Supervisor at the National Parks of Montenegro (NPCG) Dražen Ivanović filed a criminal complaint with the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) against the former management of the company for, as he claims, organized crime.
The criminal complaint, which "Vijesti" had access to, states that the former director of the company, Vladimir Martinović, "organized a series of illegal activities in the period from the beginning of the summer tourist season in 2024 by organizing the illegal operation of the Virpazar parking lot, the theft of tickets in the Lovćen, Skadar Lake and Durmitor national parks."
Ivanovic also filed criminal charges against, as he claims, his co-perpetrators Predrag Gluščević, Belma Šestović, Vuk Saičić, Miladin Sekulović, Almir Abdović and others...
He stated that while performing the duties of a supervisor, who is responsible for all collection and control activities, he came across operational data that these individuals "in the aforementioned illegal activities, misappropriated 500.000 euros and thereby damaged the budget of the state of Montenegro."
The SDT did not answer "Vijesti"'s question about what was done based on that criminal report, nor whether any of the persons against whom the report was filed were questioned.
The National Parks told the newspaper that they were aware of the criminal report, requested that the authorities investigate all allegations, and announced that they were at their disposal.
"We are aware of the report that is the subject of your interest, and was submitted to the Special State Prosecutor's Office. On this occasion, we would like to point out that we support all competent state authorities, in this case the SDT, to investigate all allegations regarding the submitted report, and that we are at the disposal of the competent state authorities to determine the factual situation," it says in the response they provided to "Vijesti".
When asked whether there were any indications that the persons against whom criminal charges were filed had acted in violation of regulations, the NPCG said that since the appointment of the new director of the NPCG, Marinela Đuretić, disciplinary proceedings have been initiated against employees for all identified irregularities in their work due to minor and serious disciplinary violations.
"... Which in most cases resulted in condemnatory decisions and disciplinary measures were imposed on employees for the same," said the NPCG.
Ivanovic, who filed the complaint, said that since September of this year he has returned to work as a supervisor for all national parks.
"I inspected the paperwork and terrain in Lovćen National Park and Skadar Lake National Park and found a catastrophic situation in terms of illegal activities and record keeping. All of these activities, including illegal parking in Virpazar, could not have been organized without the knowledge of director Vladimir Martinović," he told "Vijesti".
This, he said, is evidenced by an email from the director of Skadar Lake, Belma Šestović.
"...Who asks the owner of the DeAndros Hotel in Virpazar, questioning its legality, and who directs her to contact Director Martinović because he is aware of everything. The parking lot was only reported by the NP after Martinović was dismissed. The parking lot had two workers who presented themselves as national park workers and charged five euros per vehicle," said Ivanović.
According to him, in parallel with this, "any serious ticket control was abolished and the same people were appointed to work with tickets."
He claims that this was most obvious on Lovćen because "after my inspection, the markets increased sharply, especially in October."
"Regarding the Skadar Lake NP, I personally caught two workers illegally selling tickets, but not even disciplinary proceedings were initiated against them. Networked workers appointed by Vladimir Martinović went from Podgorica and Cetinje to the Durmitor NP and took over the collection on the orders of the general director. Some workers were mistreated, moved and removed from the control service, and then suitable ones were brought in. All this is just part of the criminal activities that took place during Vladimir Martinović's mandate, because there are also suspicious projects that I did not have the authority to control. But what can be said when Martinović brought Predrag Gluščević directly from prison, as his closest associate and who was convicted of fraud, tax evasion and served five years in prison? Did anyone expect that they would improve their job? Unfortunately, all these people are still working in the same positions and are preparing for the upcoming season," said Ivanović.
He claims that all of this is being talked about publicly and that it is "an open secret in national parks, but there are too many who remain silent."
"Someone estimated that half a million euros were stolen, so we're wondering why we haven't received our salary yet. The conclusion is this - if Martinović gets away with this, why wouldn't those after him try?" said Ivanovic.
Vladimir Martinović has been managing the national parks since November 2022. He was dismissed by the Government at a session on September 5, at the proposal of the Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Development Damjan Ćulafić, and the decision was signed by Prime Minister Milojko Spajić. In the explanation of the dismissal, which was published on the Government's website, Ćulafić stated that the NP's operations jeopardized the public interest, and as a key reason, he cited the fact that the company operated with a deficit of 581.884 euros last year, while in 2022 they had a surplus of 20.334 euros.
NPCG: Interesting data on the increase in the number of tickets sold
The National Parks of Montenegro announced that comparative business indicators of Lovćen NP show that expenses for 2024 are 82.826,37 euros higher, or 17 percent, compared to 2023.
"Regarding comparative indicators on the number of visitors, the following was registered, among other things: From February to September 2024, NP Lovćen recorded a worrying decline in revenue from ticket sales compared to 2023, which ranged up to 55% on a monthly basis," said the NPCG.
They also pointed to "interesting data", saying that in October, November and December 2024, revenues from ticket sales were significantly better than in 2023.
"In the aforementioned months, the growth in revenue from ticket sales was over 100 percent compared to 2023. In October, daily revenue on this basis was recorded in the amount of about four thousand euros, while in August it did not exceed 2.800 euros. Also, data on the number of tickets sold during 2024 show that visits in September, when a decline in visits is expected, are as many as 3.013 visitors higher than in June," said the NPCG.
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