The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management does not have a contract in its records with the Pljevlja-based company "Vektra Jakić" for the storage of machinery and equipment, which the state seized from the company. Dragan BrkovićSince there is no contract, the Ministry did not pay money for this work.
This was officially told to "Vijesti" by this department, which is headed by the Minister. Vladimir Jokovic.
"Vijesti" reported at the end of last year that the Ministry of Agriculture has a contract with "Vektra Jakić", under which they must pay the company tens of thousands of euros per month for the storage of pellet equipment. The existence of this obligation was also confirmed by an email communication from the former Minister of Agriculture. Aleksandar Stijović with the Protector of Property Interests of Montenegro from February 2022, which "Vijesti" had access to, and which states that the ministry is obliged to pay "Vektra Jakić" 44.840 euros per month in the winter period, and 27.150 euros in the summer.
If we assume that there are six winter months and the same number of summer months in a year, we come to the conclusion that the "disputed" contract costs the state 431.940 euros per year. A source told the editorial office that the state has had this obligation for at least three years, that not a single cent has been paid so far, and that the debt is now over a million euros.
"A review of the records available to the Ministry shows that there is no contract for the storage of machinery and equipment concluded with "Vektra Jakić". Accordingly, since the Ministry does not have a contract for the storage of machinery and equipment concluded with "Vektra Jakić" and the fact that the aforementioned company has never contacted or submitted any invoice for the storage of machinery and equipment, the Ministry has not made any payments on that basis," the department said.
In 2015, Pljevlja-based Vektra Jakić received a $3.000.000 loan from the Ministry of Agriculture from the Abu Dhabi Development Fund (ADF). They did not repay the loan, so the Ministry seized machinery and equipment from the local factory's pellet plant as collateral, and Vektra Jakić went bankrupt at the end of December 2023.
"Vektra" owes $4,67 million
The ministry explained that the Government, by a decision in 2017, entrusted the Investment and Development Fund (IDF) with the tasks related to the “Abu Dhabi to Montenegro Agricultural Support” (ADMAS) project, which the Ministry implemented in cooperation with the ADF and the IDF. They added that in February 2021, the Government subsequently tasked the IDF with fully taking over the tasks related to the implementation of the ADMAS project and initiating procedures to assume jurisdiction in all procedures initiated by the Ministry.
"All activities related to monitoring the dynamics of the ADMAS project loan repayment were carried out by the IDF. Accordingly, at the request of this Ministry, the IDF submitted data that the debt of the company "Vektra Jakić", based on loan agreement number 403-1073/15-1 with principal, regular and default interest, amounts to 4.676.512 dollars, which represents the claim of the Ministry of Agriculture on December 26, 2023, when bankruptcy proceedings were opened against the aforementioned company," the Ministry said.
When asked about the sale of "Vektra" assets and how much money they have collected so far on this basis, as well as when the last sale on this basis was made, the department stated that the Protector of Property and Legal Interests of Montenegro initiated collection proceedings against the assets of the "Vektra Jakić" company due to non-compliance with the loan agreement. They explained that the loan related to the purchase of a pellet production plant, equipment and machinery, which were subject to a pledge and are under the jurisdiction of the State Property Administration - which is obliged to take care of them.
"This Ministry does not have information whether it was advertised for sale. With the opening of bankruptcy proceedings on December 26, 2023 against the company "Vektra Jakić", the property that is the subject of the pledge entered the bankruptcy estate in accordance with the Law on Bankruptcy Proceedings. The Commercial Court appointed the bankruptcy administrator Dejan Keković "who is obliged to take care of the entire assets of the bankruptcy debtor, so for information on the condition of equipment and machinery, you need to contact them," the Ministry emphasized.
"Vijesti" also asked the protector of property and legal interests about the status of the equipment and this case at the end of December. Bojan Ćirović, who stated that she legally represents the state and the lawsuits before the Commercial Court, based on the fees that "Vektra Jakić" owes for concessions. She explained that the proceedings will continue when the conditions are met, because they were interrupted due to the opening of bankruptcy. Ćirović stated that the contract on the payment of the fee for the storage of equipment is in the jurisdiction of the State Property Administration, because it manages and takes care of it, while the bankruptcy administration is in charge of the sale.
The State Property Administration said at the end of last year that at this moment they are not responsible for dealing with the machinery and equipment at the "Vektra Jakić" pellet plant, including paying for any possible costs of storing that property.
According to the documentation, former Minister of Agriculture Stijović told the Protector in March 2022 that the sale of the assets of the company "Vektra Jakić" was urgently needed, and that it was not clear why this had not already been done.
"We consider it a priority to advertise the sale of the same. The question is why this has not already been done, on the day of acquiring the right to collect the receivables. This ministry considers it urgent to take appropriate measures in accordance with the Government's decision, in order to avoid additional budget expenditures, collect the receivables for the loan for which the state provided a guarantee, and ultimately protect state property and interests," Stijović emphasized and asked the then Administration for Cadastre and State Property, based on which estimates such a high monthly rent price was reached.
The same documents also state that the former Minister of Finance and current Prime Minister Milojko Spajić, requested that the Cadastre and State Property Administration organize a meeting attended by representatives of that department and the agriculture department, the protector, the Revenue and Customs Administration, the IRF, and "Vektra Jakić", in order to express their views on Stijović's proposal.
No one will answer.
The source told "Vijesti" that based on the actions of the authorities so far, he believes that no one will be held accountable for this case, just as no one has been held accountable in the 18 years since the concession was awarded to "Vektra Jakić".
He also stated that the biggest unknown is why the department has not sold equipment and provided money to repay the loan to the Abu Dhabi Fund since the end of 2019.
"In the meantime, the value of machinery and equipment is constantly declining and the question is for what amount it could now be sold, even though the ministry has the right to sell it immediately. Instead of selling, the ministry has allowed the conclusion of a contract with the owner Brković on the storage of the equipment, for an amount that could reach half of the value of the factory in the next five years. By the time the bankruptcy of "Vektra Jakić" is resolved, Brković will receive a new pellet plant, and the machinery and equipment from the Abu Dhabi fund will represent scrap metal," he pointed out.
He added that he would not be surprised if the work of the authorities led to Brković returning to Pljevlja with machinery and equipment and continuing the concession contract.
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