Although the Ministry of Regional Investment Development and Cooperation with NGOs submitted complete documentation on the project to build the "Magnum" hotel in Kolašin in December last year, the competent prosecutorial authorities do not know what the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) has done in this case.
From a government department headed by a minister Ernad Suljević They officially told "Vijesti" that they submitted documentation regarding this hovel, which is on the list of economic citizenship projects, to the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office (SPO) on December 5th, and that they were informed on December 17th that they had forwarded the papers to the SDT for further action.
When asked whether a case has been formed and what measures have been taken so far, the SDT, headed by Chief Special Prosecutor Vladimir Novović, did not provide answers to a query from "Vijesti" from last week about whether a case has been formed and what measures have been taken so far.
The Ministry also did not respond to "Vijesti's" question regarding whether they have information about whether the SDT has formed a case in this case.
On December 2, the executive branch unofficially announced that they decided to take this step after discovering that the investor had submitted a false bank guarantee for 2.500.000 euros.
The company "Magnum Development" undertook to complete the work within the economic citizenship project by October 30, 2024, which was not done.
As it turns out, their cover for this was a fake guarantee from the Italian bank "Credit Agricole" of 2,5 million euros. The deadline for activating the guarantee expired on December 1. In its response to the Embassy of Montenegro in Rome, the bank said that "Magnum Development" was not its client.
"The Ministry of Regional Investment Development and Cooperation with Non-Governmental Organizations, in accordance with its competences and principles of transparency, is committed to ensuring legality and accountability in the implementation of all investment projects from the List of Development Projects in the Field of Tourism. In this context, on December 5, 2024, the Ministry submitted to the State Prosecutor's Office complete documentation regarding the construction project of the "Magnum" hotel, so that the competent authorities could have access to relevant information and further act in accordance with their powers. The State Prosecutor's Office, within the framework of its procedures and competences, informed the Ministry on December 17, 2024 that the case had been forwarded to the State Prosecutor's Office for further consideration and action. The Ministry continues to monitor the development of the situation and is at the disposal of all competent institutions for any additional information or clarifications, in order to strengthen institutional responsibility and legal certainty in the field of investment and development," the Ministry said.
This department stated that they continuously monitor the implementation of all investment projects under its jurisdiction, including those that are part of the economic citizenship program.
This guarantee was officially submitted on December 21, 2021 to the Ministry of Economic Development, which was then headed by the current president of the country Jakov Milatovic, whose department did not include this project on the list of those for which a Montenegrin passport can be obtained.
The company "Magnum Development" claims that the Ministry of Economic Development checked the validity of the guarantee with the bank on December 23, 2021.
On June 6, 2023, "Magnum Development" and the prestigious hotel group "IHG" signed a franchise agreement, so that the new hotel in Kolašin should operate under the name "Crowne Plaza Kolašin".
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