Data obtained by the MANS Investigative Centre show that in mid-2018, Marija Medenica, daughter of the former President of the Supreme Court, Vesna Medenica, received a land in Kolašin worth 21,000 euros as a gift from the controversial businessman Rade Arsić from Tivat. Today, there is a splendour villa on that plot, and Arsić claims that it is a friendly relationship, not a business relationship.
Author: Dejan Milovac (MANS Investigative Centre)
Marija Medenica, daughter of Vesna Medenica, former President of the Supreme Court, signed a contract at the end of July 2018, confirming that she received a gift from businessman Rade Arsić from Tivat on behalf of her underage daughter D.D., worth 21 thousand euros.
Position of the plot
The gift consisted of a plot of 586 square meters, in the very centre of Kolašin. The contract on the gift obtained by the MANS Investigative Centre states that Arsić gave the plot to the minor D.D. “as an expression of gratitude”.
This gift came only ten days after Arsić obtained a building permit for the construction of a house on the mentioned plot, which is confirmed by the official documentation of the Kolašin Secretariat for Urbanism.
It also contains confirmation that Arsić previously paid around 9,000 euros for utilities, as well as a detailed project of a two-storey house of around 340 square meters, with Arsić as the investor in the construction of that facility.
After the land was given to the minor D.D., the Kolašin Secretariat for Urbanism transferred the building permit to the granddaughter of Vesna Medenica.
Transfer of building permit
The situation on the ground today shows that a facility identical to the one for which Arsić obtained a permit and made the main project was built on the donated plot. According to what MANS’ investigators found in the field, the facility was completely built and moved in.
Excerpt from the main project of the facility registered to D.D.
Data from the technical documentation show that the value of works on the construction of this facility amounted to around 125 thousand euros, without the internal equipment.
Answering the questions of the MANS Investigative Centre, Rade Arsić said that his gesture was exclusively an expression of gratitude, that the gift did not have any “reciprocal character”. Arsić adds that the land was donated with the aim of helping the minor D.D., and that he has close friendly ties with the family of Vesna Medenica.
In addition to friendly relations, Arsić is also connected to Medenica family by a joint project of building luxury villas in Tivat Bay, which Miloš Medenica recently left. Back in 2020, MANS filed criminal charges against Arsić and Miloš Medenica for illegal construction in the coastal zone.
This businessman from Tivat has been known to the general public since 2007, when he participated in the recapitalization of the bank Prva Banka Crne Gore together with people close to the Đukanović family. He recently came into the public spotlight again after threats against Tivat’s mayor, Željko Komnenović, after he filed criminal charges against him in late February this year. In addition, Arsić was fined in 2019 for physically attacking the director of Radio Tivat.
Asked by MANS whether the construction of a house worth at least 125,000 euros was also part of the gift, and why he officially gave up construction only ten days after obtaining the building permit and gave the project to the Medenica family, Arsić said that he had not participated in the construction of the house.
However, in the real estate sheet for real estate registered to the minor D.D., it is stated that both the plot and the house were acquired as a gift. In addition to this property, an apartment in Podgorica of 86 m2 was registered to the underage granddaughter of Vesna Medenica in 2016, which was paid 95,000 euros with the help of a loan.
Excerpt from the real estate sheet
“Vesna Medenica’s daughter is an indisputably related person in terms of the Law on Prevention of Corruption, and in that sense, the Agency for Prevention of Corruption has direct authority to verify the origin of this and other assets. “Unfortunately, after leaving the household of a public official, APC does not deal with their children or other related persons at all, which opens up a huge space for abuse and hiding of assets and income from unknown sources”, MANS warns.
Marija Medenica (photo: Instagram)
MANS tried to get an answer to the question from Marija Medenica about connections with Arsić, and the origin of the money from which the construction and equipping of the house in Kolašin was financed, but she did not respond to the messages sent.
