Bosnian businessman buys Montenegrin Prva Banka

By bne IntelliNews November 10, 2023

Dalibor Matic, a businessman from Bosnia & Herzegovina’s Republika Srpska, is buying a controlling stake in Montenegrin Prva Banka, of which the main shareholder is Aco Djukanovic, brother of former president and prime minister Milo Djukanovic, public broadcaster RTCG reported on November 9.

The news comes several months after local media reported that Serbia's state-owned Banka Postanska Stedionica was holding talks to acquire a majority stake in Montenegro’s Prva Banka Crne Gore.

Matic’s company EH Investment has submitted request to buy a stake in Prva Banka to the Montenegro’s central bank at the end of October.

Matic owns an offshore company registered in Switzerland, which owns several companies in Republika Srpska and Serbia.

Prva Banka has been at the centre of controversy in the past, when anti-corruption NGOs dubbed the bank the “personal ATM” of Djukanovic’s family and close allies. In July 2021, the government withdrew deposits worth €13.1mn from the bank.

In 2016, MEPs called for pressure to be put on the Montenegrin authorities to start an investigation into Prva Banka over allegations the bank had been involved in money laundering.

The call followed a 2012 report from the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) on the bank that showed the concerns raised by the Montenegrin central bank about Prva Banka’s lending practices ahead of the global financial crisis and its bailout by the government and a €100mn deposit from Italian company A2A after its investment into EPCG.

In November 2021, BIRN published wiretapped conversations of Albanian businessman Rezart Taci, who is accused in Albania of involvement in an international money laundering scheme, in which Taci said he had involved Djukanovic in money transfers to Prva Banka. Prva Banka has denied the allegations.

Read in IntelliNews Pro
Get IntelliNews Pro

Related Articles

Bosnia’s central bank expects increased demand for corporate loans in 4Q23

Bosnia & Herzegovina’s central bank expects that the demand for corporate loans will increase in the fourth quarter of 2023 after corporate lending rose in the third quarter, it said in a ... more

Montenegro’s central bank says Serbian company wants to buy Prva Banka

Montenegro’s central bank said on November 10 it has received a request for approval of the purchase of a 50% stake in Prva Banka Montenegro from a Serbian company, not a Bosnian businessman as ... more

Russia's plan to create ‘gas hub’ in Turkey reportedly entangled in squabbles

Russia's plan to create a "gas hub" in Turkey to replace lost sales to Europe is reportedly entangled in squabbles over who should be in charge of it. Two sources familiar with the project were ... more

Follow Us On

Most Read

  1. Top Ukrainian politician David Arakhamia gives seventh confirmation of Russia-Ukraine peace deal agreed in March 2022
    10 days ago
  2. Armenia marks new era with French military purchases
    8 days ago
  3. LONG READ: The boomerang effect: sanctions hurt Europe more than Russia
    5 days ago
  4. Putin's approval rating up to 85% in November, Russians happy with the country's direction
    2 days ago
  5. Oil continues to flow to Israel via Turkey despite Erdogan’s vehement speeches on plight of Gaza
    1 month ago
  1. Oil continues to flow to Israel via Turkey despite Erdogan’s vehement speeches on plight of Gaza
    1 month ago
  2. Top Ukrainian politician David Arakhamia gives seventh confirmation of Russia-Ukraine peace deal agreed in March 2022
    10 days ago
  3. Russia overtakes Germany to become fifth biggest economy in the world in GDP on a PPP basis
    3 months ago
  4. Armenia marks new era with French military purchases
    8 days ago
  5. Lavrov confirms Ukraine war peace deal reached last April, but then abandoned
    2 months ago

Reports

SELECT `n`.`nid` AS `id`, `n`.`title`, 'bne IntelliNews' AS authors, 'bne IntelliNews' AS bylines, `wc`.`field_website_callout_value` AS `summary`, `smc`.`field_social_media_callout_value` AS `social`, `pd`.`published_at` AS `date`, `p`.`field_publication__tid` AS `publication_id`, `fm`.`uri` AS `image`, `fspcaption`.`field_story_photo_caption_value` AS `image_credit`, `fspcredit`.`field_story_photo_credit_value` AS `image_author`, `ws`.`field_website_sections_tid` AS `section_id`, `fdfs`.`field_subject_tid` AS `subject_id`, `db`.`body_value` AS `body`, `fm2`.`uri` AS `pdf`, `et`.`field_enable_tracking_value` AS `tracking`, `ht`.`field_head_tags_value` AS `headTags`, `bt`.`field_body_tags_value` AS `bodyTags` FROM `node` AS `n` LEFT JOIN `field_data_field_website_callout` AS `wc` ON wc.entity_id = n.nid LEFT JOIN `field_data_field_social_media_callout` AS `smc` ON smc.entity_id = n.nid LEFT JOIN `publication_date` AS `pd` ON pd.nid = n.nid LEFT JOIN `field_data_field_publication_` AS `p` ON p.entity_id = n.nid LEFT JOIN `field_data_field_story_picture` AS `sp` ON sp.entity_id = n.nid LEFT JOIN `file_managed` AS `fm` ON fm.fid = sp.field_story_picture_fid LEFT JOIN `field_data_field_story_photo_caption` AS `fspcaption` ON fspcaption.entity_id = n.nid LEFT JOIN `field_data_field_story_photo_credit` AS `fspcredit` ON fspcredit.entity_id = n.nid LEFT JOIN `workflow_node` AS `wn` ON wn.nid = n.nid LEFT JOIN `field_data_field_website_sections` AS `ws` ON ws.entity_id = n.nid LEFT JOIN `field_data_field_subject` AS `fdfs` ON fdfs.entity_id = n.nid LEFT JOIN `field_data_body` AS `db` ON db.entity_id = n.nid LEFT JOIN `field_data_field_file` AS `ff` ON ff.entity_id = n.nid LEFT JOIN `file_managed` AS `fm2` ON fm2.fid = ff.field_file_fid LEFT JOIN `field_data_field_enable_tracking` AS `et` ON et.entity_id = n.nid LEFT JOIN `field_data_field_head_tags` AS `ht` ON ht.entity_id = n.nid LEFT JOIN `field_data_field_body_tags` AS `bt` ON bt.entity_id = n.nid WHERE (n.status = 1) AND (n.type = 'article') AND (n.nid = 300633) AND (wn.sid= 3) AND (p.field_publication__tid IN (2465,2851,3184,3159,3266,3264,3270,3265,3267,3268,3269,3171,3168,3185,3170,1346,1345,3180,3175,3254,3249,1207,1208,3181,3231,3177,3186,3178,1003,3187,2975,3204,3198,3188,3202,3196,3250,3189,3160,3161,3312,3313,3173,3314,3315,3167,3259,3257,3263,3258,3260,3261,3262,3174,3316,3165,3192,3163,3282,3190,2811,3256,3317,3162,3318,3191,3297,3182,3179,3166,3319,3376,3320,3172,3255,3169,1008,3203,3197,3321,3252,3164,1307,3322,3183,3220,3176,3201,3323,1327,1020,1006,1009,1013,1014,1018,1005,1328,1010,1011,1002,1012,1311,1330,1017,1016,1019,1004,1001,1334,1335,1336,1015,1337,1338,1339,1340,1341,2496,2501,2517,2529,2506,2505,2524,2513,2526,2537,2489,2490,2520,2536,2488,2532,2500,2515,2503,2493,2527,2523,2510,2525,2498,2499,2528,2507,2487,2511,2521,2502,2491,2519,2497,2492,2514,2495,2509,2512,1629,3358)) LIMIT 1
Dismiss