Representative of the association CREAM Montenegro PPP Alliance Darko Vlahovic submitted a criminal complaint to the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) against the leaders of the Capital City and the Football Association, as well as a private company due to suspicion that they used their official position, obtained material benefits for themselves or others, and in connection with the announced construction of the eastern stand of the Podgorica City Stadium.
Vlahović, whose non-profit association donated hundreds of thousands of euros worth of studies for the City Stadium project to the capital several years ago, filed a criminal complaint in June.
The SDT did not respond to the questions of "Vijesti" regarding the status of the criminal complaint against the mayor of Podgorica and the city's chief architect. Ivan Vuković i Filip Aleksić, president of FSCG Dejan Savićević and the owner of the company "Studio K" from Podgorica Dragan Komatina.
Since July, SDT has not answered the questions of "Vijesti" regarding what was done regarding this criminal complaint.
The Office for Public Relations of the Capital City (PG Bureau), the Football Association and "Studio K" reject the accusations and claim that they worked in accordance with the law.
"According to the legal obligation that for public buildings, a public competition for the selection of the best conceptual architectural solution must be announced, the capital city has announced a national general one-stage competition for the conceptual solution of the eastern tribune of the City Stadium. The contest, which was announced on June 26, 2020, was successfully completed and the Commission that decides on it awarded the first, second and third prizes, as well as two redemptions. According to the above, the public appearances of Mr. Darko Vlahović can only be interpreted as an attempt to influence decisions with the aim of making an illegal decision", they state from the Capital City.
Respected laws or damage to the budget?
The Capital City points out that their work is guided "exclusively by laws and regulations, so we consider any kind of pressure to act contrary to the above to be unacceptable".
"We especially remind you of the provisions of the Law on the Prevention of Corruption, according to which donation contracts cannot affect the legality of the work of the competent authorities," said the PG Bureau.
Vlahović, however, recalls that Vuković recently, two years after starting the process for the construction of the eastern tribune of the City Stadium, announced that the Government of Montenegro is to blame for not being able to complete that work:
"It is tragic that Mayor Vuković shifts the responsibility to someone else, even though he independently led a more than controversial process. After this fiasco, now he even promises that in the next two years, the capital could financially and technically independently realize the reconstruction of other, western stands".
Vlahović claims that "the capital city's budget was damaged by 61.000 euros due to the decision of the capital city administration to call for two national instead of international tenders and the selection of dubious conceptual solutions, which are accompanied by a potential conflict of interest, already at the beginning of the process for the construction of the east tribune of the city stadium".
He also asked what the motives of the capital city are for "less demanding projects, such as the conceptual solution for Independence Square", to call for international tenders, while for the eastern tribune twice, national tenders are called, and "the winners are authors who have never designed modern football stadiums, they already have references for the design of nurseries and kindergartens in Ulcinj and Bar, elementary schools in Tološi, day care for the elderly in Golubovci..."
According to Vlahović, "it is obvious the intention of the Capital City to prevent the application of international authors who designed modern stadiums according to Fifa and Uefa standards by announcing national competitions".
Procedures were (not) bypassed through the Football Association?
Vlahović also reminded that in the analysis of the quality of conceptual solutions, which was carried out by a Fifa and UEFA expert for design and construction, it is stated that "no conceptual solution for the eastern stand of the Podgorica City Stadium meets the requirements of the UEFA Green Guide on stadium construction", while for the winning the decision states that "the proposal is reminiscent of boring and old-fashioned Soviet design".
"The capital and FSCG did not react to the published analysis, which only increased doubts about the whole case," says Vlahović.
He also states that in the continuation of the competition process, "the capital assigned the sports non-governmental organization FSCG to conduct the competition for the main project".
Vlahović believes that this was done in order for "the capital city to knowingly circumvent the law and the obligation to announce a public tender for the main project, thereby violating the Law on Public Procurement and the Law on Spatial Planning and Building Construction".
"General Secretary of FSCG Momir Đurđevac in a statement after the selection of the company "Studio K" that will create the main project, said that this company gave the best offer for both the price and the deadline. He also said that the main project will be finished during July and handed over to the Capital City in August 2021. FSCG has not handed over the main project to the Capital City even 14 months later".
Vlahović also suspects a conflict of interest when it comes to the relationship between FSCG president Dejan Savićević and the owner of the company "Studio K" Dragan Komatina.
He also claims that close relatives of Dragan Komatina or employees of his companies received awards in September 2020 for the conceptual solution of the eastern tribune, when Savićević was also on the jury.
"The company 'Studio K' has for years been the winner of almost all projects financed by FSCG worth tens of millions of euros - the Football House at the Old Airport, the stadium in Cetinje, the grandstand of the main field at the Old Airport, the grandstand with changing rooms at the Old Aerodrome, the main project for the Eastern tribune of the City Stadium in Podgorica, supervision of the eastern tribune of the stadium in Berane...", claims Vlahović, stating that Savićević, visiting on Public Service, "confirmed that Komatina is his friend".
"Obviously, the functioning of FSCG is not in the spirit of transparency and anti-corruption rules, which leaves a strong impression of possible corruption. It is against the interests of Fifa and UEFA, that the money they give is used for possible corruption and crime, which is why their image has been ruined in the past," says Vlahović.
The FSCG says that "the competition for the development and selection of the conceptual solution for the eastern stand of the City Stadium was announced and implemented by the Capital City".
"In this project, the Football Association participated in the financing of the main project in accordance with the selected conceptual solution. For these purposes, the FSCG issued an invitation to the relevant architectural bureaus in the country to submit bids for the development of the main project. 10 bureaus responded to the invitation of the Football Association and submitted bids for the development of the main project within the defined time limit. The offer of the bureau 'Studio K' was the most favorable of all the due offers in terms of finances and deadlines for production", they replied to "Vijesta" from FSCG.
"Studio K": The prosecutor did not contact us, we had the best references
The company "Studio K" points out that the SDT did not contact them, neither as individuals nor as a legal entity.
They also point out that after the selection of the best conceptual solution at the competition of the Capital City, FSCG, as a co-investor, announced a tender for the collection of bids for the development of the main project.
"Given that FSCG is a non-governmental organization that is financed from its own resources, the tender did not even have to be announced by law. The tender documentation was taken over by 14 companies, 11 of them sent offers, including "Studio K". Out of 11 bidders, we were chosen for the job as the company with the best references (stadium design according to Uefa standards), but also as the cheapest. In April 2021, we signed the contract and started work. The price of the main project is 13 euros per square meter of the building, which has 31.730 square meters. The total value of the contracted work is 412.490 euros plus VAT, which has been forwarded to the Tax Administration", they answered from "Study K".
They point out that the main project was completed and handed over to the investor and auditor in February 2022.
"Which of the mentioned facts is illegal, someone who knows domestic law, as well as processes and rules in the construction of buildings, will have to answer. Mr. Vlahović is neither professionally nor experienced qualified to deal with facts from these branches. That's why brokers with insinuations that should establish his unfulfilled ambitions", they said from "Studio K".
Who will be held responsible?
Vlahović, however, asks whether Mayor Vuković will bear responsibility for the three lost years, because the construction of the eastern tribune has not been started, but also "damage to the capital city's budget of 61.000 euros, which was paid for conceptual solutions".
"Will FSCG president Savićević bear the responsibility for causing damage to the FSCG budget of 499.112 euros, which was paid for the main project of the eastern tribune to his friend Dragan Komatina's company "Studio K"? In order for the powerful and currently respectable to stop ruling, the entry of prosecutors into the FSCG and the Capital will be a break with the selectivity and inviolability they have enjoyed all these years," concluded Vlahović.
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