How Abazović and Spajić favoured Macura’s business interests in Montenegro

Aleksandar Vučić’s political decline had a „domino effect“, triggering the beginning of the collapse of many pieces in the Serbian Progressive Party’s power structure. Among those who have fallen is Davor Macura, owner of Alta Bank and 15 other companies operating in Serbia and the wider region.

UNRAVELLING THE NETWORK: THE „PRIME MINISTER ABAZOVIĆ CASE“

Macura was arrested in Belgrade last night. Numerous scandals involving the links between business interests and Vučić’s government, as well as its influence on political and business developments in Serbia, are yet to come to light. However, the story of the expansion of his Alta empire is also a story about the political influence of Aleksandar Vučić’s government, not only in Serbia but in Montenegro as well.

Television E and the ETV Portal have published information about loans obtained by the Luštica Bay Development company from Alta Bank, carrying interest rates as high as 11 per cent.

As reported by M Portal, the chronology of events clearly shows that Alta Bank began gaining momentum in Montenegro during Dritan Abazović’s government. The same was true of the business activities of the brother of the then Montenegrin Prime Minister, Džihan Abazović - although his business venture was not in Montenegro, but in Serbia.

There is a clear cause-and-effect relationship. In September 2022, Dritan Abazović’s government approved Luštica Bay’s borrowing from the Belgrade-based Alta Bank, initially for €8.3 million and subsequently for an additional loan of €3.5 million.

Shortly afterwards, in Belgrade, the brother of the then Montenegrin Prime Minister, Džihan Abazović, opened the Biocell Hospital clinic together with Milica Đurđić, the partner of Serbia’s then Prime Minister, Ana Brnabić.

It is no coincidence that Džihan Abazović and Milica Đurđić financed the opening of the hospital with a loan from - Alta Bank.

THE BELGRADE-BANJA LUKA-PODGORICA TRIANGLE

In an interview with Television E, Danica Nikolić, editor-in-chief of M Portal, stresses that the case involving Alta Bank and Davor Macura is extremely important for uncovering the various ways in which Aleksandar Vučić has influenced social, economic and political processes in Montenegro.

Nikolić points out that all investigations into Alta Group’s business activities indicate the existence of a Belgrade-Banja Luka-Podgorica triangle in terms of Aleksandar Vučić’s financial, economic and political operations.

- Our investigation showed that Alta Bank had two major loans granted during Dritan Abazović’s government. One amounted to approximately €8.5 million, while the other was worth €3.5 million. They were subsequently refinanced through a loan from another bank under more favourable terms - Danica Nikolić told ETV.

She emphasises that an anonymous criminal complaint has been before the Special State Prosecutor’s Office for several months. The document indicates that these loans were granted under extremely unfavourable conditions, with interest rates reaching as high as 11 per cent.

- This was at a time when other banks operating in Montenegro were offering considerably more favourable lending terms for businesses, particularly in the tourism sector - Nikolić says.

SIA, BROTHER, SIA...

The Special State Prosecutor’s Office has not responded to Television E’s inquiry as to whether an investigation has been launched on the basis of the criminal complaint.

To make matters even more interesting, until the end of August, Dejan Ljevnaić, a former member of Serbia’s Security Intelligence Agency (SIA), served as Director of Strategic Projects at Luštica Bay. He was directly connected to the governments of Aleksandar Vučić and Milorad Dodik.

It was Ljevnaić, then Director of Luštica Bay, who booked accommodation at The Chedi hotels in Luštica in late July for Vučić’s loyalists, who intended to travel to Tivat by charter flight to attend a summit of European Union leaders. Once the matter came to light, Ljevnaić had to leave Luštica Bay...

SPAJIĆ’S „ALTA GAMES“

In her interview with ETV, Danica Nikolić points out that investigations into the links with Macura’s companies should not focus solely on the responsibility of Dritan Abazović’s government, but must also examine the role of Milojko Spajić’s government.

This is primarily because the Government of Montenegro gave indirect approval for Luštica Bay - a company burdened with two loans from Alta Bank totalling approximately €11.8 million - to refinance that debt through a loan from Crnogorska komercijalna banka (CKB). To that end, on 29 June this year, during a telephone session, Milojko Spajić’s government gave Luštica Bay consent to mortgage state-owned land, the marina and the promenade in Radovići (!) in favour of Alta Bank, as collateral for a new €15 million loan.

Exactly one month later, Spajić’s government withdrew its approval without providing any explanation.

- With regard to that last loan, which Milojko Spajić’s government initially approved and subsequently withdrew its approval for, it is extremely important to understand that a section of the Montenegrin coastline had been put up as collateral. Specifically, the coastal area of Luštica – the marina and the promenade. In other words, had the loan not been repaid, Davor Macura and Alta Bank would literally have become the owners of that part of the Montenegrin coastline - Danica Nikolić concludes.

WILL THE TRUTH EVER COME OUT?

Two nights ago, the Central Bank of Montenegro revoked the licence of Alta Pay Group to provide payment services. The company had been used by the owner of the now-closed Serbian Alta Bank to conduct business in Montenegro, where he had also planned to take over Addiko Bank next year.

However, this does not mean that the investigation into the business activities of Davor Macura’s companies in Montenegro should come to a halt. This is all the more important given that Alta Bank is registered in Serbia, a country that has not imposed sanctions on Russia. It will therefore be crucial for Montenegrin investigators to establish whether Alta Group was indirectly conducting business using Russian capital in the Montenegrin market as well. It will also be important to investigate the financial flows of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro.

Of course, this is all contingent on whether Montenegrin investigative authorities and institutions have any intention at all of fully uncovering the truth about the dangerous links between suspicious funds associated with Vučić’s regime and the Montenegrin authorities.