Two companies majority-owned by a Kazakh with an honorary Montenegrin passport Igor Bidil did not suffer damages of 17,3 million euros because they did not build a luxury five-star hotel in the heart of the Durmitor National Park and generate income from it over the next three decades, according to the Commercial Court's ruling.
However, that court is of the opinion that the state should pay almost 1,4 million euros to the companies "CG SKI" and "Baltic International Trading" for actual damages, with statutory default interest starting from November 26, 2024. The state representative - the institution of the Protector of Property and Legal Interests - filed an appeal with the Court of Appeal.
Two companies sued the state four years ago, seeking compensation for damages arising from the Long-Term Lease Agreement OVP No. 7083/2018 of 20 November 2018, for the purpose of valorizing the military-tourist complex "Mediteran" in Žabljak, through a long-term lease and the construction of a luxurious, exclusive tourist complex.
They planned to build a five-star hotel complex "The Chedi Žabljak", developed the first conceptual design, which was approved by the chief city architect in April 2019, and a year later received approval from the Environmental Protection Agency for the Environmental Impact Assessment Study for that project...
In May 2020, they submitted a construction application to the administration of the then Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism, which was headed by Duško Marković due to the previous resignation of Pavle Radulović. In June of the same year, the department informed them that the procedure for verifying the submitted application was being suspended until the Montenegrin National Commission for UNESCO delivered its opinion on the preservation of outstanding universal values in terms of the protection of world natural and cultural heritage, given that the exclusive complex was planned in the zone of the natural world heritage site - the Durmitor National Park. UNESCO's position was that nothing should be built in the area of the Durmitor National Park according to existing planning documents, and before a tourism strategy for the municipality of Žabljak was developed...
According to the Central Register of Business Entities (crps.me), the company “CG SKI” is registered in Tivat, and its founder and owner is another Tivat-based company “CG investment”. That company is mostly owned by Bidil (75 percent) and Ivan Pekovic (25 percent).
According to Estonian registers, "Baltic International Trading" is registered at an address in Tallinn, and it is specified that its founder, member of the management board and shareholder is Bidilo, who holds a Montenegrin passport, at the suggestion of the former head of state. Milo Đukanović, delivered in 2017. The Kazakh is currently on trial in Italy, and he and 11 other people are suspected of the crime of money laundering as part of the "Strategic Partner" operation...
Profit forecasting is not enough
"Since in the specific legal matter a Long-Term Lease Agreement was concluded, under which the plaintiffs fulfilled their contractual obligations up to the moment of submitting the construction application, while the defendant only requested UNESCO's opinion regarding the permissibility of construction on a site in the Durmitor National Park zone during the verification process of the application in question, despite the fact that it should have been informed of the special legal regime to which the subject real estate being leased and on which construction is planned is subject, this court is of the opinion that, in the manner described, the interruption of the procedure during the implementation of the Long-Term Lease Agreement also violated the principle of mutual interests of the parties in the contractual relationship, which also led to a violation of the principles of conscientiousness and honesty, contrary to Article 4 of the Law on Obligations," the judge of the Commercial Court stated in the judgment. Filip Vujosevic.
According to his assessment, "the plaintiff is entitled to compensation in the form of actual damage reflected in the funds invested to realize the investment."
"The court finds that the plaintiffs are entitled to compensation for material damage in the amount of 1.369.726,93 euros, an amount that represents compensation for the actual costs that the plaintiff had to make the investment in question, as determined from the expert report... Deciding on the second form of compensation for material damage - for lost profit in the amount of 17.360.681,52 euros, with the associated default interest, the court finds that the claim in this part is unfounded," the verdict, which "Vijesti" had access to, states.
Judge Vujošević emphasizes that the plaintiff bases this request on the fact that "through the defendant's conduct, in addition to ordinary, they also suffered damage in the form of lost profits, which they would have realized in the ordinary course of things, if the investment in question had been realized by the end of the 30-year lease term of the location, with the sale of all accommodation units."
According to the contract and investment program that these companies signed with the Government seven years ago, they were obliged to invest 5,5 million euros in the construction of a luxurious five-star hotel and tourist complex with a capacity of 100 beds.
"In this regard, it should be borne in mind that an optimistic prediction of profit is not enough and it is not enough that the creditor planned a profit. Namely, when assessing damages, the profit that, according to the subjective assessments and wishes of the creditor, was assumed to occur is not taken into account. Therefore, it is necessary that the profit in question is one that would certainly occur, that there is a reasonable probability of realizing such a benefit... In the specific case, the plaintiffs treat the lost profit as lost profit that they would have realized in the ordinary course of things, if the investment in question had been realized by the end of the 30-year lease term of the location, with the sale of all accommodation units in the amount of 17.360.681,52", the verdict specified.
Investigation in Italy
According to Italian media, the next hearing in the "Strategic Partner" case will be held in December.
Media reports indicate that the investigation was launched in 2018 at the initiative of the state prosecutor's office, and included companies and individuals suspected of tax crimes, corruption, and money laundering.
In addition to Bidil, the accused include officials from several Italian cities, representatives of the local Chamber of Commerce, politicians...
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