According to operational data, the core of the Kavača criminal clan is gathering in a Podgorica hotel - alleged high-ranking officials, logistics and money, all flowing into the same facility, while task performers are taking turns between that base and the field...
The same allegations indicate that a narrow circle of operatives and a wider circle of associates from different cities gather in this environment, and that one of the bosses supplies them with enormous financial resources, armored vehicles, weapons, encrypted phones...
Lending, according to interlocutors from the intelligence sector, is their constant, thanks to which many of them have acquired enormous wealth.
"A large number of Kavčani are intensively gathering in that hotel, together with associates from other cities, and all of them have in common the fact that they are under the strong influence of the owner of that hotel, who supplies the Kavčani with enormous financial resources, armored vehicles, weapons, encrypted phones and other means suitable for committing criminal acts. New criminal acts are constantly organized and planned in the hotel - from the most serious crimes, to drug smuggling, usury, debt collection, extortion, racketeering, money laundering, etc. This hotel represents one of the key bases of Kavčani in Montenegro," the intelligence documents state.
One of the clan's bases in Nikšić is said to be a luxury complex in the town near Trebjes, built with money earned primarily from cocaine procurement and distribution, as well as from loan sharking.
"Where members of the Kavačka OKG mainly gather."
It was also specified that there are no results in the fight against loan sharks due to several main problems - in the prosecution of usurious groups.
"The main problems in prosecuting usury groups in Montenegro are the victim's fear, the lack of material evidence, because the money is given to them without a receipt. The only evidence is often the victim's testimony, and often the withdrawal of the statement. It often happens that the victim reports usury, but under pressure or threats at the trial itself, changes his statement and says that he was actually only given a favor and that it was an interest-free loan. Then the case falls apart," the documents state.
Research by "Vijesti" shows that debt bondage does not only happen to the "irresponsible". Anyone can fall into it - both the calm and the hardworking, both the hardworking and the responsible, both the strong and the weak. The loan sharks are just waiting for a moment of weakness.
This is confirmed by the survey results - some citizens took on debt out of necessity, when institutional assistance was unavailable or too slow, while a significant number went into debt to maintain a lifestyle beyond their realistic means or to cover gambling losses, decisions that today, in a conversation with a journalist, they recognize as serious personal mistakes.
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.
The people of Kavčani have been greengrocers for a long time.
Security sector operatives, according to unofficial information from "Vijesti", note that certain members of the Kavač clan and people close to them have been involved in money laundering for more than two decades. Some of them have been prosecuted, some have not, but all of them have illegally acquired property worth millions.
The same sources also precisely state that, since when have they been on the run? Radoje Switzerland i Ljubo Milović, Slobodan Kascelan behind the Spisian walls, A. Jabučanin He leads the way in that clan when it comes to usury.
The interlocutors state that, in terms of loan sharking, Kašćelan has long been one of the most exposed individuals on the Montenegrin territory and beyond. They specify that this Kotor resident was particularly dominant at a time when the current Kavača Organized Crime Group (OKG) was a single entity with the Škaljari organized crime group, but also why Jabučanin succeeded him.
“In several police operations, such as the ‘Kavač’ operation, investigators seized hundreds of loan agreements, as well as documentation on real estate that had passed into the hands of members of that clan, in the name of debts. Within the ‘Kavač’ OKG, the area of usury was dominated for decades by one of its long-time leaders - Slobodan Kašćelan from Kotor... From these transactions, Kašćelan acquired enormous material and financial wealth, the value of which is estimated at several tens of millions of euros, ownership of a large number of residential buildings and valuable land plots in the areas of Kotor, Budva, Cetinje and other cities, then over residential units in the areas of Belgrade and Novi Sad, millions of dollars in cash that are further fertilised, expensive vehicles, etc.... In addition to Kašćelan, the usury activities were also organized by other leaders of the ‘Kavač’ criminal group - Radoje Zvicer and Ljubo Milović, through their associates from Kotor and beyond. As Slobodan Kašćelan has been in the Supca prison for a long time, and Zvicer and Milović have been in "Fleeing, the primacy within the Kavača organized crime group, when it comes to usury, is held by a high-ranking member of this OKG for a long time - A. Jabučanin, who has been involved in usury for a long time, in addition to other criminal offenses," intelligence data shows.
The same documents also show that Jabučanin's right-hand man in the moneylending business is a Podgorica resident. J. Kerović, who has "special treatment", and that his associate is a person of interest from a security perspective J. Haverić.
"Kerović's associates are also involved in the usury activities - E. Smajovic, D. Alković, A. Dobkovic and others. An important executor of the Jabučaninović order for usury business was D. Abdić", the newspaper's sources explain.
The security sector also has the latest information on which of the relatives and trusted friends the property seized due to usurious debts was registered to, but also that an apartment in Cetinje, which fell into the hands of the clan in this way, was given for use by a fugitive from Cetinje. Nikola Drecun.
"High-ranking Podgorica 'Kavčani' are also very active in moneylender business." D. Popovic, his brother O. Popović, as well as a person from Podgorica M. Misurovic who was of special trust to the fugitive Milović, but also an associate of the Popović brothers - N. Popović, S. Kocalo, L. Radonjic and others. In Nikšić, brothers were recognized in these illegal activities, within the framework of the Kavača OKG P. i M. Baletic ", added the Vijesti interlocutors.
According to their information and the latest data, the Cetinje Kavčani involvement in lending money at interest and collecting debts is - P. Kaludjerovic, P. Lopičić and his associate M. Bošković, Z. Lipovina, I. Latkovic i A. Latkovic.
The security sector also registered that Lipovin was one of the debtors. D. Kaludjerovic, who was also a loan shark, paid off his debt after the robbery he allegedly committed.
They also explain that this former loan shark got into a debt problem because of gambling.
The security sector is also scrutinizing the Podgorica cell of the Kavač clan - "Zagorička", which they claim has extorted money from entrepreneurs in recent years, so that they "get into financial trouble"...
"Members of this organized crime group at the beginning of the war of the once unified Kotor clan opted for one side or the other - the Škaljari or the Kavčani, but all the time, usury was a constant in the criminal activities of this OKG. The Stanišić brothers have sided with the Kavčani OKG in the last few years. Within the Zagorič organized crime group, one in particular stood out as one of the leaders of its multiple criminal activities. Vidoje Stanišić", who plays a very important role in the functioning of the Kavača OKG and is known as the informal leader of the Podgorica branch of that clan," data from the security sector show.
They also state who the soldiers of the Zagorje criminal group are who, as they claim, are involved in loan sharking:
"Stanišić's close associates are active in the loan sharking business, as well as in other criminal acts - D. Bulatovic, D. Milickovic, D. Pejović, M. Lakušić, S. Popović, F. Popović, D. Scekic, N. Marković, No. Marković, J. Mihailović, N. Milačić, J. Vučinić...
Gambling is the main cause of the problem
One of the interviewees admitted to Vijesti that he got into trouble with loan sharks, who, as he explains, have been "massacring" him for almost a decade and a half, solely because of gambling.
"Most of us get into debt because of gambling and stupidity, and a smaller part because of real needs and problems, such as medical treatment or business. At least that's the situation with the people I know, and there are dozens of them. We are all in debt to almost the same loan sharks, we all try to get out in the same ways. Some of us have even tried to cure our gambling addiction, but at this point it seems impossible to me, because I'm going around in circles and I know it's not their fault, but it seems to me that if I didn't owe money to loan sharks, I wouldn't be gambling," he says.
And while he explains how, with the help of his family and friends, he is trying to solve the problems he created himself, he admits that his gambling cost them almost a million and a half euros.
"The first money I borrowed 15 years ago, if not more, was for gambling. Since then, I've gone into debt of around 100.000 euros, and my family and I have paid back around a million and a half euros. My father sold the estate, the house on the coast, the cars, we sold everything except the house we live in, and on top of that, I and everyone in the family took out loans. Some of my friends also took out loans for me. I tried to stop everything, to last half a year, a year, two at most, but it's impossible. Just when I think I've recovered, a new problem appears - I miss an installment, which is, say, 3.300, and then I say now I'll play with 1.000 euros to get out of it. When I win, I think I'm a king, so I go into debt again to play another one, and another one, and then I go around in circles forever," he explains.
He adds that some debtors, in order to save themselves, literally become the extended arms of moneylenders.
"They teach them all the combinations and send them to us who owe them money as 'benefactors'. Then some debtor appears, who saves himself by drawing others in, by teaching us which microcredit institution to go to, how and whom to bribe to give us a new loan, plus he takes a commission. If the Special Police Department were to raid this MFI tomorrow where they teach us when, where and how to open a giro account, and they deposit money into us literally 15 minutes after we give them their percentage, they would arrest everyone. They manage to deposit it into us, and we withdraw the money before the Central Bank of Montenegro registers that we have opened a new account. Of course, this is another model by which hyenas keep us trapped in interest-bearing debt, because their monthly interest rate is higher than 25 percent," he claims, explaining to the journalist which MFI it is and which bank they open accounts in.
He also states that he is aware that this is not legal either, because no one checks the guarantors or whether someone is creditworthy.
"The only thing that matters is that he is alive and that his ID card is valid, and that he bribes you with 10 percent of the loan. So, if you withdraw 10.000 euros, give them 1.000 euros, they pay you a loan in an hour or two, which you literally wait in front of the bank. As soon as the money arrives, you withdraw it to that new account, then you pay a 'commission' to the person who recommended you, and if someone took out a loan for you, you give the rest to the loan shark. After that, you owe them too - legal loan sharks and usurers and everyone else," he explains how the vicious circle of debt bondage works.
"I repeat, most of us are in this problem because of gambling. No one I know has borrowed money from a loan shark to build a monument to their parents, who we are already burying in debt. But the problem is that once you take the money, they don't let you get out. That's the only truth. They do it by calculating interest on interest, pressure, threats. Let me explain, if you owe a loan shark 3.000 euros and you pay him 300 euros a month, if you don't have it on the day you are supposed to pay him, he says okay, now you owe me 5.000 euros, because I should have earned that much from those 300 euros today. That's what B. Rašović from Zeta does, he's the most brutal. He locks people in the trunk, drives them, beats them, kidnaps them... A. Vujović and P. Kujović from Podgorica do the same. No one can deal with that. It would have been enough if the police had gone to check where they got their money from before your feuilleton." "20 cars in parking lots, they would arrest them all. But I'm afraid they don't know how to do it, or they're not allowed to, because I also know police inspectors who owe them money at interest," the source told Vijesti.
He also explains how loan sharks force debtors to rent vehicles from rent-a-car agencies, then take them as collateral.
"Then one day they just tell you - bring the money or I'll cut this up and sell it in pieces, and let them report you for theft. Then a new problem arises and a new debt with a new loan shark. What they do to us, no matter why we borrowed, is simply a massacre. They simply call you and tell you - now you pay a daily penalty of 1.000 euros for the day you're late. They do this regardless of the amount of the principal. Sometimes I think they all work together with those who give us loans and those who let us rent cars, with notaries. For a debt of 2.000 euros, they took the guy's Golf for a week. He brought them the money, and they told him that it was no longer valid for him," he says.
Reactions
Cetinje resident Taso Jovanović announced that all allegations linking him to the criminal milieu and usury are untrue and devoid of any factual basis.
He wrote this in response to the article "The Murders of Bosses Didn't Stop Usury: Usury in Montenegro (15)", which stated that T. Jovanović was involved in usury in Cetinje.
"All allegations linking me to working in the criminal milieu and usury are absolute lies, devoid of any factual basis or official data. Therefore, they cause incalculable damage to the reputation of my family, which I am obliged to protect," he wrote in response.
Milan Šaranović also reacted to the same text.
"Regarding the information that appeared in your article, I would like to hereby deny and responsibly claim that I have nothing to do with loan sharking or any criminal activities. I am ready to confirm my claims with a polygraph," his response reads.
Cetinje resident Stefan Kovač also rejected allegations that he is a loan shark and a member of any clan.
He also reacted to the same text, which included the initial S next to the surname Kovač.
"I categorically deny the claims that I have ever engaged in loan sharking, as well as the allegations that I carried out such activities while in prison or through other persons. I emphasize that there is no evidence for such claims, nor have I ever been involved in any illegal activities of that kind. I also completely reject the allegations that link me to any organized criminal group. It is not clear to me on the basis of what information and sources such untruths were made public, especially considering the seriousness of the accusations that could have far-reaching and dangerous consequences for my safety, family and social reputation. By publishing unverified and unfounded claims, without providing evidence or the opportunity to express my position before publishing the text, the basic principles of professional and ethical journalism have been violated, including the obligation to accurately, objectively and responsibly inform the public, as prescribed by the Journalist Code," his response reads.
Cetinje resident Niko A. Đukanović said that he was not N. Đukanović mentioned in the same text.
"Regarding the text published in your newsletter on 11. 02. 2026. under the title 'The murders of bosses did not stop the interest', a member of a criminal group and a person engaged in usury N. Đukanović appears. In order not to mislead the public, I declare that I, Niko A. Đukanović, apart from my name, have no connection with the aforementioned person, nor do I belong to any organized criminal group, let alone engage in usury. Therefore, I ask you to publish a denial so as not to mislead the public and to clear the untruth from my name and my family," wrote Niko A. Đukanović.
Their fellow citizen Milan Vušurović also reacted to the same text, which also mentions M. Vušurović.
"I completely deny the allegations that I have ever been involved in loan sharking in my life, as indicated to me in the aforementioned text. I would like to place special emphasis on the allegations that I am a 'member of the Skaljar criminal clan', and to emphasize that I have never belonged to any organization in my life, least of all criminal organizations, and I do not belong to the Skaljar clan. I believe that these allegations that you have stated in your damaging text are the product and fruit of the malicious actions of the police, which, through continuous harmful actions, are targeting both me and all its citizens, who should be protected by their preventive actions, and by no means spread lies and deception. Such actions by the police authorities have led to the collapse of the security system of Montenegro, as a result of which we have innocent citizens as victims. The current way the police work is literally following the template of the previous police force, which terrorized citizens for 20 years, which I can freely say in my case, and that This way of working literally targets me first and foremost, in the same way as previous police officials did. For these reasons, I was forced to seek the livelihood of my family members outside the borders of Montenegro, and I am currently already
"I have been in the USA for over a year, working jobs to provide normal living conditions for my family, which evidence is very easily available to the police authorities. Such allegations contained in the text in question cause immeasurable damage to me and my family, and my advertising goes in the direction of telling the real truth to the citizens of Montenegro, that this type of half-information can harm anyone in the future, today it is me, and tomorrow it could be any of you," wrote Milan Vušurović.
Podgorica resident Minja Mihailović reacted to the same text, which mentions the initial M next to his surname.
"I emphasize that in my 45 years of life, I have never been a member of any criminal group. With these false allegations, Vijesti journalist Jelena Jovanović is endangering the lives of my family and my life," reads the email sent by Mihailović.
Luka Špadijer from Cetinje also reacted to the article "The murders of bosses did not stop the interest rate." The reaction was sent on his behalf by lawyer Marko Ivanović.
"It is disputed that my client's full surname and initials are falsely listed as one of the Cetinje loan sharks (or persons close to them) who are involved in loan sharking, or as one of the persons who are active in loan sharking. Understanding and supporting the need for your media and journalist to deal with this serious social problem, I would like to point out that people like Luka Špadijer, who has nothing to do with the loan shark clan or loan sharking, cannot be called out in such an arbitrary and unprofessional manner, without evidence. Your journalist obviously did this based on unverified information, hearsay information and possibly based on untrue operational data from the police (probably from certain criminals from the police, who cooperate with the clans and who, for reasons known to them, provide such information). This behavior by your journalist is contrary to the Media Law and the Journalists' Code of Montenegro. Cetinje is a small town, with a total of about 4000 inhabitants, where everyone knows each other, and of which, according to unofficial information, "There are a fair number of mostly young people in both clans, so it is quite certain that my client from the city knows a few from both clans and nothing more than that. He responsibly claims that he has never been involved in loan sharking and is ready to take a polygraph test on this circumstance. He has been in private business with his father-in-law for years, of course, completely legal, and can easily prove the origin of every cent he has ever earned in his life, or the origin of his property," he wrote in the response forwarded by Ivanovic.
In tomorrow's Vijesti, read what the Central Bank of Montenegro says about the upper limit of monthly interest, what options they have when they determine that someone is acting contrary to the regulations governing consumer lending and consumer protection, as well as which Serbian citizens, close to the local authorities, are mentioned in intelligence data as loan sharks in Montenegro...
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