The Special State Prosecutor's Office ordered the Special Police Department to seize additional financial documentation related to the construction of the eastern stand of the Podgorica City Stadium.
This is stated in the notification issued by the Supreme State Prosecutor Milorad Marković sent to the person filing the criminal complaint, Darko Vlahović, Director of the CREAM Europe PPP Alliance and Ambassador of the Swiss organization Impact Global Alliance in Montenegro.
In 2022, Vlahović filed a complaint with the SDT against the then leaders of the Capital City - Ivan Vuković i Filip Aleksić and the current leadership of the Football Association, but also a private company due to suspicion that they used their official position to obtain material benefit for themselves or others, in connection with the announced construction of the eastern stand of the Podgorica City Stadium.
He recently filed a new criminal complaint with the SDT, this time against the president and secretary general of the FSCG - Dejan Savićević i Momir Đurđevac, but also several representatives of that sports association, representatives of the Capital City and the owner of the same private architectural firm "Studio K" Dragan Komatina.
"Studio K", the Football Association and the Capital City have previously denied the allegations in Vlahović's criminal complaint.
After several urgent requests to the SDT, to which there was no response, Vlahović inquired about the fate of the 2022 application with the VDT Milorad Marković.
"On June 16.6.2022, 10.6.2024, a criminal complaint was submitted to the Special State Prosecutor's Office against the Chief City Architect of the Capital City of Podgorica, Aleksić Filip and others. After a detailed analysis of the case by the acting prosecutor, the urgency was renewed to the Police Directorate - Special Police Department, on June 7.9.2023, 17, with a request to seize and deliver all necessary documentation. Previously, the department was sent documents dated September 11, 2023, and two urgency letters on November 14, 11 and November 2024, 1. The urgency in question was acted upon, and the documentation was seized along with the statement of one person, given in the capacity of a citizen, which was delivered on July 7, 2024," Marković replied to Vlahović.
In his response, the Supreme State Prosecutor also points out that an additional criminal complaint was submitted on July 3, 2024.
"...After which the case file was submitted for processing to the economic advisor with the task of compiling the necessary information. On December 6, 12, the requested information was compiled and submitted, and given the conclusion of the economic advisor, on December 2024, 13, the Special Police Department was requested to obtain additional financial documentation. The aforementioned request is being processed," Marković's response states.
Vlahović: Technical documents are not donated
In recent days, the story regarding the construction of the eastern stand of the stadium under Gorica has been updated.
Representatives of FSCG recently held a meeting with the Podgorica authorities, representatives of the company "Sportski objekti" and the designer, it was announced.
"According to the project, the development of which was financed by the Football Association of Montenegro, the construction of a grandstand with a total capacity of 6.100 is planned, with accompanying media facilities, commercial spaces and two floors of parking space, with a total area of over 37.000 square meters. The investor of this project is the Government of Montenegro, while the owner of the facility will be the Capital, namely JP Sports Facilities," FSCG announced in mid-January.
Vlahović, however, claims that this meeting is "just a continuation of the manipulation and deception of the citizens of Podgorica and new attempts by the leaders of the FSCG to forcibly deliver an illegal 'donation' of technical documents to the Capital City."
"FSCG leaders have been unsuccessfully trying to hand over the former mayor's Oliveri Injac "...that 'donation', but she refused it throughout her entire mandate for a simple reason - because it is illegal... The Law on Spatial Planning and Construction of Facilities prohibits the donation of technical documents and requires a mandatory call for tenders for all technical documents (conceptual design, main project, revision) for public facilities in state ownership," Vlahović told "Vijesti".
He recalls that the eastern tribune project is accompanied by numerous suspicions of possible corruption, which is why he filed a report with the SDT in mid-2022.
"On January 16, 01, I filed a new criminal complaint against the FSCG leader for abuse of official duty and direct damage of 2025 euros caused to the FSCG budget. The capital, in its request from FSCG, did not even ask for a donation in technical documents (main project and audit) because the law prohibits that, but rather funds (money) for the preparation of documents, as FSCG Secretary General Momir Đurđevac said in a TV show," Vlahović specifies.
He says he informed the mayor about this at the end of January. Saša Mujović.
He reminded him, he points out, that he signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Capital City back in 2015, and then a Feasibility Study Donation Agreement, which he submitted in 2019.
"The study was supposed to serve as a contribution to the announcement of an international competition through the public-private partnership model for the design, financing and construction of the eastern stand and accompanying facilities at the city stadium in Podgorica. However, in 2020, the Capital City announced a national competition, not an international one, and did not do so through the public-private partnership model that included the design, financing and construction of the eastern stand, as well as accompanying facilities at the city stadium in Podgorica, as defined in the Donation Agreement. Upon several written requests that I sent to the then administration of the Capital City, I did not receive an official document on the acceptance of the donated Study, except for oral public thanks for the donation," recalls Vlahović.
Copyright infringement
Although he did not receive official confirmation of acceptance of the Study, he claims, that document was used as a supplement to the program task for the development of the Preliminary Design of the Eastern Stand.
"This document is subject to copyright of the German company 'Arenacom' and the donor CREAM Montenegro. Using these materials without official acceptance constitutes a copyright infringement and is a serious legal problem that may trigger legal proceedings before domestic and international courts for copyright protection," Vlahović said.
He warned that in the event of accepting “the donation by FSCG in the form of the main project, based on which a tender for the construction of the eastern stand of the City Stadium will be announced, this act will be considered a violation of copyright on the donated Study and appropriate legal proceedings will be initiated before domestic and international courts for the protection of copyright, as well as demanding material damages, including payment of all costs of the proceedings”.
According to him, the donated Study did not achieve the goal and spirit of the Memorandum of Cooperation because the Donation Agreement was completely violated - an international competition was not announced.
"And the competition was not announced through the public-private partnership model for the design, financing and construction of the eastern stand as well as the accompanying facilities at the city stadium in Podgorica. In the same period, the Capital City announced international competitions for the conceptual design of the Independence Square in Podgorica and for the arrangement of the riverbed and banks of the Morača River in Podgorica. As for the solution for the construction of the eastern stand, the competition for the conceptual design was national, not international, which is an established and well-known way to eliminate serious international companies from applying for the competition, which have extensive experience in the design and construction of football stadiums, mostly of FIFA and UEFA 4 and 5 categories," emphasizes Vlahović.
He also says that "the winning conceptual design was created by an author's team that has never designed modern football stadiums with FIFA and UEFA criteria, but has experience in designing schools and kindergartens."
He believes that "the only legal and transparent way to build the eastern stand is for the Capital City and the Government of Montenegro to announce a new, this time international, competition for a conceptual design."
"The jury should also include one member who is an expert from the FIFA and UEFA lists for stadium design and construction. After the conceptual design is obtained, the process should continue by announcing a competition for the main design and revision, and then a tender for construction. The entire process must be led by the Capital City and the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property. As for the role of FSCG, it should and must participate, because UEFA provides money for such a project, but through FSCG and this is not the personal will of any individual from FSCG. That participation, as in all projects co-financed by UEFA, is in money and not in technical documents, which is the only thing that is transparent and in accordance with the letter of the law," he said.
Vlahović emphasizes that he supports "not only the construction of the eastern stand, but also the reconstruction of the other three stands of the stadium."
"I appeal to all relevant institutions to ensure complete transparency and prevent any possible abuses that affect the interests of the citizens of Podgorica and Montenegro," said Vlahović.
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