Yesterday, a dispute was started before the Commercial Court in which the company "Univerzal Monte" demands that the state pay it 4,84 million euros based on the mutual termination of the contract on the construction, operation and transfer (BOT arrangement) of the Meljine - Petijevići road.
This company, behind which stands a Serbian businessman Vuk Hamovic, built the Meljine - Petijevići road in 2008 under an arrangement based on which it was supposed to use it for 20 years and return it to the ownership of the Municipality of Herceg Novi, but this contract was terminated on May 7, 2021 during the Prime Minister's Government Zdravka Krivokapića.
The termination of the contract, which canceled the toll on that section, was signed on behalf of the state by the then Minister of Finance and Social Welfare Sweetie Spajic, and on behalf of the Municipality of Herceg Novi, the president of that local administration Stevan Katic.
The lawsuit states that the Ministry of Finance undertook to pay the company "Univerzal Monte" four million by January 31, 2022 at the latest, while the company's obligations were to complete the started rehabilitation of the road of about 6,8 kilometers on Kotobilje at its own expense. , as well as to hand over the available documentation for the trip.
It is further added that "Universal Monte" fulfilled its obligations, which was stated in the minutes, while the state did not do so in addition to two written warnings until the filing of the lawsuit.
The lawsuit demands the payment of four million and 840 thousand in the name of the main claim in the name of VAT of 21 percent, as well as the payment of default interest from February 1, 2022.
In the response to the lawsuit signed by the representative of the property and legal interests of the state Slavica Laković the claims are contested in their entirety and he points out that their merits cannot be determined based on the evidence submitted and suggests that the court reject the claim as unfounded with compensation for the costs of the proceedings.
Lawyer "Universal Monte" Mladen Ivanovic at yesterday's preliminary hearing, he stated that no evidence was presented in the response to the lawsuit that would dispute the amount of the claim.
Laković asked the court that an expert in the construction profession determine the scope, quality and height of the works carried out by the company "Univerzal Monte" on the rehabilitation of the part of the road Meljine-Petijevići (Kotobilj). Yesterday, she submitted extensive documentation to the court and the prosecutor disputing the validity and amount of the requested payment.
Judge Vladimir Bulatović issued a decision postponing the preliminary hearing in order to familiarize themselves with the submitted documentation.
At its session on May 6, 2021, the day before the contract was officially terminated, Krivokapić's Government adopted a conclusion that mandated the Ministry of Finance to provide four million in the 2022 budget for the payment of the obligation based on the termination of the BOT arrangement.
However, this was not done, but at the last session of the former Government on April 20, 2022, a conclusion was reached that this money should be paid from the current budget reserve. On April 15 of last year, the protector of property and legal interests of the state submitted to Spajić the lawsuit filed by "Univerzal Monte" in the Commercial Court.
Vlada Dritan Abazović four million was not paid from the reserve, but instead decided to forward the complete documentation regarding the contract termination agreement to the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT).
The prosecutor's office confirmed to "Vijesta" at the end of January that on November 2 of last year the Ministry of Finance, which it manages, Aleksandar Damjanović, submitted documentation in connection with this case.
"An investigation is underway, and in order to make a decision, the SDT is monitoring the state of the litigation before the Commercial Court of Montenegro, between the parties to the agreement, because the outcome of the litigation is also important for the decision of the state prosecutor, and it has also obtained the opinion of the Protector of Property and Legal Interests of Montenegro." explained then the state prosecutor and SDT spokesman Vukas Radonjic.
Otherwise, the Government prematurely terminated the contract without the consent of the Ministry of Capital Investments (MKI), which was headed by the minister Mladen Bojanic, which announced that it could not take over the management of this share.
Spajić, during his January guest appearance on TV Vijesti's program "Načisto" said that no one called him from the Prosecutor's Office and that "his knowledge is that they did not submit anything to the Prosecutor's Office, that they made news out of it, that it was on the front page of all the media and that he donkey wolf”.
He said that the company "Univerzal Monte" had a loss of 4,5 million, that Hamović accepted that it would be a loss of 200 million and to repair the road for some 300-XNUMX thousand.
"So, he would definitely be in the red and it suited him because he didn't have the money to enter into an arrangement with the state, and for the state it was a good chance to get rid of one obstacle for tourism from Bosnia and Herzegovina," said Spajić, adding that In 2021, it was important to attract tourists from the region since there was no air traffic and this decision was based on the national interest.
The section of the road "Meljine - Petijevići" is 12,5 kilometers long, it is part of the road Herceg Novi - Trebinje and was officially opened at the beginning of July 2008. It was built as a public-private partnership, according to the BOT system (build, use and transfer) between the Municipality of Herceg Novi and the Belgrade company "Univerzal Holding", that is, the company "Univerzal Monte" from Herceg Novi.
The road was given to the investor for 20 years, after which it was supposed to become the property of the Municipality.
For the past five years, Universal Monte has consistently presented a loss in business to the tax authorities in Montenegro. The company ended 2021 with an accumulated loss of three million euros, while total debts amounted to 11 million euros.
There are no elements of a criminal act
Director of the company "Universal Monte" Đorđe Vlaović, who attended yesterday's hearing, previously told "Vijesta" that he expects the Commercial Court's verdict in their favor.
He also said that the return on invested funds for that company was significantly below expectations, and that since the completion of the road construction, there has been constant pressure from the municipality of Herceg Novi to terminate the bot arrangement and thus eliminate the toll.
"The construction of the Meljine - Petijevići road was financed with funds that 'Univerzal Monte' borrowed from the owner of the company. The originally offered price for terminating the bot agreement was the unpaid principal of those loans, which amounted to 4.602.150 euros. With that, 'Universal Monte' waived interest on the loan and future profits. At the request of the Ministry of Finance and the Municipality of Herceg Novi, the price for terminating the bot agreement was agreed at four million, with the condition that the payment be made no later than January 31, 1," explained Vlaović.
He also stated that in connection with the agreement on the termination of the bot arrangement, there are no elements of a criminal offense or any other offense because otherwise they would not have entered into such a business.
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