I accepted the position of president at Profit App, and paid 12.000 euros for it, says Lukas (real name known to the editorial staff), who traveled to Montenegro from a European Union (EU) country to try to return the money invested because he claims that he did not benefit from the position of president at all, even though it was promised.
The company Profit App is registered in Podgorica as a start-up, and has branches in several neighboring countries and the EU.
Lukas returned with unfinished business and new assurances from management that he would not only get back the money invested, but also make a profit.
Profit App has an app of the same name that allows you to get a refund for a portion of your purchases. It was also advertised that members (users) could use the money from the refund for further spending - in the same or another store, and it was also promised that they would be able to use the money they collected to pay, for example, their electricity bill, or give the money to someone else. However, in practice, this is not the case.
Over 130.000 people have this application on their mobile phones. The most are in Serbia (66.000), followed by Montenegro (53.000), North Macedonia (2.709), Slovenia (2.107), Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) (2.097) and Croatia (1.676).
Until 2024, Profit App members in Montenegro could directly pay for goods and services through this application, while today it is only possible to collect points.
Lukas told the Center for Investigative Reporting of Montenegro (CIN-CG) that he started using the app a few years ago and is getting discounts or cashback at certain stores and shops. After some time, he got in touch with company representatives, and in 2023, he says, he was offered the so-called president position within the system. The position was presented to him as a status with a pre-built network of users, special bonuses and the possibility of accelerated return on invested funds, profits, as well as the acquisition of special Non-Fungible Token (NFT) “golden” positions, which he could allegedly transfer to family members, who were also supposed to bring significant benefits.
Based on such promises, Lukas accepted the offer and concluded a contract in which he committed to paying 12.000 euros, which he did from March to July 2023, in several installments.
According to his allegations, after the payments were made, even though several years had passed, the benefits presented to him had not been realized. He alleges that the promised network of users did not function as previously explained, that information about the further development of the system was unclear and contradictory, and that the NFT positions offered to him did not provide the rights presented to him.
Lukas therefore requested the termination of the contract and a refund of the funds paid. Instead, he received a gift of shares that, as he was recently promised, he would only be able to value in two years.
The editorial team had access to the documentation submitted by Lukas, including the contract and accompanying correspondence.
Profit App says that situations like this are not uncommon, and that so far over 10 people have requested a refund of their investments. They also claim that they have met everyone's needs.
The majority owner and CEO of Profit App is Vojin Rašković, with a 60 percent stake, and eight other people each have five percent. In an interview with CIN-CG reporters, Rašković and his associates claimed that members can get their money back if they contact them.
"Investors can recover their investments in accordance with the law, and one way is certainly to sell shares. The board of directors is always ready to consider any other request, if there is a legal basis," says Rašković.
"All requests, which were legally based, have been positively resolved by our company. There are currently some that are in the process of being resolved and are being dealt with by our legal team," adds the majority owner of this company.
Court settlement
“I'm not the only one who is demanding investments because of unfulfilled promises,” says Lukas.
There are still people in Montenegro and the region who invested money in this company, and now they cannot get it back except through shares. This is evidenced by the decision of the Basic Court in Podgorica, from 2024.
CIN-CG identified a court case in which she appears as a plaintiff through publicly available court records. NK, and as defendant Profit App International AD Podgorica and its legal representative Vojin Rašković.
The court determined that Profit App owed NK a total of 36 thousand euros, including principal and statutory default interest. The ruling ordered that the debt be paid in installments, which was done.
Profit App operates as an international system of related legal entities, whose headquarters and ownership headquarters are in Podgorica.
In Montenegro, according to the General Terms and Conditions of the Profit App system, the structure consists of two main companies. Profit App doo Podgorica is the operating company and master franchise for Montenegro. And Profit App International Joint Stock Company (AD) Podgorica is the company that owns the digital platform, the application and the system organizer. Rašković also has the largest share of shares in the second company, 41 percent, and is the President of the Board of Directors, and the Executive Director is Aleksandar Andjusic, which also has five percent of the shares.
The company Profit App International AD has its own subsidiaries with 100% ownership in Slovenia, Austria and Serbia. They also claim that Profit App International AD has partial ownership in companies in Hungary and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and another one in Serbia.
"In line with our new business course that we have taken and the setting of goals, companies in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Hungary are in the process of restructuring," said Profit App. The General Terms and Conditions specify that Profit App International AD grants master franchises for individual countries, while these franchises can further engage local players who can introduce partner companies into the system.
From MLM model to the European market
Profit App explains that they are a start-up and that they started operating under a multi-level marketing (MLM) model in 2020, which they later changed. MLM is a network sales system in which participants earn money by recruiting new members.
"At the very beginning, we had the support of many who recognized our vision and mission, and we considered it important to reward everyone who supported us with a gift campaign. We take into account that individuals are impatient, but believe me, no one is more impatient than us, who have been working diligently and dedicatedly on this project for years, and we want it to come to life as soon as possible, both commercially and financially," Rašković told CIN-CG.
Two years ago, in order to enter the EU market, this company, according to the management, completely changed its business system - it discontinued MLM business and reoriented itself to Fintech - the application of technology in the provision of financial services.
"This transition, no matter how painful it was and how it slowed down certain processes, proved to be the right path in our transformation into a serious Fintech company. The transition itself implied transparent and clear communication with all stakeholders. Former privileged users, within the MLM structure, are now the owners of a certain part of the shares," says Rašković, adding that this is where the gap with some of the previous investors, who had expectations that their money would be valued more quickly, arose.
He also notes that due to the new model, shareholders' money now depends solely on the company's success.
"Any other expectations for the return of funds are not in line with the functioning of any joint-stock company," explains Rašković.
He adds that they have become an authorized distributor of electronic money in the EU, having received licenses from the electronic money institution in the EU territory.
Company's revenues almost disappeared, expenses remained high
The official financial statements of Profit App International AD show a sharp decline in revenue in 2024 in part of the system and pronounced illiquidity. However, the company claims that 2024 was a development year during which they created new technological solutions.
Official financial reports show that Profit App International AD generated less than eight thousand euros in sales revenue in 2024, compared to more than 356.000 euros in 2023, a drop of almost 98 percent. The company ended 2024 with a loss of 668 thousand euros. Interestingly, salary costs and other personal expenses increased from 98.000 in 2023 to 228 thousand in 2024, despite the enormous drop in sales revenue.
However, the second company in the system - Profit App Podgorica - achieved almost half a million euros in turnover in 2024 and operated at a profit.
Profit App explains that the financial balances are like this because all the money goes into expensive technological maintenance and investments in new markets, especially those in EU countries, for which, they claim, they have received all the necessary permits.
"The nature of our project is such that continuous investments are necessary, until the platform is finally launched on the broad European market. Accordingly, on December 23, the Shareholders' Assembly decided on two more share issues planned for the first quarter of the current year," says Rašković, emphasizing that sales revenues are planned only for 2026.
Central Bank: Profit App does not have a payment transaction license
The Profit App application, installed on a mobile phone, should allow you to collect points. These points should be worth real money in partner stores and branches. They can be sent to someone else - say a grandchild, neighbor or son who has the same application, the company boasts on its website. Simple: you keep them in your phone like a wallet, you pay bills, the presentation of this system states, the website also says.
Profit App claims that they have obtained licenses in the EU for such operations. They are not yet in Montenegro, they need the approval of the Central Bank of Montenegro (CBCG). All legal entities that enable transfers between users and receive or transfer monetary value are covered by the Law on Payment Transactions of Montenegro and must have the approval of the CBCG.
Profit App does not have a license from the Central Bank of Montenegro.
"The listed companies have not sent the Central Bank of Montenegro an official request, inquiry or notification regarding their business model or the obligation to obtain approval under the Payment Transactions Law. The Central Bank of Montenegro has not issued an operating license to the companies Profit App International ad Podgorica and Profit App doo Podgorica, and these companies are not under the supervision of the Central Bank of Montenegro," the Central Bank of Montenegro stated in its response.
The question arises as to how it was possible to pay for goods and services through the Profit App application in Montenegro until 2024. CIN-CG journalists visited several retail outlets in Montenegro that operate as business partners of the Profit App system. Several employees in these establishments confirmed that until 2024 it was possible to pay for goods and services directly through the Profit App application, while today it is only possible to collect points. Employees stated that customers often ask why payment through the application no longer works, but that they do not have official information about the reasons for this change.
Profit App confirmed to CIN-CG that they are not involved in the payment system in Montenegro, but say they are in the EU. They explain that in the pilot phase of market and technology testing, "the application functioned exclusively on the principle of a loyalty program that allows users to collect points within a closed ecosystem by purchasing goods/services from a selected merchant who is a member of the Profit App merchant network."
They claim that for now the application does not allow for the payment or conversion of points into money and cannot be used outside a limited network of contracted merchants. They announce that they will soon request approval from the Central Bank of Montenegro to include it in payment transactions.
Part of the profit tax of partner companies redirected to Profit App
In a telephone conversation with one of the owners of the partner companies, CIN-CG learned that the legal entities - business partners of the Profit App system - have since signed amended contracts, making it no longer possible to pay for goods and services directly through the application. The same interviewee also stated that his company invested part of the funds that would otherwise have been paid to the state in corporate income tax in Profit App, using a tax deduction for investing in innovative entities.
Profit App International was registered as an innovative company. It was entered into the Register of Innovative Activities in mid-November 2023, while the validity of that decision expired at the end of May 2024.
Registration in the Innovation Activity Register allows a portion of the profit tax, instead of being paid to the state, to be invested in a company that has the status of an innovation activity entity. According to current regulations, innovative activities include research and development, engineering, planning and design, creative activities, marketing and branding, activities related to the creation and protection of intellectual property, education and training in the use of innovations, software and database development, and other related activities.
Profit App explains that the first part of their development project was the innovation of the cashback business model, while the second was the creation of unique software for merchants.
"According to the relevant regulations governing the field of innovation activities, the status of an innovative entity is granted as a temporary beneficiary status, i.e. a time-limited support measure for companies engaged in innovative activities/start-ups that meet the prescribed criteria. After the validity period of that status expires, i.e. after the corresponding incentive has been used, the legal framework does not allow for its reactivation, extension or re-awarding to the same entity," Profit App explained.
Blockada
Profit App Podgorica has been blocked since January 15th of this year due to a debt of nearly 350 thousand euros.
"This is also supported by the blockade of January 15, which represents a temporary situation in business and is subject to regular financial resolution. Similar situations have occurred before and were resolved through subsequent collection of receivables, after which the obligations were duly settled. The current situation is being resolved in the same way. We would like to point out that the aforementioned blockade does not apply to Profit App International, and that it does not affect the work of the joint-stock company," Rašković said.
The company claims that in the last five years, their partner companies have generated revenue of 40 million euros through this business model. Rašković also says that the system's weakness has been the delay in settling obligations from some partner companies. He also announces technical and regulatory harmonization of the application and a more stable business regime.
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