The State Property Administration will soon complete the assessment of permanently confiscated real estate worth millions and advertise it for sale, while proposing to the Government of Montenegro to redirect the money from it to the social fund.
This was told to "Vijesti" by the director of the Administration. Koča Đurišić.
Among the permanently confiscated property following final court rulings is the family villa. Đorđine Marović which the state previously seized from the wife of the fugitive head of the Budva crime group and former high-ranking DPS official Svetozar Marović, but also a luxurious 193 square meter penthouse in Budva, once owned by their son Miloš Marović.
There are also several properties in Perast, Herceg Novi, Morinje, Danilovgrad and Nikšić, which, according to a final verdict of the Higher Court in Podgorica, were confiscated from the legal entities "PM Holding" and "Paradise Properties".
After final judgments, 2,3 million square meters of land - meadows, forests, pastures... in Podgorica, Danilovgrad, Nikšić, Bar and Kotor - became state property.
"The Administration's proposal will be to use the money from the public sale of these properties for some social programs or funds. We will send that proposal to the Government. We believe that this is the best and fairest message: what was acquired through criminal acts, through social programs, will be returned to those categories that need it most. This sends a message to the entire community that what was acquired through criminal activity and taken from citizens will be returned to them," Đurišić told "Vijesti".
Market value assessment
According to him, the Administration conducted a complete analysis that, among other things, examined whether any of these properties were necessary for state bodies.
"After this complete analysis, the Administration has compiled a list of real estate, land and other premises that are not needed by state bodies for their functioning, and in order to prevent further deterioration of these facilities, upon completion of the assessment, we will submit to the relevant Ministry, and they will nominate at the Government session, a proposal to advertise this property for sale through a public call and public bidding," explained Đurišić.
The estimated value of that state property, or property that was acquired through criminal acts and became state property, will be the starting price in the public bidding process.
"This means that bidders cannot offer a price lower than the one estimated, and they can also offer a higher price in a public tender," emphasized the Director of the Administration.
He specified that the speed of the assessment depends on the experts who visit all the facilities.
"We are taking care that the assessment cannot be below the market value of the property, which means that the minimum starting price in the public bidding process will be market value," said Đurišić.
Asked if he is afraid of the possibility of real estate being purchased by relatives or persons connected to those from whom it has been legally confiscated, he replies that "other institutions and authorities must check whether someone is buying real estate with legal money."
Analysis is still pending for part of the land.
When it comes to land, Đurišić explains, there are currently no plans to sell plots that are not related to buildings.
"We are not currently planning a sale, because the land requires a more detailed analysis. However, the land adjacent to the confiscated family houses and the like will share the fate of those facilities and will be put up for sale," he said.
He recalled the Administration's position that "state land should be sold as little as possible."
"That is, it should only be sold in situations where some investments are planned that will bring development to Montenegro, or an increase in the number of jobs, etc. So, when it comes to land, our position has not changed. We have previously stated that state land should not be sold without a detailed analysis," Đurišić points out.
He also emphasized that in the previous period, the Administration sold 330 temporarily seized vehicles for recycling.
"These were temporarily seized vehicles, but they were vehicles that were seized 10 years ago or more. After a decade, we gain the legal basis to sell them, again with a public call and public bidding. And those who make the best offer buy them. In all other cases, we wait for them to become state property and then we dispose of them in the way that, according to the analysis, is the best," he explained.
He reminded that the Administration takes care of temporarily seized property, but does not take any action until the final court rulings are finalized.
"Court proceedings are long and take time until final court decisions are made. When it comes to movable property, it very often loses value. However, we have a legal solution, which is again not the most precise and fortunate, but when an expert in a certain field assesses that the thing is losing value and that keeping it would be significantly more expensive and would significantly reduce the value of the thing, we have the option of selling the temporarily seized movable property. And in certain situations, we do that," said Đurišić.
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