(Podgorica, 11 July 2012) – The latest information obtained by MANS during its investigations into the First Bank affair indicate that the current governor of the Central Bank, Radoje Zugic, had a personal interest in saving the First Bank from collapse. That is, Zugic has close business ties with one of the Podgorica-based companies that owns shares in the First Bank and from which it received loans.
According to information available from the Central Depositary Agency, the Podgorica-based company “Stadion” owns 1.4% of First Bank shares. The company’s founder and executive director is, according to the Central Registry of the Economic Court, Vojin Zugic. Central Bank monitoring that was completed in late February 2010 revealed that “Stadion” had an active loan with the First Bank that had already reached €560,000 at the time.
There is no publicly accessible information that would indicate the total amount of credits that this company obtained from the First Bank, the relevant dates for such transactions, nor what was used as collateral for the loan. Research by the investigative journalism network OCCRP concerning the First Bank demonstrated that this bank gave loans to persons and companies close to the government, mainly drawing on the deposits of state institutions and state-owned enterprises.
The current governor of the CBM, Radoje Zugic, and “Stadion” are linked through a joint development of a tourist villa in Krasici on the seaside. In early March 2008, Vojin and Radoje Zugic jointly bought 200 m2 of property for €70,000. Following this purchase, the cadastre for Tivat lists “Stadion” and Radoje Zugic as equal owners of this parcel (split 50/50).
According to information provided to the Commission for the Prevention of Conflicts of Interest, Zugic did not have the means by which to finance such a purchase. This raises the question of where exactly was Zugic able to obtain €35,000 to buy property in Krasici. It is important to recall that in this period Radoje Zugic was the President of the Board of Directors at the First Bank.
The parcel that was purchased by the Zugic’s was classified at the time as grazing land. By a government decision in December 2009, at a time when Milo Djukanovic was the Prime Minister, this same parcel of land was reclassified as very valuable land for the development of tourism capacities along the seaside.
This was done in spite of the fact that the whole parcel fall under the category of “maritime goods” and the fact that Montenegro had already signed the Barcelona Declaration, which stipulates a particular regime for protecting the coast from construction at a minimum distance of 100 meters from the coastline. The object that was built by the Zugics is only a few meters from the coast.
From all of the above it is clear that Zugic, as member of the Committee for the Economy, Finances and the Budget, and today as the governor and business partner of one of the First Bank’s shareholders, continues to have a personal interest in saving the First Bank from collapse, including his joint venture in Krasici.
These facts once again confirm what we already pointed out in the criminal suit filed by MANS to the Special State Prosecutor for Organized Crime and Corruption in the First Bank case – i.e. that Radoje Zugic has failed to protect the public interest, but has instead been shielding the private interests of the Djukanovic family as majority of the owners of the First Bank and the interests of individual shareholders with whom he shares a joint business venture.
