CIN-CG: Božović signed more than 12 million euros of purchases from prison - big deals with his godfather, Bemaks and Blažo

Budva Municipality President Milo Božović signed a contract worth four and a half million euros with Dragan Perović, executive director of the Budva company Carat, from prison. This was done on July 28 last year, three and a half months after Božović was detained in Spuž.

According to several sources, Božović and Perović are godfathers. Dragan's brother Radovan Perović was arrested at the beginning of October last year. The Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) suspects him, Bojan Ojdanić and Vjekoslav Lambulić of having committed the criminal acts of creating a criminal organization and unauthorized production, possession and distribution of narcotic drugs. Their arrest followed as an extension of the investigation conducted by the SDT against Božović.

This is just one of the contracts worth over 12 million euros, which the first man of Budva signed from the pre-trial prison, but the deal with the godfather is the single most valuable, 4.499.181 euros. The contract with the company Carat refers to the works of communal equipment for the construction of three traffic roads in the scope of DUP Dubovica 1. The contract states that it will be financed from several budget years. For last year, 400.000 euros were allocated from the budget for this.

Božović and Perović are not only bound by personal ties. They are also business partners. And that right on Dubovica, where Božović's ancestral home is. There, he and Perović are co-owners of land and housing. There are eight owners of over a thousand square meters of land, Milo Božović owns half, and Perović 24/480 of the land. In the second plot of 1.738 square meters, Božović has a half share, and Perović's company Carat has a sixteenth share, the same ratio is also in the ownership of the third plot of 320 square meters.

The ratio of one-half and one-sixteenth ownership between Božović and Carat is also in the case of the residential space in Dubovica of 824 square meters. According to the documents in which Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG) had an insight, in February and March of last year, Carat is selling several apartments in this building.

At the same time as this one, in July 2023, Božović and Perović also sign a contract on the construction of the road A 75-75 in Bečići. The value of this contract is 346.813 euros, and Carat's subcontractors are Ving, Pljevlja, La Collina, Podgorica, Geo Plus, Podgorica and Hidromont Inženjering, Podgorica.

During the last year, Božović signed more public procurement contracts from the prison in Spuz, totaling more than 10 million euros. This practice continued during this year. In just the first two months, Božović put his signature on public procurements worth two million euros.

Milo Božović was arrested on April 13, 2023, early in the morning. The special state prosecution brought an indictment accusing him of creating a criminal organization and drug smuggling. And while the indictment is still being reviewed by the High Court, the same court allowed Božović to sign municipal documents and lead the Municipality from prison.

Tenders available after the interest of journalists

On the website of the Municipality of Budva, under the section Tenders and public procurements, information about all contracts was not available to the interested public. Only after the questions sent by CIN-CG, at the end of February, the tenders and public procurements were updated and are now available.

Bemax is the second major partner of the Municipality of Budva. Božović signed a contract with this company for one of the most significant investments - the reconstruction of two key streets in the city center - 22. November and Mediteranska - and their conversion into boulevards with the construction of a roundabout.

With the permission of the High Court, Božović signed this contract in the Spuška Remand Prison at the end of last year, and on January 12, Bemax executive director Miladin Mijajlović and the company's authorized representative Sonja Novaković signed it. The value of the work is close to three million, i.e. 2.924.681 euros. It was also emphasized that this investment will be financed from several budget years, and 1.650.000 euros have been allocated for this year. Bemax's works in the city center will welcome tourists this season because the deadline for the works is 160 days from the introduction of the contractor to the work.

A week after signing this contract, members of the Special Police Department arrested Aleksandar Ac Mijajlović, one of the recent co-owners of the Bemax company. He and five other people were deprived of their liberty because of cigarette smuggling, that is, suspicion of having committed the criminal offense of creating a criminal organization and the extended criminal offense of smuggling.

Bemax's subcontractor in this business is BB Solar, businessman Blaž Đukanović, son of former prime minister and head of state Milo Đukanović. The contract specifies that Đukanović's company is in charge of performing electrical engineering works. It is followed by a percentage of 16,27 percent, or 488.000 euros.

At the beginning of this year, Božović also initialed a million-dollar contract for the construction of a road in the settlement of Blizikuće above Svetog Stefan. The contract worth 1.249.637 euros was concluded with the SBM consortium, represented by Vladimir Mirković.

Mirković is the executive director of Asfalt-beton Construction, Podgorica, which is the holder of the offer in this business, in which the companies Đurković, Nikšić, with a participation of 32,23 percent, Tofi, Rožaje, 6,81 percent participation, Breznamont, Nikšić are also involved. , 5,48 shares, Hidromont, Podgorica, 4,31 percent participation and Geotin MNE, Podgorica, 0,96 percent participation.

In addition to half a million euros that Asfalt-beton gradnja will earn in this business, just before the new year they concluded a contract with Božović on the maintenance of the city's infrastructure, which is worth 389.871 euros. Asphalt-concrete construction maintained the city's infrastructure for the same amount last year, and a contract was signed on the rehabilitation of existing roads, worth over 400 thousand euros.

In the above-mentioned capital deal of four and a half million euros, the holder of which is Carat, the participation of Asphalt-concrete construction is 21,65 percent.

The cooperation with this company continued this year as well - on February 21, a contract was signed on works on the communal equipment of the land, for 35.829 euros.

Continuation of Tsarević's practice

By signing five contracts involving asphalt-concrete construction, which are worth over two million euros, Božović continued the practice of his predecessor Marko Carević, also a member of the Democratic Front.

In May 2020, MANS submitted a criminal complaint against Tsarević to the Special State Prosecutor's Office, accusing him of assigning the asphalting of roads to Asfalt-beton gradnja, so that his company Carinvest, as a subcontractor, would perform the million-dollar job. At the time, MANS claimed that Tsarević concluded 11 contracts with Asfalt-beton gradnja, with a total value of almost two million euros. In October 2020, the SDT headed by Milivoje Katnić rejected this criminal complaint.

Of the numerous contracts signed by Božović for the amount of the contract, over three million euros, those concluded with the company Inženjer Gogić from Podgorica are also issued. In mid-January of this year, Božović signed a contract with this company on the construction of the lower slab of the channel under the bridge structure in Bečići and the connection with the existing channel, price 47.632 euros.

In February of last year, Božović signed three contracts with the company Inženjer Gogić: for the construction of a street with complete infrastructure along the Slatava stream in Buljarica - 1.638.757 euros, works on the regulation of the Bečić stream - lot 1: 1.075.555 euros, lot 2: 470.760 euros.

The contracts with Božović were signed by Zerina Idrizović, executive director of the company whose founder and owner is Miljan Gogić. The CRPS register states that Gogić has a share of 90 percent, while 10 percent belongs to the Company for trade and services, export-import Koti group, Tuzi. The founder, executive director and authorized representative of this company whose activity is non-specialized wholesale trade is Veljko Lakočević.

Lakočević was the majority owner of Inženjera Gogić until March 2021. A year earlier, through this company, he bought a huge glass building in the center of Podgorica, across from Njegošev park.

In December 2021, MANS published research according to which the Property Administration, instead of terminating the tender for the aforementioned building due to irregularities, concluded a contract with the company Koti Nekretnine in the amount of around 8,7 million euros.

At the time of the disputed transaction, the owner of the company Koti Nekretnine was the company Inženjer Gogić. In September 2019, Vladan Ivanović transferred his share in that company to Lakočević, without compensation.

Vladan Ivanović is also the owner of the company Master Inženjering, and he was also in the ownership structure of the company Novi Volvox of his uncle Milan Ivanović. Ivanović are businessmen allegedly close to the Đukanović family.

Duško Knežević said after the affair about nobody's house in Gorica:

"The whole of Montenegro knows that it is Đukanović's house, even though it is linked to his friend Vladan Ivanović."

According to the Public Procurement Plan of the Municipality of Budva, as of January 31.1.2023, 26, their total value that year should have been 15 million euros. According to the available contracts, the plan has not been realized - contracts for works, services and procurement of around 19 million euros have been signed. The public procurement plan for this year is over 17 million euros, so there are still XNUMX million left.

After Božović was arrested, it was feared that not a single public procurement procedure, as well as other legal affairs, would be able to be implemented. An additional problem was that Božović did not appoint the vice-presidents of the Municipality before his arrest. Božović's resignation was requested so that the Municipality could function smoothly. The legal dilemmas were resolved by the Higher Court in Podgorica, which allowed Božović to sign all legal acts in prison.

And while the legal and other chaos in the Municipality of Budva continues, the Ministry of Public Administration has finally announced that they have begun to review the legality of the work of the detained President Božović.