Montenegrin authorities deceived European officials last year that they froze the assets of 34 Russian citizens who are on the list of European Union sanctions.
Former Interior Minister Filip Adžić announced in June of last year that the authorities, following European policy, froze the real estate of sanctioned Russians.
"For 44 real estates, the Cadastre Administration issued decisions limiting the disposal of property in Montenegro. It refers to 34 Russian citizens who have been sanctioned," Adžić said.
Four months later, the information was also found in the European Commission's annual report on Montenegro.
However, the fact is that the frozen property belongs to only one Russian, as confirmed by the Directorate for Cadastre and State Property to Radio Free Europe (RSE).
RSE did not receive a comment from the EU Delegation in Podgorica regarding the disputed announcement.
Ines Mrdović from Action for Social Rights for RSE assesses that Montenegrin institutions are responsible for that omission.
"It is inappropriate for you to provide the EU with one type of information that does not correspond to the situation on the ground," Mrdović points out.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, and in April, after several delays, the Government of Montenegro joined the EU sanctions, which entail freezing the assets of Russian citizens and companies from the list.
First, they prohibited disposal, then performed an identity check
The Cadastre Administration explained to RSE what happened after the list of Russians who were under EU sanctions arrived.
As RSE was told, the lists contained first and last name, while only part of them included the date of birth.
As they explain, the only search criteria were names and surnames.
"Decisions were made for a certain number of persons whose first and last names matched, to prohibit the disposal of property due to the risk of alienation and encumbrance of immovable property," according to the Administration.
Only after that did the identity check begin, which showed that as many as 33 out of 34 people are not on the list of sanctions, but only have the same first and last name.
After the errors were determined, the Administration carried out a "correction of the solution".
As they clarified, they decided to urgently freeze, before identity verification, so that the properties of the "sanctioned" would not be sold or burdened with loans.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Montenegro did not respond for more than two weeks, which is why they presented unreliable data and thus misled the public and the EU.
Information about the freezing of assets was then also reported by numerous media from the region.
Bashirov is the only one whose assets have been frozen
The Administration did not announce the name of the person whose assets were frozen, but according to the inspection of the documents, it is Marat Bashirov, the former prime minister of the self-proclaimed People's Republic of Luhansk.
Pro-Russian separatists in several regions, including Lugansk, rejected the Ukrainian government in 2014 and self-proclaimed independent "people's republics", which are not internationally recognized.
In the decision to impose sanctions, it is stated that he is responsible for the separatist "governmental" actions of the so-called "government of the People's Republic of Luhansk".
He has a smaller apartment of 33 square meters in Bečići, Budva. In addition, he has a non-residential space of 128 square meters in co-ownership with several other persons.
A large number of Russian citizens live in Montenegro.
They own about 19.000 properties.
Among those who own real estate are oligarch Oleg Deripaska and Moscow's chief prosecutor Denis Popov, who was personally appointed by decree of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
The assets are transferred to companies connected to them or their family members.
provide full information to the EU
Ines Mrdović assesses for RSE that the whole process was not sufficiently transparent neither towards citizens nor towards European partners.
"We get into situations where some say one thing and others another. And then you wonder what is actually true. In any case, it is very bad that European partners are not given complete and accurate information," Mrdović points out.
In October of this year, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on Montenegro.
It welcomes Montenegro's compliance with sanctions against Russia.
However, concern is expressed over the fact that a large number of Russian citizens, including oligarchs, are settling in Montenegro.
"We call on the Montenegrin authorities to ensure that the country does not become a hub for companies and individuals who want to circumvent sanctions," the resolution states.
The European Commission will present a new report on Montenegro on November 8 in Brussels.
Before the publication of the report, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, visited Montenegro as part of her Balkan tour.
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