Montenegro's Prime Minister demands removal of citizenship for Kosovar businessman

The Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milojko Spajic, has requested from the Minister of Internal Affairs, Danillo Sharanovic, to urgently initiate the procedure for revoking the citizenship of the businessman from Kosovo, Naser Ramaj, accused of tax evasion.

This news was confirmed to Radio Free Europe by the government of Montenegro.

The government of former Prime Minister Dritan Abazović had granted Ramaj honorary citizenship in 2023, on the grounds that he was one of the investors in the "Porto Budva" complex worth 80 million euros.

The prosecution accuses him and Valentina Grubovic of, as managers of the company "Alart Centar Budva", failing to report income from the sale of residential and business spaces in this very complex.

The prosecution announced three days ago that the Basic Court in Kotor had confirmed the indictment.

"Granting citizenship to a person who is under investigation for tax evasion and financial fraud could damage Montenegro's international reputation, especially in the eyes of partners from the European Union, which could negatively affect future investments and the negotiating position in the European integration process," Spajic stressed in a letter sent to the Minister of Police.

Two months until citizenship

Honorary citizenship in Montenegro is granted exclusively on the basis of the proposal of the highest state officials.

In Ramaj's case, the proposal came in 2023 from then-Prime Minister Dritan Abazović.

The Law on Montenegrin Citizenship provides that a person may acquire it if its admission is of “special importance for the state, scientific, economic, cultural, sports and other interests of Montenegro”.

For Ramaj, the reasoning was that his investments would contribute to the creation of new jobs and would influence the “economic, financial and industrial development of Montenegro.”

The decision was accompanied by a positive opinion from the Ministry of Finance.

The entire procedure was completed within two months.

However, the current prime minister has expressed "serious doubts" about the legality of obtaining honorary citizenship, emphasizing that the Ministry of Finance's positive opinion was not accompanied by an analysis of his business activity in Montenegro.

"I consider that the case of Naser Ramaj could harm the vital interests of Montenegro on several levels, especially if it is confirmed that honorary citizenship was granted without adequate verifications or on the basis of incorrect information," Spajic wrote.

Review of all honorary citizenships

Prime Minister Spajic also warned that in the coming days he will promote a review of all honorary citizenships granted, to verify whether they have contributed to creating jobs, boosting production and promoting Montenegro.

"If it turns out that honorary citizenships were granted as 'personal favors' or without clear criteria, this undermines citizens' trust in the rule of law and paves the way for clientelism and political corruption," he stressed.

In Montenegro, according to data from the Center for Civic Education, by the end of November 2022, over a thousand honorary citizenships had been granted.

Montenegro officially scrapped its economic citizenship program at the end of the same year – under pressure from the European Commission. Authorities then continued to process hundreds of remaining applications.

The European Commission found that this scheme posed a risk related to security, money laundering, tax evasion, corruption and organized crime, and that it was not in compliance with European Union laws.

Montenegro plans to close all negotiation chapters with the EU by the end of next year and become a member in 2028.

Currently, less than 20 percent of the chapters are closed. /rel/