The consortium of the British company Henley and partners Government Services and Fragomen LLP, as well as the Chinese Shanghai Overseas Chinese Exit-Entry Services, did not meet the requirements for the development of the economic citizenship program that were foreseen in the public invitation.
The Ministry of Tourism therefore canceled the public invitation and now a new model is being prepared for the realization of that project.
"A detailed inspection of the tender documentation revealed that both offers did not prove that they met the number one qualification requirement defined by the public invitation and the tender documentation. This means that the bidder must have at least five years of continuous experience in the development and implementation of the citizenship acquisition program based on investment in the last seven years," the Ministry of Tourism, headed by Minister Pavle Radulović, told "Vijesta".
They add that the Commission that evaluated the bids of two bidders found that they contained technical deficiencies, and that a decision was made at the beginning of April to reject the bids and cancel the public tender. The Ministry also said that the consortium led by Helly and partners filed a complaint within the legal deadline, which the Commission rejected.
The Ministry announced an international public call on November 28 last year. The deadline for purchasing tender documents expired on February 16. The deadline for submitting bids expired on February 27, and bids were opened a day later.
At the end of July last year, the Government adopted the Decision on the method, procedure and criteria for the selection of bidders for the development and implementation of a special investment program on the basis of which one can acquire Montenegrin citizenship.
In the public invitation, it was explained that the program includes investments in economic activity that will contribute to the economic development of the state, investment in real estate or payment of money to the state budget.
In recent years, Montenegrin passports were distributed, even to controversial people, suspected of criminal acts in their countries, at the suggestion of former Prime Ministers Milo Đukanović and Igor Lukšić, President Filip Vujanović and former President of the Assembly Ranko Krivokapić.
Among the "famous Montenegrins" are the former Palestinian minister Muhamed Dahlan, whom the Palestinian authorities suspect of embezzling hundreds of millions from state funds, and the former Prime Minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra, who was convicted of corruption in that country...
They will invite everyone to propose a new program
The Ministry of Tourism and Sustainable Development explained that the Government is now considering a new model for implementing the program, which would invite interested companies with experience in citizenship acquisition projects to submit a proposal for a program concept that can be successful in Montenegro.
"The programs should contain a detailed model for acquiring Montenegrin citizenship, conditions that must be met by a person to acquire Montenegrin citizenship and a realistic assessment of all the effects of the program on the Government of Montenegro and the Montenegrin economy. A multidisciplinary and multidepartmental commission has been formed that will analyze and test the models that will be presented and select the appropriate model," explained the Ministry of Tourism.
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