The Network for the Affirmation of the Non-Governmental Sector (MANS) has assessed that there is an extremely high risk that the agreement with the Government of the United Arab Emirates, which Prime Minister Milojko Spajić plans to sign by the end of the week, could be misused for money laundering, because data on the beneficial owners of companies registered in that country are not available to the public.
They said that an example that "clearly illustrates this problem" is the case of Blaž Đukanović, the son of former Montenegrin President Milo Đukanović.
"MANS, based on the Pandora papers, discovered that the younger Đukanović founded the Victoria Bridge Corporation in the British Virgin Islands. On December 9, 2016, the Alcogal law firm sent documentation for the establishment of a subsidiary of Đukanović's company to the address of Prudenter Group Dubai, which provides company registration services in the Emirates. However, due to the unavailability of company registers in the UAE, it is not possible to determine whether the company is actually registered, nor who its real owners are," the NGO said.
They point out that the UAE has 39 different company registers, many of which are not available to the public at all. Moreover, MANS says, even publicly available registers often do not contain information about the real owners, but only about the formal directors of the companies, "whose role is to conceal the identity of the real owners". Therefore, they point out, it is practically impossible to verify who is really behind the capital coming from the Emirates.
"Given this example, it is clear how dangerous the Agreement that Prime Minister Spajić plans to sign with the Emirates Government is. In that case, the Government of Montenegro would not have even the most basic mechanisms to verify who the real owners of companies that would receive a privileged status in Montenegro and be able to buy state land without a tender are."
According to MANS, the agreement stipulates that the Emirates Government will designate companies whose projects will have preferential status in Montenegro, and that the Montenegrin Government will give its consent. However, they note that the agreement does not define the criteria on the basis of which Montenegro will give its consent, nor what information the Emirates will provide it with about the investors they propose.
"The agreement additionally provides for the possibility of third parties providing capital for projects, but it is not specified whether the Government of Montenegro also gives its consent to these investors, nor are there defined criteria and mechanisms for verifying the origin of such capital, which further increases the risk of bringing illegally acquired money into the country."
Additionally, MANS says, the agreement relieves the UAE government of any liability if the investors it proposes fail to meet their obligations or engage in illegal activities. This means, they explain, that the Montenegrin government would be left completely unprotected in the event that companies abuse their privileged status for financial or other criminal activities.
"It is particularly important to point out that international reports indicate minimal cooperation between the Emirates and other countries in cases related to the discovery of the beneficial owners of companies and the confiscation of illegally acquired capital. All of the above indicates a high risk that this Agreement, adopted without a wider public debate and in a record short period of time, could be abused as a channel for money laundering," the statement reads.
Bonus video:
