The government, in cooperation with international partners, has completed all preparations for a new list of cigarettes that have been confiscated and are in the Free Zone of the Port of Bar, and the action is expected to begin in the coming days, after which the cigarettes will be destroyed.
This was said in an interview with "Vijesti" by the Deputy Prime Minister and member of the Government's Coordination Body for the inventory of these seized goods, Momo Koprivica.
"When it comes to the preparation of the census and the counting of cigarettes, the Coordination Body with maximum commitment and coordinated work with international partners began the preparation of that very important and binding act for the future, so we can say that it is expected to be implemented in the next few days," said Koprivica.
The Deputy Prime Minister announced a new draft law on free zones for the first quarter (January - March) of 2025, which should eliminate the shortcomings of the existing law, which is outdated and was once adapted for the needs of cigarette smuggling, which was a state project and a favorite project of the former regime, which was steeped in crime and corruption.
Cooperation with the British
The coordination body for the list of confiscated goods in the "Luka Bar" Free Zone, chaired by Prime Minister Milojko Spajić, adopted a plan for the list and destruction of confiscated cigarettes at the beginning of April, and at that time it was emphasized that it was necessary to make the entire process as transparent as possible, which will be helped by the participation of representatives of the British HMRC (HMRC).
"Vijesti" previously announced from unofficial information that the Government of Prime Minister Dritan Abazović seized about 2022 packs of cigarettes (about 165.612 containers) in the Free Zone of the Port of Bar in 150, worth about 122 million euros (according to recorded customs debt), and according to an estimate of their value on the black market is over 60 million euros.
Cigarettes are under a customs seal, which can only be removed with the approval of the prosecution.
The government of Prime Minister Dritan Abazović intended to sell them, but the position of the European partners is that they must be destroyed.
Decisions on banning the storage of tobacco in the Port of Bar were made by the Government in June and December 2021, and the deadline for cigarette owners to move them from the warehouse in the Port was extended. After these deadlines expired, the UPC ordered the Customs Bar to confiscate the tobacco products in stock. That Government decision was made with reference to Article 5 of the Law on Free Zones, which states that "in the zone and the warehouse, economic activities can be carried out that do not pose a risk to human health and/or the environment, material goods and the security of the state, in accordance with with the law".
"Half to Be, half to the company"
"After the election of the leadership of the SPO two and a half years ago and the overall results of the SDT/SPO, additional trust was gained in the security institutions, on the basis of which we have a good reason to believe that the confiscated cigarettes are safe, and they are under the seal of the SPO, and the factual situation will soon be transparent to both the domestic and international public, and the actual situation and what is true will be determined, which is of great importance for the process of criminal prosecution of the culprits of smuggling, as well as for prevention. The essence of this and every subsequent obligation of the Government and state institutions is the seriousness and quality of the procedures implemented. Ad-hoc actions should be a thing of the past, and the 44th Government will show that through its approach and results," said Koprivica.
According to him, in the earlier period during the seizure of cigarettes, some balanced structures in the state tried to process (burnt) cigarettes according to the model - "half to Be, half to the company", building the famous attitude "no body, no deed", which would successfully, on damage to the state, closed an inconvenient topic.
"At certain stages of the investigation into cigarette smuggling, it was necessary to preserve the confiscated goods in order to successfully conduct the investigation against the accused persons. The investigation in this direction is a specific terrain that requires patience and resources, and we can add that it is also slippery for individuals who tried to profit politically by the race", said Koprivica.
He said that the Customs Administration, which is an important part of the Coordinating Body, proposed a plan for the census and it was agreed upon and adopted by the Coordinating Body.
It should be emphasized that Commissioner Oliver Varhelji sent a letter to the Prime Minister on June 28, 2024, in which he expressed his support for this process, with the readiness to provide financial support to the destruction process, and EU representatives are represented in the organizational structure. It is an expression of trust and strong common goals, emphasized Koprivica.
The preparation of the list was demanding
"The plan is comprehensive. First of all, it defines a complex organizational structure for the implementation of the procedure on three levels; national, coordination, operational and executive, and international partners will be represented in each. A precise plan for the inventory of goods, the selection of persons who will participate in it, and the securing of the location have also been defined. In addition, the framework for work methods and the schedule of work tasks was determined. All measures and every step for the implementation of the procedure has been elaborated and defined in detail, with dialogue and the help of international partners who are involved in every phase, from the meetings of the Coordination Body to the creation of concrete plans. At the proposal of the Prime Minister, the coordinating body adopted the conclusion that each phase of the census, counting and destruction should be credibly recorded. This is a legal obligation and thus the full credibility of the process will be additionally ensured, because we do not and do not want to hide anything", said the Deputy Prime Minister.
"Vijesti" asked what were the reasons for the delay in the list, since it was previously announced that the cigarettes were expected to be destroyed by the summer.
"The destruction of cigarettes will follow the completion of the census and counting process. And that is precisely the point: that all these stages are part of a whole, which is completely transparent and this unique approach does not allow any abuse. The focus is on transparency and coordinated work with our international partners, with whom we build additional trust, including them in joint work, especially when it comes to combating cigarette smuggling. This scourge is a problem for the region and the world, and Montenegro does not want to be an additional burden. With that, we approached this problem very responsibly, and you will soon witness the quality of the completed task. In any case, it is true that the preparation process was more demanding than some initial expectations were, but nothing was left to chance, nor did we want to rush through obligations. The most important thing is that we get a credible outcome, verified by international partners. You saw how this process used to go, it ended in ovens that don't even have the capacity to prepare attractive food, let alone a procedure like this, but it was all part of a plan to continue smuggling in a new guise. That time is an irreversible past. We are cutting off all channels for smuggling," Koprivica emphasized.
The Supreme Court should rule on nine rulings of the Administrative Court in favor of the state, and on the lawsuits of companies that kept cigarettes in the Free Zone and that did not comply with the Government's decision to prohibit the storage of tobacco in the Port of Bar. The administrative court confirmed that the cigarettes were legally confiscated, which further means that they can be burned.
Complete digitization of Luka Bar is planned
"Vijesti" asked Koprivica at what stage the Government's plan to pass the new anti-corruption Law on Free Zones is.
"The strategy for the fight against corruption, which we adopted in June 2024 at the National Council for the Fight against Corruption and the Government and which was part of the IBAR obligations, defined the direction and deadline for the reform of the law on free zones. According to her, the deadline is the end of the first quarter of 2025 for determining the Proposal for that law. This law is of great anti-corruption importance. The Strategy also foresees the establishment of a technologically superior model, which is the complete digitalization of the Port of Bar, in order to systematically eliminate even the tiniest holes for abuse and smuggling", said Koprivica, adding that the reform in this area is also determined by the Fiscal Strategy (track&trace system , e-excise duty, in accordance with the Protocol for Suppression of Illegal Trade in Tobacco Products).
Koprivica explained that the current law on free zones is not only out of date, but was once adapted for the needs of cigarette smuggling, which was a state project and a favorite project of the former regime, which was steeped in crime and corruption.
"In short, the current law does not contain mechanisms to prevent abuses, it does not have elaborate clear procedures, it does not have a valid certification mechanism, it does not ensure that the framework and entry and exit points are subject to effective supervision by competent authorities, it does not have clear norms about the identity of clients, nor could it lead to development of advanced systems for keeping records of competent authorities, free zones and economic entities", said Koprivica.
He added that the recommendations of the OECD and the World Customs Organization were not implemented in the current law.
"All these and many other shortcomings led to the abuse of the free zone with a high level of corrupt activities. Therefore, the main direction of the reform is the construction of solid anti-corruption mechanisms and the implementation of the recommendations of the World Customs Organization and the OECD", explained Koprivica.
It should be emphasized that Commissioner Oliver Varhelji sent a letter to the Prime Minister on June 28, 2024, in which he expressed his support for this process, with the readiness to provide financial support to the destruction process, and EU representatives are represented in the organizational structure. It is an expression of trust and strong common goals, emphasized Koprivica.
The government is preparing a new draft law on free zones for the beginning of 2025, which should remove the shortcomings of the existing law, which is outdated and which was once adapted for the needs of cigarette smuggling, which was a state project and a favorite project of the former regime, which was steeped in crime and corruption, says Koprivica.
Pakorini issues invoices, the state does not pay
Cigarettes are kept in the warehouse of the private company PGS Montenegro, which for the needs of its business leased space from the state oil company Montenegro bonus. The President of the Board of Directors of the private company is Enriko Pakorini.
In May 2022, the former Revenue and Customs Administration (UPC), which was managed by Rade Milošević, concluded a contract with this company on the acceptance of goods.
As "Vijesti" previously wrote, UPC, while it was managed by Vladimir Bulajić, stopped paying this company the lease of office space, claiming that the contract had expired and that it was fully respected, while the private company PGS Montenegro said that their service lasts until whenever there are cigarettes, which is why they still ask for money for services.
"UPC, which was then managed by Rade Milošević, only concluded a contract on the provision of services for the acceptance of goods - cigarettes with PGS. However, the Revenue and Customs Administration did not conclude an agreement to rent space from "PGS Montenegro" because the lease of space is a centralized procurement, which is carried out for state bodies by the Administration for Cadastre and State Property, which also did not conclude an agreement with the aforementioned company for renting space. . The contract was concluded for a certain period of time, more precisely, the executor (PGS Montenegro) was obliged to perform the service within a maximum of 20 days from the date of conclusion of the contract, and UPC, as the other contracting party, was obliged to perform the service within 30 days from the date of the invoice payment", stated the Customs Administration.
The executive director of PGS Montenegro, Aleksandar Adamović, told the "News" that the Agreement on acceptance of goods with the UPC was signed and implemented within 25 days of signing, that is, from May 12, 2022 to June 7, 2022.
He clarified that the PGS, at the request of the UPC, on May 12, 2022, offered the conditions for accepting, storing and shipping confiscated goods and that these are three services that cannot be shared.
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