MANS today filed to the Chief State Prosecutor a criminal complaint against the President of the Council for Privatization and Capital Projects Milo Djukanovic and President of the Tender Commission for Privatization Branko Vujovic, who are suspected as responsible persons of an illegal sale of the state company “Montenegro Defence Industry” (MDI).
By the complaint Djukanovic and Vujovic are suspected that in March of this year, contrary to the Law on Foreign Investment facilitated the sale of the state military company to the consortium of companies that are associated with persons suspected of illegal arms sales, drug trafficking and money laundering.
The contract on the sale of 100 percent of shares of the “Montenegro Defence Industry” was signed on March 4th this year, and the company was sold to the consortium of companies “ATL – Atlantic Techonologies” Ltd from Israel, and “CRPS-Impex” from Serbia, whose bid was evaluated as valid.
Law on Foreign Investment in Article 7, paragraph 1 stipulates that “foreign investor can invest in domestic business organization, actually only with domestic physical or legal entity can establish a company for production and trade of arms and military equipment”, and in paragraph 2 stipulates that “the foreign investor can not have in a company referred to in paragraph 1 of this article share of more than 49% of the share capital or ownership rights, ie the right to vote “.
Despite this, the Government of Montenegro and the Tender Commission by the sales contract guaranteed that its content is not contrary to national laws.
In the present case law was played out in a way that the parties agreed first foreign consortium to pay the Government’s share in the “Montenegro Defence Industry”, and then to transfer on the employees in the company 60 percent of stake, at the same price at which it purchased it from the Government, that 100 percent of stake sold for a price of 680 000 euros.
Reported individuals knowingly broke the Law, which clearly stems from the provisions of the contract and where such agreement is substantiated with the need to prevent the termination of the license for foreign trade which “Montenegro Defence Industry” has.
In addition, the Government has guaranteed that the signing of the contract agreement is not contrary to the applicable law, and it is particularly contentious the exclusion of the application of domestic law in a way that completely illegally stipulates that “if a provision of the agreement deemed unlawful, void or unenforceable by any applicable law in Montenegro, such provision or its portion is not considered part of the contract and will not as such have a negative impact on the legality, validity or enforceability of the remaining part of the contract “
Also, the contract contains a number of harmful provisions, of which a very important one is the provision that allows to the future buyer of assets of the “Montenegro Defence Industry” pledge for loans in order to implement investment program, which is planned in the amount of 400 000 euros.
It is not known how the top managers of the Council for Privatization and the Tender Commission reached this agreement with the new owners of state-owned company, nor by which they were motivated to consciously trample existing Law on Foreign Investments, because the Council of Privatization a complete job of the privatization of this company declared secret. MANS has repeatedly, using the Law on Free Access to Information, tried to reach the relevant documentation from which one could see how it came to this privatization and the process of negotiations, but it was the Council exactly who refused every one of our requests, declaring those information secret.
In addition to data that relate to the privatization process itself, with the criminal complaint was submitted and the study of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), which recently published data that the Israeli company ATL associated with Serge Miller, who was in Belgium suspected of illegal arms sales, smuggling drugs and money laundering.
According to the BIRN, the sole owner and CEO of the company ATL’s is Israeli Agmon Saked, but the data from the Bulgarian business registry showed that Miller, for more than a year until June 2014, officially was co-owner of ATL’s subsidiary company in Bulgaria, after which he sold his share.
Also, Director of the “Montenegro Defence Industry” Zoran Damjanovic confirmed to BIRN that Miller visited the company’s offices in Podgorica as a representative of ATL, but later said that he was there as a friend of the company in Tel Aviv. Miller, on the basis of an Interpol warrant, was arrested on state transition Bozaj after departure from Montenegro and immediately after signing the sales contract.
According to the Montenegrin Police Administration, dated on March 17th 2015, Miller was charged with organizing and financing imports of large shipments of cocaine from South America, and illegal transfer of weapons on the basis of which has been made a criminal capital in the amount of more than five million US dollars.
MANS invites the Supreme Public Prosecutor to urgently process the most pressing criminal charges regarding the illegal sale of “Montenegro Defence Industry”, and to bring to justice those responsible for it, in order not only to prevent harmful selling state-owned companies, but also for an attempt that money suspected to be acquired in an illegal way to enter into legal domestic flows.
MANS
