The stars ate 40 million euros? Criminal complaint to the SDT regarding the tourist complex in the locality of Skočiđevojka

Illegal categorization allegedly caused millions of dollars in damage to the state

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Projected layout of the complex on Skočiđevoja, Photo: Private archive
Projected layout of the complex on Skočiđevoja, Photo: Private archive
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

Former president of the Budva assembly, leader of the local Democrats, local resident Krsto Radović, submitted a criminal complaint to the Special State Prosecutor's Office against the former Acting Chief State Architect Siniša Minić, as well as his colleagues Nataša Pavićević, head of the Directorate in the Directorate for the implementation of state guidelines in the field of architecture, as well as Ivan Milošević, the responsible designer at the Podgorica Architectural Studio AIM doo, because they gave the green light to build a tourist complex in the location of Skočiđevojka, close to Režević.

"Aware of their actions and knowing that the same is prohibited, by unlawfully exploiting their position and exceeding their official powers, they passed a decision that gave consent to the investor KDP Promotion and Investment limited Cyprus to the amended and modified conceptual solution of the architectural project built by the designers Arhitektonski studio AIM . In this way, they created the preconditions for the construction of a facility to which they gave the legitimacy of a five-star hotel, even though it does not meet the requirements prescribed by law," stated Radović in the criminal complaint that "Vijesti" had access to, and which he submitted yesterday to the prosecution headed by him Vladimir Novović.

Minic, who was removed from office by the Government the day before yesterday, signed the decision on July 19, while the Ministry of Spatial Planning and Urbanism was headed by Janko Odović.

Sale of apartments on sea foam

"Consent is given to the investor 'KDP promotion and investments limited'" to the amended and amended conceptual solution for the construction of the Tourist Complex SKD limited - five-star category hotel mixed business model on urban plot 1. It was established that it was made in accordance with urban planning and technical conditions and the planning document urban project "Skočiđevojka Tourist Village in terms of architectural design and materialization of the object. The gross developed construction area is 61.132 square meters (the plan specifies 75.543 square meters), occupancy index 0,22 (plan specified 0,23), built-up index 1,22 (plan specified 1,51), the number of floors of the building from basement, basement, ground floor and three floors to the basement, basement, ground floor and ten floors (the plan does not specify the number of floors). Realized relation to the construction line and provided vehicle access to the buildings on the owner's plots", it is written in the solution that "Vijesti" published earlier.

In the criminal complaint, Radović points out that according to the Law on Planning and Spatial Development, the prescribed obligation to check the design fulfillment of the conditions for a five-star hotel in the project review process is to temporarily exempt the building from the obligation to pay fees for communal equipment of construction land.

"Therefore, it is very important at this moment to determine the fulfillment of the mandatory spatial conditions for a certain degree of categorization, which the chief state architect failed to do and thus caused multimillion-dollar damage to the budget of the Municipality of Budva. Naming the facility "5-star hotel" enables the investor to sell apartments, on the foam of the sea, to which he would not have the right in case of establishing a lower category of the facility (Act on Tourism and Hospitality)", stresses Radović and adds:

"Especially if you consider that the location is completely unequipped with infrastructure, without water, electricity, sewerage and appropriate access roads. The existing rural road is not suitable for the movement of trucks and buses due to its regulation and leveling. The project itself requires huge capacities of infrastructural facilities, which have yet to be drawn up in planning documents and whose implementation will take several years. In addition to the fact that 5-star hotels do not pay utilities in accordance with Article 239 of the Law on Spatial Planning and Building Construction, they also have the option of not paying VAT for the construction and furnishing of hotels, which are not actually hotels but mostly residential buildings, in accordance with the provisions of the Ordinance on the process of exempting investors from paying value added tax and the delivery of certain products and services", pointed out Radović.

Permitted devastation of space

Radović emphasizes that in the media the investor pointed out that the value of the investment in Skočiđevoja is 200 million euros, which would mean that only on the basis of exemption from VAT, the investor and the organizers of the deal provide themselves with a benefit to the detriment of the citizens of Montenegro in the amount of more than 40 million euros .

"The chief state architect and the responsible designer allowed the devastation of the space in such a way that they did not comply with the clear guidelines of the urban planning project "Tourist Village Skočiđevojka" for the landscaping of tourist facilities: healthy and functional greenery and olive trees were not preserved and incorporated; it is not ensured that landscaping occupies at least 50 percent of the surface of the urban plot, while a maximum of 25-30 percent is allowed for construction; 100 square meters of green and free areas per bed for five-star tourist facilities are not planned; the transplanting of 123 coniferous trees is not justified, because they do not tolerate transplanting well", stressed Radović.

He points out that despite the fact that "Reževići" MZ has the status of an interested person - a party in the proceedings, the Directorate did not enable the local community to participate in the issuance of consent in question, which is in the direct interest of the investor.

"The suspects consciously undertook actions aimed at the execution of their joint crime, while they participated in the crime in different ways. Namely, the suspect Minić directly committed the criminal act, while the suspect Pavićević and the suspect Milošević committed criminal abuse of official position by aiding and abetting. Essentially, without the prior agreement, consent and mutual support of the suspects, to commit the criminal offense in question jointly, they could not carry out the actions undertaken individually. Everything indicates that all the subjective and objective elements of the criminal offense of abuse of official position, unscrupulous work in the service were realized in the actions of the suspects," concluded Radović.

International public competition

Radović reminded that the urban project "TN Skočiđevojka" envisages the obligation to conduct an international public tender for the development of the project, but also the possibility of exempting the investor from this obligation, on the condition that the Municipality of Budva and the relevant Ministry make decisions on such an exemption if an architect who is the winner is engaged Pritzker Prizes or RIBA Prizes.

"However, the chief state architect decided that the investor should be released from this obligation, despite the fact that the Municipality of Budva has not made a decision on this, as evidenced by the written statement of the President of the Municipality. This position is based on the claim that the signatory of the architectural solution, Mr. Carlos Ferrater, is a winner of an award from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), which would be one of the grounds for exclusion, but at the same time no evidence has been submitted that the Spanish architect is a winner of an RIBA award or medal. . The research on this matter was carried out by the eminent London law office "Juris Fisher Ltd", which directly requested all the data from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), and determined that Mr. "Carlos Ferrater does not have and has never received the RIBA award and does not appear on any list of RIBA awarded architects in the last 100 years", pointed out Radović.

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