PODGORICA — Within the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Montenegro, as soon as an in depth ally of Moscow, introduced after a little bit of foot-dragging that it was becoming a member of Western sanctions towards the Kremlin. Shortly thereafter, Podgorica, a member of NATO and aspirant to affix the EU, claimed that it had seized the property of Russians who had been blacklisted by Brussels.
The transfer was heralded by the media, making headlines all through the Balkan area, and included in an official report of the European Fee, the highest govt physique of the EU. There was just one downside: It wasn’t true.
As a substitute of dozens, Podgorica had solely frozen the property — an house and space for storing — of 1 Russian nationwide sanctioned by the EU, a former separatist chief in japanese Ukraine, RFE/RL’s Balkan Service has discovered. The others have been mistakenly included.
Moscow On The Adriatic
For years, Montenegro — particularly its beachfront on the Adriatic coast — has attracted well-heeled Russians seeking to park a few of their wealth in actual property. Even now, Montenegro’s backing of Western sanctions would not look like deterring Russians from snatching up flats, villas, and different buildings in Montenegro.
Russian nationals personal some 19,000 properties in Montenegro, in keeping with 2022 information from the Land Registry Administration, together with oligarch Oleg Deripaska, who has been sanctioned by the West.
Most often, figuring out the precise homeowners is hard as lots of the property could also be within the title of members of the family or corporations, as is the case of Deripaska. However in June 2022, then-Inside Minister Filip Adzic introduced a significant victory for Podgorica in cracking down on sanctioned Russian nationals holding property in Montenegro.
”For 44 properties, the Land Registry Administration issued rulings limiting the disposal of property in Montenegro. It applies to 34 Russian residents who’ve been sanctioned,” Adzic stated on the time.
That supposed success was included within the European Fee’s annual report on Montenegro issued 4 months later.
Nonetheless, the preliminary enthusiasm was not warranted. After accessing and analyzing official paperwork, RFE/RL’s Balkan Service has discovered that as a substitute of 34, just one EU-sanctioned Russian nationwide had his property in Montenegro frozen. The opposite 33 weren’t on any sanctions lists however simply occurred to share the primary and final names of those that have been. Their property have been briefly frozen till the error was realized after which corrected.
In response to questions from RFE/RL’s Balkan Service, the Montenegrin Land Registry Administration defined that it was an sincere mistake, with no intention to deceive, and largely resulting from preliminary confusion and incomplete info on which Russians on the EU blacklist really had property in Montenegro.
The Inside Ministry, which had initially introduced the broader asset crackdown on sanctioned Russians, didn’t reply to RFE/RL requests for remark.
The Land Registry Administration stated in a press release it had examined your entire listing of Russian nationals who, on the time, had been sanctioned by the EU, on the lookout for attainable matches with Russians who owned property in Montenegro. That searched turned up 34 folks whose first and final names matched these on the EU blacklist.
”Choices have been taken…to freeze entry to property [in Montenegro] because of the assessed danger that the property in query could possibly be offered or used as collateral to safe financial institution loans,” the Land Registry Administration stated within the assertion.
Ines Mrdovic, an activist with Motion for Social Rights, a Montenegrin NGO advocating for good governance, lays the blame for the error on the toes of the Montenegrin establishments on the heart of the scandal. ”It is simply improper to supply the EU with info that doesn’t mirror the scenario on the bottom,” Mrdovic advised RFE/RL.
The id of the one Russian nationwide whose property have been accurately frozen in Montenegro was by no means made public. Nonetheless, official paperwork seen by RFE/RL’s Balkan Service point out that it was possible Marat Bashirov, a Russian political strategist who was a senior chief in Ukraine’s Luhansk area, which is partially occupied by Russia-backed separatists.
Bashirov has an house measuring 33 sq. meters in Becici on Montenegro’s Adriatic coast. He’s additionally a component proprietor with a number of different people of a space for storing in the identical constructing.
Montenegrin officers fumbled their dealing with of the entire affair, Mrdovic says, performing in a fashion that was not sufficiently clear neither to its personal residents nor European companions.
”We get ourselves into conditions the place somebody says one factor and one other one thing else. And then you definitely surprise what is definitely true. In any case, it’s horrible that our European companions should not given full and correct info,” Mrdovic says.
Westward Shift
Montenegro has strengthened ties with the West lately, becoming a member of NATO in 2017 and making use of for EU membership in 2008. The nation’s pivot to the West has irked Russia, its conventional ally. In 2016, the pro-Western authorities accused Russian-backed forces of a coup try on the eve of parliamentary elections.
In October, the European Parliament adopted a decision on Montenegro, applauding its compliance with EU sanctions on Russia whereas additionally expressing concern over the massive variety of Russian residents, together with many oligarchs, who’ve settled in Montenegro. ”We name on the Montenegrin authorities to make sure that the nation doesn’t change into a hub for corporations and people who need to circumvent sanctions,” the decision states.
On a go to to Podgorica on October 31, EU Fee President Ursula von der Leyen urged Montenegro to push forward with its European Union integration course of. ”Montenegro has been for a very long time essentially the most superior Western Balkan nation on the EU accession path, and I’m joyful to see that you’re decided to maintain the…place,” von der Leyen stated after talks with President Jakov Milatovic.
Montenegro was given EU candidate standing in 2010 however has solely closed three of 33 accession chapters — areas of governance the place EU hopefuls must introduce new insurance policies and reforms with a purpose to align with the bloc’s requirements.
The EU delegation in Podgorica didn’t reply to RFE/RL’s requests for touch upon the matter.
In 2023, Freedom Home designated Montenegro as a hybrid regime moderately than a democracy ”resulting from a constitutional disaster attributable to renewed political dysfunction, with the collapse of two governments in brief succession, unconstitutional strikes that obstructed electoral processes and the Constitutional Court docket, and a blockade to forming a brand new authorities.”