Meadows, pastures, stone fields and overgrown plots where construction was not allowed, most of which are in the remote hills above Budva and Kotor, were assessed in two cases against the criminal group. Svetozar Marović, to 2.637.228 euros. At the request of the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT), the assessment was made by an expert Aleksandar Rakočević. This is shown by the data obtained through free access to information Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG).
The proceedings against the Marović criminal group are the best example of how plea deals are abused. In those settlements, the prosecution and the court accepted unrealistic valuations of property from which the Municipality of Budva has been unable to cash in almost anything for the sixth year.
However, the Municipality did not do much to protect its interests when signing those settlements. One part was purchased by the municipality itself, while the other is under records in the cadastre and it is unlikely that they will ever be able to extract any money from it.
The former high-ranking official of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) Svetozar Marović settled with the SDT prosecutor Saša Čađenović yes, as the organizer of a criminal group that damaged Budva for over 45 million euros, he is imprisoned for three years and nine months and has to pay 100.000 euros. Also, he was supposed to return something over a million euros to the budget. However, it is still unavailable in Montenegro, and the sentence expires in October 2026.
So far, the municipality has managed to collect about 300.000 euros from the sale of Marović's property, which is less than a quarter of the debt it was supposed to repay. Expert Rakočević estimated the property he pledged as a guarantee that the debt will be collected at 1.120.361 euros.
Within the same criminal group, in the case known as "Copying", the Municipality of Budva was damaged for 2.191.312 euros. Former executive director of the company "Kopirajt" Alexander Armenko he agreed that, as a member of Marović's criminal group, he would serve half a year in prison, and that company was given a conditional sentence. The company handed over the property that was the subject of the assessment in that procedure to the Municipality of Budva, on account of damages. Nothing was charged for it.
In the three property assessments made for the "Kopirajt" case, the parcels, mostly stone areas, which were pledged for a debt of over two million euros, were assessed by the same expert at over one and a half million euros.
The expert, representatives of the judiciary, and the Municipality of Budva take responsibility for the omissions in those cases.
A piece of field valued at over half a million euros
In two assessments from June 2016, it is written that the property of Marović (Svetozar, his son Milos and brother Dragana) in Krimovica and Prijevor, pledged as a guarantee for debt payment, includes, among other things, two plots near Jaz beach, completely overgrown and inaccessible. One of them is co-owned with the state.
Rakočević assessed that one of the plots, on which he states that he does not know whether construction is allowed on it, is worth 350 euros per square meter, but he does not explain in the assessment how he arrived at that figure. This is how he came to the estimate that 589 square meters in Prijevor is worth 206.150 euros. The expert estimated that the plot is worth as the most expensive square of land on the market, although he himself states in the assessment that he cannot say about the purpose of the plots, even that they are inaccessible.
However, the highest value of land in the vicinity, with which he compares that plot, was recorded in 2013 at 253 euros per square meter. In the next three years, the value of the land in the vicinity drops by almost half, as stated in the assessment.
On real estate websites, land on Jaz is offered at very different prices, which depend on the location, area and construction possibilities, the assessment says. They range from 70 to 350 euros per square meter.
And another plot of 663 square meters in Prijevor, which is co-owned with the state and which he also states is overgrown and inaccessible, expert Rakočević values at 120 euros per square meter, that is, at almost 80.000 euros.
He also estimates that in Krimovica, plots that cannot be approached are more expensive than plots located in the village. Thus, the 2.805-square-meter plot of Marović, located on a hill and to which there is no road, overgrown and inaccessible, is estimated at 224.400 euros.
The fields, orchards and pastures, which were pledged by Marović's son, cover a huge area and are the property of a large number of people, which, according to the expert's assessment, significantly reduces their value. From the assessment report, it can be concluded with a simple calculation that the younger Marović essentially owns only the 56th part of those plots. Nevertheless, the expert estimated Marović's share at almost 550.000 euros.
Kamenjar is "worth" almost a million
In the case of "Kopirajt", the rocky area and wetland were valued at almost 900.000 euros, although Rakočević states in the assessment that "due to the unattractiveness, lack of detailed urban plans, infrastructure and other things, it is very difficult to find an interested buyer, because for such areas almost there is no demand at all”.
The plot in Tudorovići of 148.538 square meters is, as stated in the assessment, on a rocky, hilly terrain, unsuitable for construction, there is no infrastructure, construction is not allowed... Rakočević estimates this plot at five euros per square meter, that is, at 742.690 euros.
Two plots in Buljarica of 1.729 square meters and one in Kruševice of 1.928 square meters, which are also stated to be on rocky, hilly terrain where construction is not allowed and do not have a sea view, are estimated by the expert at slightly less than 200.000 euros.
The two orchards on Sveti Stefan, in the second assessment in this case, are valued by Rakočević at a little less than 700.000 euros. The expert arrived at the price of the orchard of 820 euros per square meter by comparing data from websites related to the sale of apartments and houses. Although, this is the only location he assessed for which there is a Detailed Urban Plan (DUP) and construction is permitted.
And on the website of the Administration for Cadastre and State Property of Montenegro - Geoportal, it can be seen that most of the contested plots are actually overgrown, marshy areas and rocky areas.
Aleksandar Rakočević claims for CIN-CG that he always used the principles of professionalism and expertise, especially taking care to protect the state and local governments. He points out that he did not choose the properties to be assessed, but received an order from SDT to assess them.
Indeed, it is admitted, most of the cases involved less attractive real estate - land in weaker locations, partly unurbanized. However, as he says, given that it is Budva, the land has potential.
"After reviewing the appraisals, I am still of the opinion that, with a well-designed sales and marketing plan, the Municipality of Budva can sell all the properties it received through SDT at the values at which they were appraised, and some of the properties for higher values," claims Rakočević.
Rakočević adds, the fact that no one responded to the ads during the advertising with the public executor, does not mean that the real estate has no value.
"In Montenegro, no real estate has been sold at the initial price by public executors. All potential buyers are waiting for the second or third auction, in order to buy real estate at a much lower value," he states.
Here, the Municipality of Budva acted correctly, Rakočević assesses for CIN-CG, by purchasing part of the land in Krimovica and, as he says, preventing someone from taking these properties for minimal values.
He did not want to talk in detail about the property valuations he did in disputed cases, stating that the SDT obliged him to secrecy in those proceedings.
A third of Montenegro "disappeared" in the estimates?
Neither from the Special State Prosecutor's Office, nor from the prosecutor Saša Čađenović, who arranged all disputed agreements, even after several weeks of waiting, CIN-CG did not receive an answer as to why they settled in this way. We also asked whether property valuations have passed any kind of judicial control and whether they think that someone should be held accountable for the outcome of those cases. All these agreements were concluded during the mandate of the Chief Special Prosecutor Milivoj Katnić.
Čađenović, in the meantime, was arrested by order of the SDT, on grounds of suspicion that, in the period from mid-2020 to 2022, he committed the criminal offense of creating a criminal organization and several criminal offenses of abuse of office.
All disputed agreements were "approved" by the President of the High Court in Podgorica Boris Savić. He pointed out for CIN-CG that when concluding the agreement, neither the prosecutor nor the defendant stated that the expert's assessment was disputed. With the conclusion of the agreement, notes Savić, the Municipality of Budva also agreed.
"Whether the Municipality of Budva later managed to collect some of the seized property is certainly not a question for the court," says Savić.
In situations where the opinion of an expert is judged to be disputed, he adds, the court always has the option of engaging the so-called super expert examinations, i.e. commissions of experts.
The work of the president of the High Court, Boris Savić, was called into question, when the judicial inspection, at the beginning of December, questioned the random allocation of cases in that court. It was established that abuses of random assignment of cases are possible by introducing the practice that the president of the court decides on the composition of the court panel. Minister of Justice Marko Kovač then announced that he would inform the Acting President of the Supreme Court about it Vesna Vučković for the eventual initiation of proceedings to determine the liability of Savić before the Judicial Council.
At the time of concluding the disputed agreements with Marović and members of his criminal group, he was the president of the Municipality of Budva Srdja Popovic from DPS. Both of his predecessors in that position Lazar Radjenovic i Rajko Kuljaca, also from the DPS, were convicted of participating in Marović's criminal group.
Popović initially told CIN-CG that he was not the head of the Municipality when the controversial agreements were signed, but he quickly recalled that he was. After insisting on clarifying the manner in which the Municipality accepted the disputed settlements, Popović said:
"I don't remember, it was a long time ago".
His associate at the time and current manager of the Property Legal Affairs Sector in the Municipality of Budva Milena Antović told CIN-CG that they had confidence in the work of the prosecution and believed that the money would be returned.
"Even then we did not have, and even today, we do not have insight into the property assessments that were made in those cases," she emphasized.
A source from the former head of the municipal government in Budva told CIN-CG that "a third of Montenegro has disappeared in the estimates", and that the country "couldn't be worth that much even in 2006, when there was a real estate boom".
"In particular, the property pledged for 'Kopirajt' is not worth even 15 cents per square meter," said the source.
Representatives of the Secretariat for Property Protection in the Municipality of Budva told CIN-CG that they failed to sell almost any of the property that was mortgaged for Marović's debt of over one million euros. One part was bought by the Municipality itself, while the other is under records in the cadastre and, as they say, they will hardly ever be able to extract any money from it.
"Disputed legal affairs have not been invalidated, and we are not even close to indemnifying ourselves. The pledged property only causes us additional damage, the accused were acquitted, and we continue to spend resources for something that is not worth it," the secretary for property protection in the Municipality of Budva told CIN-CG. Đorđe Zenović.
That property only creates additional costs for the Municipality, for maintenance, conducting sales procedures, lawyers and the like, Zenović points out.
Commenting on the expert's claim that the pledged land has value, Zenović pointed out that perhaps a small part of Jaz and Krimovica may have some value "on a long stick", but that this value is not even close to what was estimated by the expert.
"The property pledged in the 'Kopirajt' case will not have any value even in a hundred years", said Zenović.
In June of this year, he submitted a complaint to the Prosecutorial Council (TS) about the work of the state prosecutors and heads of prosecutions who acted in Budva cases, and in relation to the implementation of the plea agreement institute.
"As a means of securing compensation for the awarded monetary damages, the prosecution accepted immovable property, the value of which in most cases, in our opinion, did not correspond to the amount of the awarded compensation," Zenović stated in the complaint.
The Prosecutor's Council replied to CIN-CG that, in the first half of December, the Complaints Commission will consider the case, after which it will go to the TS for assessment. Until the publication of the text, TS had not decided on that complaint.
Savić explains to CIN-CG that the court cannot declare criminal or professional responsibility related to the conclusion of the agreement, because any answer would prejudge the court's decision:
"For this reason, only the parties who concluded the agreement can express themselves on this issue".
And apparently the estimates seemed realistic to the signatories of the agreement.
Estimates of the work performed
That various abuses were possible in this area is also shown by the fact that the preparation of property valuations was not regulated by law until 2018. It was only with the adoption of the Rulebook on the Methodology for Valuation of Property that year that the rules were elaborated in detail for the first time, according to which an assessment can be made.
Then the mandatory elements of the property or capital valuation report are defined for the first time, among which is the fair value, i.e. the price that would be obtained for the sale of the property.
This value is not mentioned anywhere in the assessments that were made before the drafting of the Rulebook.
"Until then, and by God, even later, those assessments were often done arbitrarily and without any control," a source from the assessment profession, who wished to remain anonymous, told CIN-CG.
However, as he explains, someone's assessment, especially in such important court cases, would have to be subject to serious judicial scrutiny.
The Ministry of Finance (MOF) explained to CIN-CG that the Rulebook had been waiting for a long time due to the need for professional help from foreign and domestic experts. They explain that appraisers, even before the adoption of the Rulebook, had to work in accordance with International and European standards for valuation. The Ministry of Finance claims that the control over appraisers is carried out by the association, chamber or association of which they are members.
The Chamber of Appraisers and Court Experts of Montenegro told CIN-CG that "they are not competent, nor competent" for questions, among other things, about how many licensed appraisers there are in Montenegro and what kind of control they are subject to.
According to the Law on Accounting, the Ministry can revoke the license of an authorized appraiser who performs valuation tasks unprofessionally. That law provides for misdemeanor liability and a fine of up to 2.000 euros for appraisers who do not work in accordance with the regulations.
The Criminal Code (CPC) of Montenegro treats the area of property valuation only in the domain of economic operations, and that through acts of abuse of authority in the economy and abuse of valuation. A prison sentence of three months to 10 years is foreseen, depending on the acquisition of property benefit or the damage caused.
The Code of Criminal Procedure stipulates that a property legal claim is submitted no later than the end of the trial, or in this case, the signing of the agreement, and that the court decides on it. It is also stipulated that the court will approve the agreement if, among other things, it determines that the rights of the injured party were not violated by the agreement and that the agreement is in accordance with the interests of fairness, and the sanction corresponds to the purpose of imposing criminal sanctions.
Settlements abused
The reports of the European Commission (EC) have warned for several years that the use of plea agreements should be limited to exceptional cases only, in order for Montenegro to deal more effectively with corruption and organized crime. The reports also point out that the penal policy should be more consistent and deterrent, and that a review of the use of the institute in cases of organized crime and corruption is necessary.
Even the leaders of the Montenegrin judiciary informally admit that this institute is abused.
In the middle of this year, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) announced that a revision of the criminal legislation and an analysis of the application of plea bargains are underway, which will provide clear recommendations for possible changes to the law, but also help to apply this institute more efficiently.
The Ministry of Justice for CIN-CG states that the analysis of the application of the plea agreement has been completed and covers the period until 2021.
"The analysis will contain observations in relation to the legal framework when it comes to plea agreements. We also analyzed the settlements concluded for particularly sensitive crimes, as well as the good practices of the prosecutor's office, but also what are the shortcomings in practice", the Ministry of Justice stated, without specifying what these observations were.
They add that the Draft Amendments to the Law on Confiscation of Assets Gained Through Criminal Activity has not yet been submitted to the Parliament. They did not answer the question whether the Law will treat the area of property valuation and in what way.
The Supreme State Prosecutor's Office recently announced that a working group will soon be formed to develop guidelines for the implementation of plea agreements. Acting Supreme State Prosecutor Maja Jovanovic she previously told the media that the problems and shortcomings of the current application of the settlements have been recognized and that the working group will be able to draft new guidelines in a very short time.
"One of the recommendations is to exclude the criminal offenses of money laundering and human trafficking from the plea agreement," Jovanović said at the time.
According to CIN-CG's unofficial information, the guidelines should be ready by the end of this year.
Savić expects that these instructions will improve public perception, "because the impression is that agreements are made even without a legal basis, and the fact that they are always concluded with the consent of the defendant, the prosecutor and the injured party is completely ignored."
We hope that the settlements in our country will finally affect prevention, but also the satisfaction of justice. Then I guess it will not happen that all the projects that the state planned for Budva in the budget for 2023 could be paid for with the money that the municipality lost because it could not be recovered from the property confiscated from the convicted members of Marović's criminal group. According to the budget for next year, the adaptation of the Budva Health Center, the reconstruction of the Pizana outdoor swimming pool near the Old Town, the reconstruction of the wastewater treatment plant, the construction of a kindergarten in the Dubovica settlement and the construction of a mini-bypass would cost a little more than two and a half million euros. This is almost the same amount that the Municipality would have received if it had managed to cash in on the confiscated property.
Financial investigations confiscated the apartment under dispute
The SDT also experienced a collapse in conducting financial investigations in proceedings against the criminal group of Svetozar Marović.
CIN-CG recently wrote that, in the last six years, the SDT has managed to permanently take away the only apartment of 193 square meters from Miloš Marović. However, there is now a dispute over this apartment, because Miloš's former business partner Petar Miloš claims that he lent money to the younger Marović, based on which the mortgage was registered on the property that was confiscated.
The protector of property legal interests of Montenegro sued the two, demanding that the contract on the alleged loan of 236.000 euros be annulled, on the basis of which Petar Miloš is now trying to sell the confiscated apartment.
No one is responsible, the prosecutors are making progress
CIN-CG previously published a series of researches, analyzing around 700 judgments of the High Court, adopted according to the plea agreements of SDT and VDT in Podgorica, noting serious failures in application, but also real doubts that there was abuse of this institute in our country.
In addition, unrealistic property valuations ruled in the case of Safet Kalić's family, which was acquitted of money laundering charges due to judicial errors.
As CIN-CG previously wrote, the company "Geotech" estimated their assets at almost 30 million euros, which the experts, who participated in the court proceedings, assessed as not even worth eight million.
According to the findings of the CIN-CG, it was precisely this assessment that was the main trump card for the Kalići in obtaining millions in compensation, as a result of the five-year management of their assets while they were in custody.
No one from the judiciary, nor the appraisers, responded in any way for this case either. Prosecutor Hasan Lukač, who acted in this case, did not provide any evidence that the laundered money originated from a criminal act. After that, he was even promoted to a member of the Prosecutor's Council and evaluated the work of other prosecutors.
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