreements."
When asked whether, according to their knowledge, there are frequent cases in notary practice where real estate, vehicles or other assets of significantly greater value than the loan amount are provided as collateral for a loan, they said that they do not have information about this:
"The Chamber of Notaries does not have information on the above. Pursuant to the provisions of Article 131, paragraph 1, item 8 of the MLFA, the Ministry of Justice has been designated as the competent supervisory authority that monitors and supervises the implementation of the provisions of the MLFA by notaries as obligated persons who fall under its jurisdiction."
The Chamber of Notaries does not monitor suspicious loans
When asked whether they have internal analyses or recommendations to notaries regarding the identification of elements of possible usury when certifying loan agreements, the Notary Chamber stated that they do not conduct such analyses.
They emphasize, however, that notaries are obliged to act in accordance with the law and the Guidelines for the Analysis of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Risks for Notaries, issued by the Ministry of Justice, which prescribe the taking of identification measures, risk assessment and increased vigilance in cases of suspicious transactions.
"The Chamber of Notaries does not conduct internal analyses of the actions of notaries when drafting notarial acts, specifically loan agreements. It is important to emphasize here that notaries must act in accordance with the law and the Guidelines for Risk Analysis of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing by Notaries adopted by the Ministry of Justice. The Guidelines stipulate that notaries are obliged to take identification and risk assessment measures, as well as increased vigilance measures when there are suspicions or indications that a transaction may be related to money laundering or terrorist financing. The Chamber of Notaries, in cooperation with the Police Directorate (FIU), organizes training for notaries and professional associates so that they can become more familiar with the regulations in the field of preventing money laundering and act correctly in accordance with them," the Chamber of Notaries said.
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When asked whether loan agreements that are later processed as usury are standardized forms or individually drafted documents, the Chamber responded that they had no knowledge of this.
"The Notary Chamber has no knowledge of whether there are standardized forms for drawing up loan agreements (not only those processed as usury)."
In tomorrow's issue, read how a family from the central part of Montenegro got out of interest-only debts by overlapping them with bank loans, how much property was sold, how the apartment they live in was saved, and what the Ministry of Justice says about the problem of usury...
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