The Municipality of Budva wants to pay 3,5 million euros to companies from the German group WTE from Essen and thereby close disputes before international and domestic courts, claiming that they are threatening to devastate the city's coffers in the name of building a wastewater treatment plant in Bečići, as well as a desalination plant on Cape Zavala.
This is stated in the draft Settlement Agreement on mutual rights and obligations between the Municipality of Budva and the Budva Water and Sewerage Company on the one hand and WTE Wassertechnik GMBH, Otpadne vode Budva DOO, WTE desalinizacija maris vode DOO and Beteiligung 52 asset solutions GMBH on the other hand, which will be presented before the councilors of the Municipal Assembly on Friday.
"The settlement agreement stipulates that the Municipality of Budva will make a payment in the total amount of 3.500.000 euros, in four equal installments of 875.000 euros each, the first by November 30, 2025, the second by December 30, 2025, the third by February 15, 2026, and the fourth by March 15, 2026," the decision, which "Vijesti" had access to, states.
President of the Municipality Nikola Jovanovic the decision was proposed by the head of parliament Petar Odžić included it on the agenda of the parliamentary session, which this time, the seventh in a row, out of a total of eight sessions held, was again scheduled under urgent procedure.
The assembly decision states that by settling, the Municipality of Budva manages to protect itself from millions in claims from the German company.
"Based on the calculations presented in the Agreement, the Municipality of Budva and the related legal entity Vodovod i kanalizacija are exposed to total liabilities towards the WTE group and its subsidiaries which, depending on the legal basis that would be recognized, on September 23, 2025 amount to between 49.513.382,47 euros (the lowest limit, according to the expert's findings) and 53.013.382,47 euros (the highest limit, according to the final arbitration awards in arbitration proceedings)," the decision states.
As explained, the settlement permanently closes the obligations based on two final arbitration awards before the International Court of Justice in Frankfurt and Geneva.
"The entire claim from the domestic litigation against Vodovod i kanalizacije is extinguished and all procedural and enforcement risks in the country and abroad are eliminated, including the potential costs of the proceedings before the Federal Court of Germany (BGH), whose cost risk amounts to at least 876.000 euros," the decision emphasizes.
The settlement agreement stipulates that the Municipality of Budva will make a payment in the total amount of 3.500.000 euros, in four equal installments of 875.000 euros each, the first by November 30, 2025, the second by December 30, 2025, the third by February 15, 2026, and the fourth by March 15, 2026.
The signing of the Agreement, as emphasized, ensures the timely fulfillment of obligations of particular importance, related to the smooth functioning of the utility infrastructure and the provision of public services to the citizens of Budva, which is of key importance for preserving the public interest.
"Given that the Agreement provides for precisely defined deadlines and payments, two of which are planned for fiscal 2025, and the remaining two for the first two months of 2026, it is necessary to adopt the draft Agreement without delay in order to implement it in a timely manner through the budget rebalance procedure. Untimely execution of the Agreement may result in the obligation to pay default interest, or the initiation of new court proceedings, which would create unnecessary and significant financial burdens for the Municipality of Budva," the decision states.
However, such an arrangement is considered criminal by the opposition committee of the Democrats of Budva.
"It is obvious that after returning to power, DPS is charging for its support for Nikola Jovanović with money from the citizens of Budva through criminal scandals that they themselves caused. The final verdicts mentioned have not been published anywhere, although it is the obligation of the mayor to inform the Municipal Assembly about the arbitration process on a monthly basis," states a statement provided to "Vijesti" from the Budva Democrats board.
The construction of a wastewater treatment plant in the Bečići settlement of Vjštice, as well as a seawater desalination plant on Cape Zavala, are among the largest corruption scandals of the fugitive organized crime group. Svetozar Marović which did not receive an epilogue.
The International Arbitration Court in Geneva accepted the evidence and expert opinions of the Municipality of Budva, and thus rejected the request of the WTE/EVN concern to pay them 40 million euros for the termination of the contract for the construction of the plant in Bečići. The foreign company initiated a dispute for the termination of the DBFO contract that it concluded with the Municipality almost a decade and a half ago and thus requested that it be paid for everything that was planned to be implemented in terms of investment. The expert opinions that were submitted, starting from the assessment of the performed works carried out by the company “Dr Duhovnik”, and the financial expert, showed that Budva paid in full what the German company from Essen invested.
However, the decision of the arbitration court in Frankfurt a year and a half ago was in favor of WTE, and Budva was ordered to pay them 40 million euros in the name of the guarantee (which the Municipality claims is a forgery).
Before the Paris Court of Arbitration, Frankfurt Division, WTE Wassertechnik GmbH from Essen, the parent company of WTE Wastewater, has filed a lawsuit seeking the recovery of 64.592.738 euros under a guarantee agreement concluded between the German company and the then mayor. Rajka Kuljaca.
This is a controversial guarantee from 2010, which did not have the consent of the Budva Municipal Assembly, and because of which the former mayor Marko Carevic filed a criminal complaint against the now deceased Kuljača and several unidentified persons who participated in the case. The Special Prosecutor's Office, which was then headed by Milivoje Katnic dismissed the report due to the death of the reported person, as well as against an unidentified person, because, as stated, there is no reasonable suspicion that any person committed criminal offenses that are prosecuted ex officio.
On the other hand, the Government of Montenegro continued the court process to prove that the Municipality of Budva is obliged to return 29,3 million euros, which it paid to the German-Austrian concern WTE/EVN, which was building a wastewater treatment plant, at the end of December 2019, under a state guarantee. This is expected in the Municipality, after the High Court overturned the verdict of the Kotor Basic Court and returned it for re-determination, which obliged the tourism metropolis to return the million-dollar sum, which the then Government of the Prime Minister Duško Marković paid to a foreign company, which then packed its bags and left the plant in a disastrous state in January 2020.
Democrats against: They bragged about their victories in arbitrations
The Budva Democrats remind that the construction of a wastewater treatment plant is the biggest scandal for which DPS officials were sentenced to minimum prison sentences.
"For the millions of corruption, Svetozar Marović and Lazar Rađenović were sentenced to symbolic sentences of six months in prison and small fines. The impression is that this theft was used to settle scores with dissenters in the DPS instead of truly investigating the entire case in detail and punishing all those responsible for the multi-million corruption. Our city consequently faced the blocking of accounts, court and arbitration proceedings as an epilogue to the criminal activities of the DPS leader. One of the most vocal critics in previous years was the current mayor of the municipality, Nikola Jovanović. He repeatedly publicly boasted of his victory in the arbitration proceedings that were conducted. The public, and especially the Budva Municipal Assembly, were never informed of the final judgments and the arbitration decision," the party states.
They remind that "the legal team representing the Budva Municipality in this case was planted in the Municipal Assembly by the former Mayor Marko Carević and the then Chief of Staff Nikola Jovanović", which they did not support.
"We believed then, as we do today, that this was an attempt to evade responsibility for the court's outcome and shift responsibility onto the councilors. However, the new legal team, led by Mr. Miroj Jovanović, emphasized in public appearances that this was a criminal deal concluded to rob the municipality. The victory in the arbitration proceedings was also celebrated. When we draw the line at the crimes committed, the responsible DPS officials were punished with a small prison sentence and an even smaller fine, and the companies that participated in this corrupt deal have so far been paid over 40 million euros on various grounds. According to our information, the legal team was paid about two million euros, and the councilors of the Budva Municipal Assembly want to shift responsibility for another 3,5 million euros for the settlement in the arbitration in which we won," the Democrats conclude.
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