Podgorica, 29 December 2010 – The State Prosecutor’s announcement that outgoing vice-premier Svetozar Marović will only appear as a witness in the Zavala affair is scandalous. This decision confirms our suspicions that the past three years of so-called ‘investigations’ were not aimed at genuinely getting to the bottom of this case or at bringing to account its key players.
According to orders issued by the office of the special prosecutor for investigations that have been reported in the media, it would appear that Svetozar Marović was not involved in any criminal actions. He is only mentioned as Dragan Sekulić’s partner in “Moninvest.” Furthermore, Marović as a majority owner is not being charged for criminal acts committed by his company. Charges are only being laid against Sekulić – the firm’s representative and minority owner – which is unacceptable.
From the available information it is also evident that in the past three years the Prosecutor’s Office never seriously investigated the direct links between Svetozar Marović and his Russian partners in the project (Sergei Polonsky and Vyacheslav Leibman). Instead, the entirety of the focus on the Russian partners has been aimed at Natalia Panina, a front for the real decision-makers. Nevertheless, the authorities also failed in preventing her from leaving the country.
In its criminal charges from 2008, MANS explicitly noted the criminal acts allegedly committed by Marović, including the: “the use of his political, social and other positions to personally influence the local authorities in Budva in not carrying out their official duties as required.” His intervention enabled the illegal construction to proceed unimpeded on the land owned by Zavala Invest (a subsidiary of Marović’s Moninvest). He also used his position to influence the post hoc legalization of the development by integrating it into the relevant planning documents. For such crimes the Criminal Code of Montenegro stipulates prison sentences of up to eight years.
We noted at the time that Marović: “in communication with the representatives of Moscow’s Mirax Group – whose subsidiary was building a tourism complex on land co-owned by his company – falsely represented himself as a representative of the Government of Montenegro and signed an agreement on strategic cooperation in the GoM’s name, even though he did not have authorization for this nor did he hold public office.”
MANS then requested immediate action, warning that any delays would open a window for influencing witnesses and tampering with the evidence. Thanks to precisely such delays on the part of the Prosecutor’s Office, Dragan Sekulić managed to commit the criminal acts that he is now being accused of, while Svetozar Marović was able to withdraw from the Moninvest company and formally distance himself from the entire affair.
Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that Marović had a profit motive in legalizing what was built at Zavala and that he had the political (and other
means) at his disposal to influence Rajko Kuljača and Branimir Gvozdenović in ensuring that the Astra Montenegro project be spared of legal action by securing its post hoc incorporation into the relevant planning documentation. For this reason the prosecutor’s claims that his partner Dragan Sekulić had a greater influence than Svetozar Marović on Kuljaća and Dragan Marović cannot be taken seriously. Above all, as the owner of 80% of Moninvest, Marović had a greater interest in making sure that construction at Zavala continues.
In accordance with the above, MANS submitted to the Chief State Prosecutor a network map of all the relevant individuals and companies in Budva for this case. Svetozar Marović appears positioned as a key node mediating between the Russian partners in the Zavala project and official institutions in Montenegro.
Currently the Prosecutor’s Office is only examining the responsibility of local functionaries in Budva and the authorized representatives of the companies involved in the Zavala affair. There is no indication that the investigation will expand in scope to include the actual owners of the relevant companies, nor those who made key decisions and had the greatest interest in ensuring that the development proceeds. If the case remains within its current parameters, it will serve as further proof that not only the three-year investigation was unsuccessful and only managed to scratch the surface, but also that the Prosecutor’s Office still does not possess the political will to genuinely confront corruption and organized crime at the highest governmental levels.
Dejan Milovac
Deputy Executive Director
Urban Development Programme Director
