The contract on the sale of 100 percent of shares of “Montenegro Defence Industry” was\u00a0signed on March 4th, and the company was sold for 680 thousand euros to\u00a0the consortium of companies “ATL – Atlantic Technologies” Ltd from Israel and\u00a0“CRPS-Impex” from Serbia, whose bid was evaluated as valid.\u00a0The new buyer was also pledged to invest an additional 400 thousand euros\u00a0in the modernization of the enterprise.<\/p>\n
MANS using the Law on free access to information at the beginning\u00a0February of this year asked the Council for privatization to enable us to\u00a0access to the bids submitted to public tender announced on September 16th of last\u00a0year, when it was announced the sale of 100 percent of capital of “Montenegro\u00a0Defence Industry”.<\/p>\n
However, the Council for privatization has rejected the request, on the grounds\u00a0of the confidential information relating to the safety,\u00a0defense, foreign, monetary and economic policy of the country. The Council\u00a0also referred to its decision on determining the degree of confidentiality of data\u00a0for a number of privatization adopted on the session on January 27th this\u00a0year.<\/p>\n
In that decision, the Council announced as secret the information on 13 state\u00a0companies that are currently in the process of privatization or they will be,\u00a0stating that disclosure of information contained in tender\u00a0documentation and offers would caused adverse consequences for the safety and\u00a0interests of Montenegro, which is of greater importance than the public interest to\u00a0be familiar with this information.<\/p>\n
Decision of the Council allows access to classified information only to its\u00a0members and the members of tender commissions, while declassification period occurs\u00a0after five years, which in fact denies the members of the Montenegrin \u00a0Parliament\u00a0and all interested public the very important\u00a0information. Against the decision of the Council for privatization MANS submitted lawsuit to\u00a0the Administrative Court.<\/p>\n
It is obvious that the Government tries to hide from the public key\u00a0information on individuals and companies to whom are sold valuable state\u00a0companies, which already at the beginning proved an example sale of military\u00a0company “Montenegro Defence Industry”. The Balkan\u00a0Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) recently reported data that links Israeli\u00a0company “ATL – Atlantic Technologies” Ltd with Serge\u00a0Miller, who is in its native Belgium, suspected of illegal\u00a0weapons sale, drug trafficking and money laundering.<\/p>\n
According to the BIRN, the sole owner and director of the Israeli company ATL is\u00a0Israeli Agmon Saked, but the data from the Bulgarian business register shewed that\u00a0Miller more than a year, until June 2014,\u00a0officially was co-owner of ATL’s subsidiaries in Bulgaria, following sale of his stake. Belgian media have previously reported that the company ATL\u00a0has an office in the building of diamond stock in Antwerpen, at the address of\u00a0several of Miller’s companies, and later the data was removed from the website.<\/p>\n
In addition, the director of “Montenegro Defence Industry” Zoran\u00a0Damjanovic confirmed to BIRN that Miller visited offices of the\u00a0company in Podgorica as a representative of ATL, but later stated that\u00a0Miller was present as a “friend of the company from Tel Aviv”.<\/p>\n
Miller was arrested on the basis of an Interpol warrant on the state crossing\u00a0Bozaj after departure from Montenegro and immediately after signing\u00a0contract of sale for “Montenegro Defence Industry”, and according to\u00a0a statement of the Montenegrin Police Administration, on \u00a0March 17 of this year, he is charged with organizing and financing of import of large cocaine shipments\u00a0from South America, and the illegal transfer of weapons on which basis\u00a0has been made a criminal capital in the amount of more than five million US\u00a0dollars.<\/p>\n
According to the indictment, Miller participated in the diversion of profits acquired\u00a0from these activities and their investment in economic\u00a0structure. Currently in Podgorica he is awaiting extradition.<\/p>\n
After these allegations, in every law regulated state, a competent\u00a0privatization body would automatically reviewed the contract of sale,\u00a0Directorate for Prevention of Money Laundering would verify the origin of the money used to pay the\u00a0shares of the state company, and the prosecution would respond urgently to\u00a0benefit from the possibility of \u00a0Miller’a detention and to collect information\u00a0about the reasons of his visit to Podgorica and meetings with leaders of the\u00a0company “Montenegro Defence Industry”.<\/p>\n
Instead, the authorities do not react on this case, and today\u00a0is more than clear that the decision of the Council for Privatization to declare as secret\u00a0the information on the privatization of a number of key companies is\u00a0harmful and contrary to the public interest, and it is calculated in order to sale valuable state resources\u00a0far from the public eye.<\/p>\n
MANS<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The contract on the sale of 100 percent of shares of “Montenegro Defence Industry” was\u00a0signed on March 4th, and the company was sold for 680 thousand euros to\u00a0the consortium of companies “ATL – Atlantic Technologies” Ltd from Israel and\u00a0“CRPS-Impex” from Serbia, whose bid was evaluated as valid.\u00a0The new buyer was also pledged to invest an<\/p>\n