(Podgorica, 13 December 2011) – MANS has obtained information that in 2008 controversial businessman Naser Kelmendi paid the Municipality of Ulcinj €225,000 for the legalization of a hotel that he had illegally built in the village of Donji Stoj near Ulcinj. To date it is still not known how the Municipality of Ulcinj spent this money given that a plan for the affected area was never finalized nor has Kelmendi received a building permit to date.
In early September 2008, Kelmendi addressed the Municipality of Ulcinj with a request to pay an advance on utilities for a commercial and residential building in Donji Stoj, which he claimed was built in 2003.
It is interesting to note that in Kelmendi’s interview for Vijesti, he claimed that he completed the hotel in 2006 and that one of the owners of the Grand, Ranko Ubović, helped him with cement supplies. Later his supplier for cement became Bemax, though it’s not clear what these cement supplies were to be used for given that Bemax was established in January 2007 (i.e. after the completion of Kelmendi’s project in Donji Stoj).
Based on Kelmendi’s request, the Municipality of Ulcinj agreed to conclude an agreement with him to finance the planning documentation for the region. The agreement stipulates that the Municipality of Ulcinj will prepare a local location study (LLS) for Donji Stoj, which would also legalize Kelmendi’s building. The study would be financed by Kelmendi through a €250,000 payment. The contract also stipulates that these funds will be recognized by the municipality as constituting advanced payment for utilities used by the investor (Kelmendi).
After the signing the agreement, Kelmendi paid the municipality €225,000 of the promised €250,000 by transferring €90,000 from his account at the First Bank (Prva Banka) to the account of the Municipality of Ulcinj. Another €135,000 was paid out to the municipality in cash by bank-tellers over the course of a few days.
These revelations by MANS raise the question of what exactly happened with Naser Kelmendi’s money, given that there is still no construction permit for his building and the Real Estate Administration continues to classify the project as a case of: “building without a construction permit.” MANS was able to obtain from Ulcinj’s Secretariat for Urbanism and Spatial Planning written confirmation that the Municipality of Ulcinj has never granted Kelmendi zoning approval, nor were building permits ever issued in his name.
Additionally, the Secretariat also confirmed that the Municipality of Ulcinj never adopted a Decision on the Preparation of a Location Study for Donji Stoj. From all of the above, it remains unclear where the €200,000 that Kelmendi paid for the preparation of such a study and for advanced utility payments actually ended up.
The amount paid by Kelmendi to the Municipality of Ulcinj is also questionable. It is not totally clear how the municipality estimated that all this would cost over €200,000 when the cost of preparing a planning document of the type requested usually ranges between €15-20,000. Furthermore, the advances paid on utilities considerably exceed the price for such services in that part of Ulcinj.
It is unclear whether Montenegro’s Directorate for the Prevention of Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism has decided to investigate these suspicious transactions. Such a move would make sense given the controversy that accompanies Naser Kelmendi’s name and his businesses dealings throughout the region. There is also no information as to whether the First Bank (Prva Banka) reported the cash payments of over €130,000 to authorities, which should have attracted their attention.
It is worth noting that the 1,000 m2 plot of land on which the hotel was built was bought by Kelmendi for €9,500 from Mujo Redža, another controversial Ulcinj businessman who was previously wanted by Montenegrin police for several suspected criminal offenses (i.e. illegal possession of weapons and explosive materials).
