The Maltese prosecution is investigating suspicions of money laundering and is requesting documentation for several Montenegrin companies, in proceedings being conducted in that country regarding the construction of the Možura wind farm (VE).
According to the documents he obtained Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG), The Office of the Attorney General of Malta has sent a letter of request to our Special Public Prosecutor's Office (SPT) in connection with an investigation into money laundering and other criminal offences.
The Special Prosecutor's Office has requested documentation from the Tax Administration of Montenegro on several companies previously linked to the construction of one of the first wind farm projects in Montenegro. According to the documentation in our possession, this request was sent by the SDT to the Tax Administration on November 15, 2024. Data was requested on the companies "Možura Wind Park" (MWP), "Čelebić", "Adriatic Energy Services", "Management Consulting Montenegro" and "Montmorency". The Maltese prosecutors are also being assisted by the European police organization Europol.
The company “Fersa Energias Renovables” (now “Audax Energias Renovables”) began negotiations with the Government of Montenegro almost two decades ago, regarding the construction of a wind farm on a hill between Ulcinj and Bar. The company “Čelebić”, a businessman Tomislav Čelebić, entered the business with a one percent stake in the company Možura Wind Park, which it founded together with Fers in Montenegro.
They also requested information from Malta about the company “Management Consulting Montenegro”, which is owned by Marko Vujovic, cousin of a former minister from the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) Branimir Gvozdenović.
The 100% owner of the Budva-based company "Montmorency", about which data is also being sought, is, according to the Business Network, a Maltese lawyer. Antony AxisaThe Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) wrote back in 2018 that this lawyer was "one of the pioneers of online gambling in Malta."
In addition to Malta, the Spanish prosecutor's office in Madrid, according to a document that CIN-CG had access to, launched an investigation against the company "Audax Energias Renovables SA" (Fersa) in September 2024, following a report Vladimir Popović, on suspicion of money laundering, abuse of office, bribery of Montenegrin officials, tax evasion and document forgery.
Popović claims he is with his partner Karlas Palau Kolom damaged, because they were allegedly deprived of a million-dollar commission for mediation in this project, and because of this, they initiated several disputes before our and foreign courts.
It all started in 2007 when the Spanish company “Fersa Energias Renovables” expressed interest in building the Možura wind farm. In 2010, the Government of Montenegro signed a concession agreement with Fersa for 20 years. During the first 12 years, the agreement provided for financial assistance from the Government of Montenegro to the investor through electricity subsidies of an incredible 115,3 million euros. Shortly after, a land lease agreement was signed.
Interestingly, “Fersa” reported to its shareholders in Spain a project to build a 100 megawatt (MW) wind farm in Montenegro. In reality, however, the planned and built capacity of the wind farm was only 46 MW. This difference, according to some stakeholders, was allegedly used to inflate costs and create a corrupt payment scheme, according to which 10 million was planned to be divided among several participants, including the then management of Fersa and some stakeholders in Montenegro. These claims were also made in the proceedings before the Montenegrin courts.
Although Fersa received concessions from the Government of Montenegro and all permits back in 2010, the company did not carry out the wind farm construction project, but rather a chain of other companies and offshore firms took over the job.
After several changes of owners and contractors, the wind farm finally saw the light of day in November 2019. The investment was ultimately implemented by the Maltese state-owned company "Enemalta" and the company "Malta Montenegro Wind Park", and the main contractor was the Chinese company "Shanghai Electric Power Engineering".
SDT is silent, Podgorica court rejects lawsuit
The Montenegrin prosecutor's office has so far done almost nothing to shed light on the suspicions surrounding this deal, which have been weighing on not only the Montenegrin but also the international public for years. Almost all proceedings have been suspended due to lack of evidence. The SDT did not respond to CIN-CG's questions about whether they acted on the request from the Maltese prosecutor's office, nor what stage the proceedings are in, due to suspicions about the way the companies that were responsible for building the wind farm on Možura were formed.
The procedure investigating whether the company "Možura Wind Park" was legally denied almost seven million euros in input VAT has been suspended, as well as the procedure for tax and contribution evasion against the Chinese contractor for the wind farm on the hill between Bar and Ulcinj, as well as the process regarding consulting services provided for "Možura Wind Park".
For years, the SDT has been investigating whether the executive manager of the company “Adriatic Capital Advisory” Marko Vujović overpaid consulting services to the company Možura Wind Park by around 1,5 million euros. And the report that the SDT forwarded to the Basic Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica against the contractor of the Chinese company “Shanghai Electric Power Engineering Montenegro LLC” and the director of that company Jian Zhang, for tax and contribution evasion, was also dismissed.
Former judge of the Basic Court in Podgorica Katarina Peković After a marathon trial, the court also dismissed the lawsuit filed by Vladimir Popović and Carlos Palou Colo, who claimed that they were defrauded in this deal by the companies Fersa (Audax) and BWP Montenegro, whose representative was Milena Popovic, the daughter of a long-time union leader Danil PopovićPopović and Kol claim that Danilo and Milena Popović were involved in the controversial payment scheme, along with the chairman of the board of directors of Fersa. Jose Maria Rojerom, although it was allegedly a conflict of interest. Popović and Kohl claimed that they were left without fees because they did not want to agree to the corrupt payment scheme. Danilo Popović has repeatedly denied having anything to do with the payment scheme or the project in general.
The verdict became final in February 2023. A decision on the review of the proceedings before the Supreme Court is now awaited. Peković is now the representative of Montenegro before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
In an interview with CIN-CG, Vladimir Popović said that he "believes he was a victim of a corrupt system" and that is why the verdict is what it is.
"I refused to participate in the controversial scheme and insisted on legality," says Popović.
Lawsuit against Audax (Ferse) in Spain
Spaniard Carlos Cole filed a lawsuit before the Court of First Instance in Barcelona in June 2023, seeking damages of 75 million euros from Audax Renovables. The trial began in January 2025.
“Audax” did not respond to numerous questions from CIN-CG journalists about this deal, sent several times by email. Questions sent to the mobile number of the vice president of the Audax board of directors also remained unanswered. Eduardo Romeo.
Before the Spanish court, Col Palau accused Audax of, among other things, illegally selling 99 percent of the shares of Možura Wind Park (MWP) to the mysterious company Cifidex Ltd. from Seychelles, which did not meet any of the conditions of the Montenegrin tender to take over the concession of 115,3 million euros of Montenegrin citizens' money, which were given to investors through subsidies according to the contract.
It is interesting that the legal representative of Cifidex was Marko Vujović's own brother, Bojan VujovićThe real owner of Cifidex was hiding behind another offshore company, GSA Services Ltd, founded just a few months before the transaction with Fers and Čelebić.
The Montenegrin Concessions Law states that a concession contract cannot be transferred to another concessionaire without the prior consent of the grantor (in this case, the Government of Montenegro). The Law also requires that the new concessionaire must meet at least the same requirements as the previous concessionaire. Cifidex, with a capital of one US dollar and no experience in the business in question, could not meet the requirements.
Former President and Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic previously told the media that the entire job was done "impeccably legally" and that behind the accusations of corruption "there is only destruction that is being systematically spun by the media."
The Montenegrin government insisted that it had negotiated with the state-owned company Enemalta about the sale of MWP and the transfer of the concession.
Former Prime Minister of Malta Joseph Muscat has said several times to the Maltese media that he “doesn't understand why there is so much fuss about the deal in Montenegro” and that “there is nothing controversial about it.” At the end of May last year, Muscat was charged with money laundering, fraud, bribery and corruption in the privatization of three hospitals in Malta.
Heard about Cifidex from the press
In November 2015, Fersa finalized the sale of its 99 percent of MWP shares for 2,9 million, while Tomislav Čelebić received 650.000 euros for his one percent (over 22 times the share price paid to Fersa).
Ministry of Economy in the Government Duško Marković, which she led Dragica Sekulić, announced in July 2020 that it had no information “about the alleged participation of the offshore companies 17 Black and Cifidex Ltd in the transfer of shares from the previous to the new tenant in the Možura wind farm construction project”. It was also stated that they had never contacted these companies, let alone concluded any contracts.
However, Tax Administration documents and an official publication in the Official Gazette of Montenegro dated December 9, 2015 show that Cifidex Ltd became the owner of Možura Wind Park, despite the claims of Montenegrin officials.
After Seychelles' Cifidex bought 100 percent of MWP's shares from the Spaniards and Tomislav Čelebić for three and a half million euros, at the end of 2015, just 19 days later, the wind farm was sold to the state-owned Maltese company Enemalta for three times the price - 10,3 million.
According to Reuters sources, three million euros for the purchase of MWP shares was provided by Jorgen Fenech, the main accused in the organization of the murder of a Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galicia. Fenek paid for the MWP shares through his Dubai-based company 17 Black Limited. The murdered Maltese journalist was, among other things, investigating suspicious transactions surrounding the construction of Možura. Galicija was killed in Malta by explosives placed under her car in 2017.
Fenech was recently released from custody for the murder of a journalist, on bail of over $50 million. His trial has not yet begun, and he denies any involvement in the murder.
Brothers George i Alfred Deđorđo They confessed to planting the bomb and were sentenced to 40 years in prison each. Another accomplice in the murder Vince Muscat He also pleaded guilty and agreed to serve 15 years in prison.
There remains hope that the Spanish, Maltese and Europol will do their part and encourage the Montenegrin judiciary to finally begin to shed light on this complex affair.
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