The company "Carinvest" has indisputably obtained material benefits by usurping more than half a million square meters of state land and constructing facilities that serve the interests of that company, and they continued to do so after 2018, the Kotor Basic State Prosecutor's Office claimed during the main trial against the company, as well as its leaders. Marko Bata Carevica i Milan Carevic.
The Kotor Basic Court should soon decide on the indictment, after the Podgorica High Court at the end of last year overturned the verdict that acquitted the elder Carević of charges, sentenced his son Milan to six months of house arrest, and fined "Carinvest" 100.000 euros.
During the main trial in early April, the Kotor prosecutor's office claimed that the Carevićs continued to usurp state land and build illegal structures, and did so last year.
Carević's defense attorney, lawyer Mladen Perunicic, said that this was "an attempt by the prosecution to avoid the statute of limitations on criminal prosecution."
The Krimovica case was revealed to the public by the Network for the Affirmation of the Non-Governmental Sector (MANS) in February 2020, and the prosecution only filed an indictment in 2022. After two years, a verdict was issued, which was overturned by the Podgorica High Court at the end of last year.
The Kotor Prosecutor's Office is charging the Carevics with usurpation of state property and illegal construction, and the state, represented by the protector of property and legal interests, has joined the prosecution.
Built, paved and planted in 2024.
Kotor prosecutors announced in early April that Carević's company had illegally occupied state property, built 11 buildings with a total area of 5.066 square meters, after which "from 27 December 12 onwards, the defendant Milan Carević, as a responsible person in 'Carinvest', acted contrary to the Law on Spatial Planning and Construction of Buildings, because on the cadastral plot in 2018/1142 KO Krimovice, owned by Montenegro, he began construction of two buildings with an area of 1 square meters...".
"...And one building with a basic size of approximately 30x20 square meters, on cadastral plot 1140/1, and then during 2021 and 2022, he began construction of building 14 of 971 square meters and building 15 of 92 square meters, although he did not previously submit an application and documentation for construction. The defendants Carević Marko and Carević Milan, acting on behalf of the defendant legal entity on cadastral plots 1140/1 1141, 1142/1, 1146/2, 1145, 1143, 1144, all in the administrative district of Krimovica and owned by the injured state of Montenegro, from 2015 onwards, built a macadam and asphalt road with accompanying infrastructure that connects the buildings and forms a single complex that operates within the defendant legal entity," the trial minutes, which "Vijesti" had access to, state.
According to the prosecution, from 2018 to 2020, the Carevićs paved roads across state-owned plots, then continued preparing the land for planting olive trees.
"...They continued to cascade the terrain during 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, thus illegally occupying land with a total area of 537.231 square meters, thus obtaining a benefit for the defendant legal entity Carinvest doo Kotor, while the floor of plots 1140/1 and 1142/1 KO Krimovice with the built facilities on them and olive groves represent the area of the maritime domain as land with a special purpose, in accordance with the Maritime Domain Act, and they were aware of their actions and wanted to carry them out, knowing that they were prohibited," the prosecutor emphasized at the beginning of April. Maja Radjenović Drakulić.
The statute of limitations has expired, and no one has warned them.
The defendants' defense attorney, attorney Mladen Peruničić, said that this was a "desperate attempt to attribute any action of the defendants on the subject plots as an act of committing the criminal offense of illegal occupation of land."
"The legal conclusion of the Higher Court clearly indicates that in this case, the absolute statute of limitations has expired for criminal prosecution in relation to the criminal offense of illegal occupation of land. The defense regrets that this proceeding is meaningless and will end with the dismissal of the charges due to the statute of limitations, since all the evidence presented clearly establishes that the defendants did not commit the criminal offense they are charged with," Peruničić claims.
According to him, when it comes to Marko Carević, the statute of limitations has expired.
"The absolute statute of limitations for criminal prosecution has also expired in relation to Milan Carević and the accused legal entity, since this is not a qualified form of criminal offense, but a basic one. Regardless of the absolute statute of limitations for criminal prosecution, the defense has proven in these proceedings that the defendants did not commit the criminal offense of illegal occupation of land. It follows from the defendants' statements that they have been negotiating with the competent ministry since 2014, and that they have also undertaken certain works on the disputed land, which is not part of the Coastal Zone. The injured party in these proceedings has never warned the defendants that any of their actions were illegal. On the contrary, the injured party, the state of Montenegro, has always given the defendants verbal guarantees that they can carry out their activities in the given area," he said.
He also stated that "this procedure has been covered by the media more than any other procedure for the commission of serious crimes, and that the media has constantly violated the presumption of innocence."
"The defense expects that the court will not succumb to public pressure and that it will make a fair decision," said Carević's defense attorney.
Bonus video:
