Even a partial payment to EPCG has not been received from Šamiz

Owner of the Swiss company “8B Capital” Igor Shamiz, as "Vijesti" unofficially learned, has not paid the debt to the Electric Power Company of Montenegro (EPCG) based on the lease of the Iron and Steel Works, Steelworks and Forge, and the assignment of workers from October to May, when EPCG unilaterally terminated the contract. This is a sum of around 650 to 700 thousand euros. The deadline for paying this debt has expired, and there were indications that if Šamiz pays part of the debt of 250 thousand euros by yesterday and undertakes to pay the rest in installments, there is a possibility that they will sign an annex to the contract with him.

In May, the Electric Power Company terminated the contract with the company “8B Capital” because the tenant failed to fulfill its obligations related to the payment of rent and the debt for the transfer of employees. The energy company previously said that they had issued seven invoices for payment, that the debt for the rent was 223.000 euros plus VAT, and the debt for the transfer of employees was 644.000 euros. On May 8, EPCG sent Šamiz a notice of unilateral termination of the contract, but since that notice was not received, they sent him another notice of termination, which he received on May 26, and from that time on, a 45-day period began to run in which he was supposed to settle his obligations under the rent and the transfer of employees.

"Vijesti" is waiting for an official response from the state energy company as to whether Šamiz has paid the money and if not, what are EPCG's next steps.

At the beginning of last week, as well as last month, Šamiz had a meeting with the executive director of EPCG Ivan Bulatović and Minister of Energy and Mining Admir Šahmanović.

As "Vijesti" received a response from the Ministry of Energy and Mining at the end of June, only when "8B Capital" settles its obligations will it be possible to discuss modifying the contract.

"The contract in question must be respected, regardless of the business or development ambitions of any individual investor. Minister of Energy and Mining Admir Šahmanović explicitly emphasized that the prerequisite for any continuation of the talks is the settlement of the due liabilities of the company '8B Capital' and the provision of adequate financial guarantees, in order to ensure the seriousness of the intention and the possible continuation of the implementation of the existing contract or consideration of signing its annex," the Ministry of Energy said at the time.

"Although the Ministry remains open to dialogue and has a sincere intention to support all projects that contribute to the development of Montenegrin industry, the business environment must be based on legal certainty, responsibility and respect for contractual obligations," the ministry said.

The tenant was obliged to pay a monthly rent of 31 thousand euros, starting from October 1, and out of seven rents, as previously stated by EPCG, they paid only two. As for the number of workers, according to the contract, they had to take on 150 employees in half a year, and the tenant did not take on any, but the salaries of the employees were paid from EPCG funds, and they were engaged in the construction of solar power plants and concrete blocks. EPCG Željezara Nikšić previously said that the workers in the last quarter of last year and the first quarter of this year were earning salaries.

The contract with "8B Capital" was signed in July 2024 for a period of 50 years, and the Swiss company committed to investing 7,75 million within a year from the date of signing the contract and starting production, while in five years, as stated in the offer, it will invest 36,85 million.