Millions under scrutiny: SDT investigates whether the Municipality of Budva overpaid for the building of the former JRB

The Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) has formed a case and opened an investigation into the purchase of a dilapidated building of the former Yugoslav River Shipping Company (JRB) near the Old Town, which the Municipality of Budva traded for 7,1 million euros.

"The case you are interested in was formed based on a criminal complaint filed in June of this year. An investigation is underway to collect evidence, data and information necessary for making a decision," the special prosecutor, a spokesperson for the SDT, told "Vijesti". Vukas Radonjic.

The case was formed based on a criminal complaint filed by the leader of the "Movement for the City" and a councilor of that group of citizens in the Budva parliament. Đorđe Zenović, and as told to "Vijesti", the prosecutor is working on it Ana Perović Vojinović.

"Vijesti" previously reported that Zenović filed a criminal complaint with the SDT against the bankruptcy judge, the bankruptcy administrator and the board of creditors of the bankruptcy debtor "Vektra Montenegro", the appraiser of the market value of real estate, as well as other unidentified persons for the sale of the JRB building to the Municipality of Budva for 7,1 million euros. This, as he stated, caused direct damage to the city budget in the amount of several million.

The Budva Municipality purchased only the 815 square meter JRB building for 7,1 million euros, but not the 5.454 square meter land surrounding the building.

"There is a basis for suspicion that the criminal offense of abuse of official position was committed in conjunction with the criminal offense of forging an official document, the criminal offense of inducing the certification of false content, the criminal offense of negligent work in the service, the criminal offense of fraud in the service with elements of organization," it says in the criminal report, which "Vijesti" had access to.

In his explanation, Zenović states that in August 2025, the bankruptcy administration of "Vektra Montenegro" announced the sale of part of its property in Budva, including residential buildings, apartments and business premises, at a starting price of 6.902.789,20 euros.

“The Municipality of Budva participated in the procedure and submitted a written offer for the purchase of the real estate offered for sale, based on the Decision on granting authorization to the President of the Municipality, which was adopted at the session of the Budva Municipal Assembly held on August 25, 2025, offering the lowest, starting price. After that, and according to information that was available to us through media reports, the aforementioned advertisement is being canceled. In the further procedure for the sale of the property, the Bankruptcy Administration, namely the Board of Creditors of the Bankruptcy Debtor, accepted the request of the Municipality of Budva for the sale of the aforementioned property by direct negotiation. The Bankruptcy Administration sent an offer to the Municipality of Budva for the conclusion of a Contract for the purchase of real estate owned by the bankruptcy debtor 'Vektra Montenegro' by direct negotiation for the amount of 7.152.789,20 euros. The Municipality of Budva agrees with such an offer and the Budva Municipal Assembly, at its session held on December 31, 2025, adopts a new Decision on granting authorization to the President of the Municipality, which gives the consent to the President of the Municipality to "conclude a contract to purchase the subject real estate for the amount of 7.152.789,20 euros," Zenović stated.

He assessed that during the assessment of the value of JRB, there was a significant deviation from the rules and methodology for calculating market value, as well as other positive regulations, which created direct damage to the budget of the Municipality of Budva in the amount of several million.

"Namely, the area of ​​the buildings in question is 815 square meters. When the total square footage of the buildings is derived from the offered and realized purchase price of the specific property of 7.152.789,20 euros, the amount is 8.776,50 euros per square meter of the building. It is important to emphasize the key characteristics and condition of the building that was the subject of the sale, namely that it is a building that was built 90 years ago, and that it was, I assume, reconstructed after the earthquake in 1979, and that since then no additional reconstruction or other investments have been made on it. Just by looking at the site, it is easy to conclude that the building is in very poor condition, dilapidated and practically unusable. For several decades, no business or other activity has been carried out in it in accordance with its purpose," Zenović emphasized.

ZENOVIĆ CALCULATES THAT IT IS WORTH THREE TIMES LESS

As he added, no construction or expansion of capacities is allowed at the specific location, which additionally directly affects the market value of the specific facility. He stated that with the decision on the average market price per square meter of a construction facility for 2025, the Local Public Revenue Administration of the Municipality of Budva determined the average market price of construction facilities per square meter for 2024 (which will also be applied for tax calculation for 2025).

"The average market price in the amount of 2.212,80 euros for residential premises; 2.581,60 euros for commercial premises, residential-commercial premises and business premises; 1.290,80 euros for auxiliary facilities, non-residential premises, garages, garage spaces, basements and other facilities (roof terraces, attics, technical rooms); 1.475,20 euros for facilities under construction; 1.475,29 euros for immovable temporary facilities. The explanation states that in the procedure for determining the market price of real estate (construction facility) in accordance with Article 6, 6b of the Law on Real Estate Tax, which stipulates that the average market price per square meter of a construction facility is determined for a residential facility based on data on the average market price per square meter of a newly built residential facility in Montenegro, published by the Statistical Office of Montenegro, Monstat, for the year preceding the year for which the tax is determined, the Local Public Revenues Administration, on 26 March 2025, data submitted by the Statistics Directorate dated 31. 03. 2025, that the average price per square meter of residential space in new buildings for 2024 is 1.844 euros. By multiplying this price with corrective coefficients, and in accordance with the Law on Real Estate Tax and the Decision on Real Estate Tax, the average market price of a building per square meter was obtained, which is used to calculate real estate tax," said Zenović.

He believes that if the corrected market value according to the Decision on the average market price per square meter of a construction facility for 2025 were accepted, i.e. the highest price of 2.581,60 euros for a business facility, a residential-business facility and business premises, without any reduction due to the age of the facility and its non-functionality, multiplying it by the square footage of the property in question of 815 square meters would result in an amount of 2.104.004 euros.

MUNICIPALITY: EVERYTHING ACCORDING TO THE LAW

Immediately after the criminal report was filed, the office of the Mayor of Budva Municipality reacted. Nikola Jovanović, stating that the purchase of the former JRB building was carried out legally, noting that the information that a square meter of space was overpaid for is incorrect.

They point out that Zenović's statement that the value of a square meter of residential space in Budva is 2.400 euros has not corresponded to the actual situation on the real estate market for years, especially when it comes to a building that has significant historical, urban and symbolic value for Budva.

They pointed out that "the estimate that land in the very center of Budva is worth only 150 euros per square meter is even less well-founded."

"The current leadership of the Municipality of Budva advocates a completely different approach. Our priority is to stop the devastation of space, responsibly manage urban development and preserve the authentic identity of Budva. For us, the public interest is an inviolable principle, which is above any individual political interest, personal ambition or private vision of the commercialization of city space. It was guided by these principles that we made the decision to purchase the building of the former JRB, a facility that has been neglected and unused for decades in the very center of the city. Our intention is for this space to be used for a purpose that will serve all citizens of Budva and contribute to raising the urban, cultural and aesthetic standards of this part of the city," the response states.

The Municipality did not respond to "Vijesti" when they intend to begin the renovation of the JRB building and what its purpose will be.

Rađenović: DPS "percent syndrome" infected the current government

Vice President of GP URA and member of the Budva Parliament Blazo Radjenovic He repeatedly called on the SDT to get involved in the case.

"The JRB building was supposed to be returned to the ownership of the Municipality, and that was a key part of the GP URA Budva campaign in the last three election cycles. However, there are definitely those who, behind every good thing, good intention, and common good that needs to be implemented, see only their own opportunity for a percentage."

"That 'fi' is a syndrome and personification of DPS politics, and now it has apparently infected the executive branch of Budva. We all remember the many scandals that robbed the citizens of Budva and devastated the budget to the point that at one point the salaries of employees in local government and municipal enterprises were delayed for a year or more. From Avala, Zavala, desalination, WTE, the AS hotel, Trejdjunik, the promenade in Petrovac, the boulevard and many others, we have reached a situation where we rightly ask ourselves - how much longer? Hasn't there been enough theft? What has the institute of guilty pleas, this so-called settlement, brought us? The public must know the devastating financial anatomy of this business and the chronology of prices that clearly indicate suspicious actions."

According to him, the scandalous essence of this trade lies in the fact that the Municipality of Budva purchased only the dilapidated 815 square meter JRB building for more than seven million euros, while the huge 5.454 square meter land surrounding it remained trapped in a dispute.

"A square meter of a non-functional building was paid an incredible 8.776 euros, which is many times more than the real market estimate! So, for the amount of money for which almost all multi-million-dollar properties on the coast and north of the country could have been bought at the first auctions (Galeb, Dubrava, Rose, Kolašin), the Municipality of Budva today bought only one single building without a resolved status of the surrounding land! They agreed to pay a private individual what is municipal and state, ignoring the legal battle and appeals of the protector of the property and legal interests of the state, Bojana Ćirović."