Kosovo seeks property in Montenegro confiscated in Serbia

The Kosovo Privatization Agency (KAP) has demanded that the Montenegrin Ministry of Finance stop the change of ownership over the real estate of the former public enterprise PIK Kosovo export meat factory Kosovo Polje, Radio Slobodna Evropa (RSE) confirms.

According to the law, the agency manages all former public enterprises in Kosovo and claims to be the sole owner of the real estate. It should be noted that after 1999 the property was misappropriated to the Kraljev company Klanica, which then sold it. Kap has repeatedly requested the Montenegrin State Property and Cadastre Office to cancel the sale agreement concluded by Klanica in Serbia. However, their requests were ignored and the case went to the Montenegrin Ministry of Finance.

PIK Kosovo has valuable property including almost 1000 square meters of commercial premises in prestigious locations. In the center of Podgorica there are seven premises with a total area of 700 square meters, of which 500 are on the first floor of residential buildings and 200 are in basements. There is a 60-square-meter room in the center of Budva, and a 137-square-meter room in Bar with a 47-square-meter basement.

It is noted that since 1999, the property has been under the control of the Klanica company from Kraljevo, which was established in Montenegro in the same month. Three years later, another company "Klanica Kraljevo" was established in Bar, controlled by a foreign company. When the parent company of Klanica Kraljevo in Serbia filed for bankruptcy in mid-2019, the property was sold through bankruptcy proceedings.

The company PIK Kosovo was removed from the Serbian court registry on December 31, 1989, so the company does not exist for Serbia. As stated in the documents of bankruptcy trustee Petar Vulovic from Kraljevo, PIK Kosovo illegally sold real estate in Montenegro in 2001 to Nacional AD from Danilovgrad. The remaining commercial premises in Montenegro were sold to Obren Simovic. RSE has established through the Montenegrin Cadastral Service that all properties are still owned by the company Klanica from Kraljevo, and the owner of the premises in Budva is listed as Željko Perović.

Presentations of Kosovsa agencija for privatizaciju

stated that a court case is currently underway in Kraljevo regarding the misappropriation of the property of the Kosovo company in 1999, "Klanica Kraljevo". They also added that they intend to file a lawsuit in a Montenegrin court after receiving a response from the Ministry of Finance, to whom they appealed because of the change of ownership over the property, which they claim was confirmed by the cadastral service of Podgorica at the beginning of the year. A representative of the Cadastral Service of Podgorica confirmed that "PIK Kosovo is not recorded as the owner of real estate in Podgorica". RSE found that all properties are still registered to the company "Klanica" from Kraljevo, while Željko Perović is the owner of the premises in Budva.