The secrecy of the owners of Russian property in Montenegro: are their names and motives hidden?

The government institutions of Montenegro do not wish to officially disclose the names of Russian citizens whose assets have been frozen in Montenegro, citing that they are not competent to provide such information. This was an informal response to a question about the identities of Russian citizens who own frozen real estate, which was posed by Radio Free Europe to all relevant government institutions.

Minister of Internal Affairs Filip Adjić

On June 10, it was announced that 44 properties owned by 34 Russian citizens have been frozen in Montenegro. The freezing was carried out in accordance with the commitments made when decisions were taken to impose international restrictive measures against Russia due to its military aggression against Ukraine. Montenegro, as a candidate country, adopted these decisions in line with the foreign policy of the European Union.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ranko Krivokapić

At a press conference on June 14, he stated that this is the first step in a series of actions aimed at more effectively identifying and freezing Russian assets. Krivokapic added that the procedures, not only in Montenegro but also globally, may be subject to legal challenges, but he believes they cannot be successful. "The measures are unified, national tools, but the models are mostly the same. In all rule-of-law countries, there will be an opportunity to protect individual rights, but overall, this is a way to contribute to countering Russian aggression; if we can't prevent it, we can at least slow it down," said Krivokapic.

The public lacks information about Russian real estate. In response to a question from Radio Free Europe regarding Russian citizens whose assets have been frozen, neither Interior Minister Filip Adjić at a press conference on June 14, which was organized for a different reason, nor his Ministry provided answers to the same questions.

Praising the government's decision to impose sanctions in response to Russia's aggression against Ukraine, Dejan Milovac, the director of the MANS Research Center (Network for Supporting the Non-Governmental Sector), stated that the Ministry of Internal Affairs should have provided complete information rather than just fragments of it.

Referring to unofficial sources, the Podgorica newspaper "Vesti" published 34 names of Russian citizens who, according to their claims, have been subjected to sanctions that temporarily prevent the use of property in Montenegro. Official responsible parties have neither confirmed nor denied the list. The list includes names identical to those of members of the Russian Security Council, such as Sergey Ivanov, and high-ranking members of Putin's administration, like Sergey Gromov. All of them own real estate in Budva, Bečići, Herceg Novi, and Žabljak, according to the information.

Dejan Milovac suggests that the names of Russian citizens whose assets were frozen in Montenegro came from the European Commission. He points out that civil society is questioning what exactly the freezing of assets means, aside from the fact that a measure was taken to fulfill an international obligation. "Are there any other Russian citizens in Montenegro who could be subject to sanctions? Is this a complete investigation, are these people in Montenegro, and do they have their companies here?" asks Milovac.

Russians are the most numerous clients in the Montenegrin real estate market.

The Cadastre and State Property Management of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) reported that they acted in accordance with the decisions to impose international restrictive measures established by the decisions of the European Union Council regarding the freezing of assets of certain individuals. Since the registration procedure is still ongoing, the Management will provide the specified information to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in accordance with the law, the Management's statement said.

Dejan Milovac concludes that compliance with international sanctions obligations cannot be limited to a simple investigation, meaning just freezing the assets directly owned by the individual. An expanded investigation could reveal the source of the money that has entered Montenegro. "An expanded investigation could uncover the source of the money that has come to Montenegro. It is not only necessary to determine whether this money is dirty, but also to find the accomplices who promoted it as a place for money laundering. This would be beneficial for Montenegro," says Milovac.

Milovac suspects that the indecisiveness of the previous government of Zdravko Krivokapić in joining the EU sanctions against Russia from early March to April 8 affected the fact that property owners sold or transferred their assets to third parties. "This is data that the Real Estate Administration should have. It needs to be checked whether anyone took advantage of the vacuum from the formal introduction of sanctions against Russia until their implementation and disposed of this property," says Milovac. He reminds that at the beginning of the aggression against Ukraine, Russian owners of ships and yachts were entering Montenegrin ports. "They would enter Montenegrin waters and then leave. During this time, the police and customs did not have formal mechanisms to confiscate specific yachts and vessels," adds Milovac.

On April 8, the government of Montenegro formally adopted sanctions against Russia due to its military aggression against Ukraine. These sanctions include freezing assets and economic resources for certain Russian citizens and companies, a ban on operations for pro-Russian media, and the closure of airspace to Russian aircraft.