Montenegrin police file criminal charges against Naser Keljmendi and former mayor Gzim Hajdinaga

Podgorica, Montenegro (26 December 2011) – The Montenegrin police have filed criminal charges against former mayor of the coastal town of Ulcinj Gzim Hajdinaga for abuse of office and against private investor Naser Keljmendi for building without construction permit.

The police investigation gives rise to a suspicion that Gzim Hajdinaga exceeded his powers as Ulcinj mayor, by enabling the unlawful construction of a number of residential and commercial buildings between October 2008 and end of 2010.

The former mayor is suspected of charging the owners of illegally constructed buildings a total of €1.87 million to produce the required spatial planning documents and using the funds for other than designated purposes.

Mr Keljmendi is accused of building the Casa Grande Hotel on the outskirts of Ulcinj, without a construction permit and contrary to spatial planning regulations, between 2006 and July 2010, when the hotel was opened.

The police have reason to believe that Mr Keljmendi transferred to the Municipality of Ulcinj €225,000 as an advance payment for the preparation of the spatial planning documentation, while ignoring repeated orders of the local construction inspectorate to suspend the works and remove the illegal building.