(Podgorica, 26 July 2011) – The Special State Prosecutor for Corruption and Organized Crime today received charges submitted by MANS against the mayor of the Municipality of Bar, Žarko Pavičević, and other figures associated with him. MANS charges these individuals for abusing their positions with the aim of acquiring illegally obtained property.
In addition to Žarko Pavičević, criminal charges relating to organized crime were also submitted against: Branimir Gvozdenović (the political director of the Democratic Party of Socialists in Montenegro and the former Minister for Economic Development in the Government of Montenegro); Zoran Tomić (the Secretary of the Ministry for Sustainable Development and Tourism); Nebojša Milošević (the owner of the “Basketing DOO” company in Bar); Borislav Lalević (the director of the Health Center in Bar and former mayor of Bar municipality); Milan Martinović (the Executive Director of the Postal Service of Montenegro); and, Ratko Vujačić (founder of “Longrun invest DOO” from Bar).
In the evidence submitted to the Special Prosecutor’s Office today, Žarko Pavičević stands accused as the head of an organized structure formed for the purposes of committing criminal acts. He is suspected of abusing his position for a prolonged period of time as well as engaging in illegitimate business practices through his own company, the “Bar Development Institute” (ZIB).
Branimir Gvozdenović and Zoran Tomić are accused of having committed the crime of abuse of power for a prolonged period of time in issuing building permits, as well as in giving their assent to planning documents that legalized illegally erected buildings and that also served to increase the value of parcels belonging to privileged individuals and companies.
Nebojša Milošević is also accused of abusing power by assisting Žarko Pavičević, over a prolonged period of time, in the process of preparing planning documents that legalized illegal construction projects and that increased the value of property belonging to privileged individuals and companies.
Borislav Lalević and Milan Martinović are accused of abuse of power in relation to commercial contracts that the Bar municipality, through the Postal Service of Montenegro, concluded with ZIB (a company, as already noted, that is owned by Žarko Pavičević).
Ratko Vuačić is accused of abuse of power over an extended period, particularly in relation to Žarko Pavičević and his role in legalizing illegal buildings that were built by Vujačić’s company.
For the last several months, MANS has familiarized the broader Montenegrin public with a number of legal violations brought to light after examining the activities of Bar’s mayor Pavičević. The charges laid today are the result of an extended investigation we’ve conducted in recent months. During this investigation, MANS examined various aspects of Pavičević’s activities, beginning with his involvement in the alteration of planning documents, supervision of their implementation, agreements to sell property for construction purposes, as well as the monitoring of communications that Pavičević had with individuals and companies undertaking construction projects in Bar.
Particular emphasis has been placed on the role that Pavičević’s company ZIB has played in municipal spatial planning throughout Bar and the building of residential/business premises. MANS has even mapped lines of influence in the municipality, which was included today with the charges that were filed.
As a result of this investigation, we’ve shed light on Pavičević’s role in the illegal sale of Bar-based “Tehnopromet,” as well as in building a sports stadium that ZIB, thanks to then mayor Lalević, had collected from illegally obtained compensation. Besides this, MANS investigated a breach of contract with the Postal Service of Montenegro, which allowed ZIB to proceed with the construction of a residential building. We also investigated Pavičević’s role in altering planning documentation where we discovered numerous cases of legalizing buildings built by ZIB and other investors. The partnership with Miodrag Đurović, the brother of Slobodan “Kardinal” Đurović, which resulted in illegal construction projects, as well as objects erected by the Russian/Montenegrin company “Longrun” are among the most extreme examples of such activities.
Additionally, the modification of planning documents also allowed Pavičević to alter the designated use of planned facilities. This is illustrated in the FADIS case, as well as in the tendency to alter the dimensions of approved buildings. With such actions, the value of particular parcels that individuals and companies had purchased from the Municipality of Bar for far less was increased considerably (damaging public coffers considerably in the process). The most extreme example of such actions involved increasing the dimensions of buildings on parcels owned by Aco Đukanović, where the permitted surface jumped from 21,000 m2 to 66,000 m2 of approved residential/business premises.
In addition to the evidence submitted – which numbers 200 pages, including contracts, planning documents, permits, protocols and other relevant documents – MANS also provided a chart that maps the structure enabling, in an organized and sustained fashion, the commission of criminal acts. These violations were essentially facilitated by the accused individuals on the basis of their administrative positions.
Thus, Pavičević – who was obviously at the top of the hierarchy of all those currently standing accused of abusing power – was responsible for concluding contracts to transfer rights over potential construction sites, as well as the subsequent alteration of their designated zoning functions and dimensions according to existing planning documentation. His role also included the development of plans, the provision of building designs, the supervision of construction projects, and the construction of objects through his ZIB company.
Within this organized structure, the former minister of urban development, Branimir Gvozdenović, and the Secretary of the Ministry for Sustainable Development and Tourism, Zoran Tomić, were responsible for: giving their assent to plans that were altered by Pavičević; issuing construction permits that legalized illegally built objects after the fact; issuing use permits for buildings that were erected in this way; and, ensuring that inspectors from their respective ministries not undertake any measures that would challenge violations of the law by those involved in this structure.
The accused Nebojša Milošević, through his company “Basketing DOO,” was engaged by Pavičević in undertaking the preparation of plans that would increase the dimensions of relevant projects and that would thus significantly increase the value of the affected parcels and buildings. He was also engaged in undertaking the supervision of construction projects that departed significantly from original plans and to implement these plans.
The accused Ratko Vujačić was responsible for undertaking construction projects contrary to the existing plans and to increase the value of parcels and buildings. To this end, and by his own public admission (as well as the admission of Pavičević), the accused Vujačić had the consent and approval of Pavičević to build illegally and obtained guarantees that these objects will be subsequently legalized (and that in the interim no disciplinary measure would be undertaken against him).
During its investigation, MANS was able to identify the pattern of behavior that was used by this structure, as demonstrated by the number of criminal violations committed by this group. This leads us to the conclusion that these people planned their activities over an extended period of time and planned on continuing to violate the law in this way.
Furthermore, in our charges we indicated that the way in which offenses were committed points to the fact that the accused used existing economic and business structures, especially in the construction sector, as well as the status and official positions of individuals like Pavičević, Gvozdenović, and Tomić. The accused were thus able to exercise their influence over urban development in Bar through their accumulated political, legislative and executive powers.
By submitting these charges, MANS has completed only a fraction of its investigation into Pavičević’s activities and against individuals related to him in the urban development sector. Already MANS has in its possession evidence that is relevant to the financial aspects of this investigation. We thus stand at the disposal of the Special State Prosecutor’s Office for further developments in the process against Žarko Pavičević and his associates.
The full text of the criminal charges for organized crime and the chart mapping the relevant structures of influence in the Pavičević case are available from the MANS website at the following URL:
http://www.mans.co.me/arhiva/2011/07/krivicna-prijava-za-org-kriminal-protiv-barskog-gradonacelnika-zarka-pavicevica/.
