Podgorica, 20 January 2011 – MANS filed charges today against former Urban Planning Minister Branimir Gvozdenović on suspicion that he abused his position by giving assent to changes in planning documents and constructions permits in both the Zavala affair and in the legalization of buildings linked to Bar’s mayor Žarko Pavićević.
MANS filed these charges today since it became clear that the Prosecutor’s Office is either unwilling or is being prevented from initiating proceedings against the former Minister of Urban Planning.
On the basis of information available to MANS, Gvozdenović’s responsibility in the Zavala affair would appear to be no lesser than that of Budva’s mayor Rajko Kuljača (whose decisions surrounding the urban planning process had to be approved by Gvozdenović).
In the documentation it submitted today on the Zavala affair, MANS drew Prosecutor Čarapić’s attention to suspicions that Gvozdenović was actively involved in the legalization of the villa and apartment complex there. Through inaction Gvozdenović allowed “Zavala Invest” to continue illegally carrying out construction work on the Zavala peninsula for nearly an entire year. Furthermore, even though he was informed about the irregularities in preparing the planning documentation for the Zavala development and witnessed the on-going construction, minister Gvozdenović nevertheless gave his retroactive assent to the project and personally signed the permit.
Both documents, the revised urban plan and the retroactive building permit, are thus based on the falsification of ‘facts on the ground’ allowing for the illegal construction of the Russian-Montenegrin investors to be legalized. All the requirements comprising a building permit were obtained retroactively and couldn’t have represented a true reflection of the actual situation on the ground given that at the moment the permit was issued Zavala was no longer in a pristine condition. Dozens of buildings and objects had already been erected. Gvozdenović was well aware of this but nevertheless signed the permit.
The magnitude of the farce is revealed by the fact that Gvozdenović specified in the building permit that was eventually issued that the company “Zavala Invest” had to inform his Ministry 8-days in advance of beginning any construction (even though it had been already building on-site for nearly a year already!). From all of the above it is clear that we’re dealing with an all-around falsified document that in no way reflected the actual situation on the ground.
After the building permit was finally issued, MANS continued to monitor construction on the Zavala peninsula, establishing that Zavala Invest was violating the scope of the permit (both in terms of the number of objects being built and their purpose).
Even though the building permit issued by the Ministry specified the erection of 32 tourist villas and the Urban Plan for the Tourist Complex “Zavala” and other planning documents also noted that the development was intended for tourism, the investors never hid their intentions of selling the villas as residential apartments on the real-estate market.
MANS, following proper procedures, informed the Ministry and Gvozdenović of all this. The response we got was that all the works on the Zavala peninsula were being carried out in accordance with the building permit.
Therefore, even though the investors never hid their intentions of selling the newly built villas on the real-estate market, Minister Gvozdenović never thought of revisiting the building permit he had given his assent to, nor did he sanction any of Zavala Invest’s violations of the permit.
The second portion of the criminal charges filed against Gvozdenović relates to his legalization of objects belonging to Miodrag Đurovć, the brother of Slobodan “Kardinal” Đurović. These building were built by the company “Institute for the Development of Bar” (ZIB) owned by Bar’s mayor Žarko Pavičević. MANS has submitted documentation that suggests that Gvozdenović similarly abused his position in issuing permits in this case.
In late 2009, MANS informed the relevant inspectorate that there exists a suspicion that Pavičević’s company ZIB was carrying out works on a business/residential building in the center of Bar contrary to the existing urban planning documentation. The Urban Plan for that part of the city foresaw a five-story high building, while on the ground a seven-story building was being erected.
The inspectorate informed us that the object was being “built in accordance with the building permit issued,” even though the situation on the ground differed from what was permitted by two floors!
MANS had previously requested to see the building permit from Minister Gvozdenović. However, we have not been able to gain access to the document since October 2009, even though an Administrative Court ruling exists requiring the Ministry to hand us the building permit in question.
Even though Minister Gvozdenović was familiar with the actions of his ministry’s inspectorate, he did nothing to correct its behavior nor to punish the investors and contractors involved for violations of the law and urban planning regulations.
After the object had been completed and residents had moved in – and it was registered in the cadastre – the investor Miodrag Đurović filed a request to obtain a building permit for the expansion of business/residential object E-3A. Even though he was aware that retroactive permission was being made for something that had already been completed outside the legal channels, Gvozdenović signed his approval for the permit on 03.11.2010. The building in question still does not have all the valid documentation needed and the Ministry has failed to act on our initiatives to bring the matter to light.
From all of the above it is possible to conclude that Gvozdenović not only suspended monitoring of the above projects, but also actively participated in their legalization by willingly ignoring the actual situation on the ground. By signing such permits, Gvozdenović effectively legalized thousands of illegal square meters of property, thus allowing privileged investors the opportunity to accumulate millions in profits.
Given his long career in overseeing the Urban Planning Ministry, we doubt that these were simply a few isolated cases in which Gvozdenović “lost his concentration.” This is why MANS is demanding that the Prosecutor’s Office act immediately to ensure that Gvozdenović isn’t given the space and time to influence potential witnesses and tamper with the evidence.
Dejan Milovac
Deputy Executive Director
