From the political and spiritual terrain, i.e. forced propaganda pressure on the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral and Bishop Joaniki, as well as almost daily pressure on Andrija Mandić, the fugitive former companion of Vučić, efforts Belgrade, on the eve of the announced elections, to destabilize the government Milojko Spajić they move from the political field to the field of economics or, to be more precise, the economic aspect of this whole operation comes to the surface. In this series, the main role was entrusted to Dejan Ljevnaić, the dismissed director for strategic projects of the company "Luštica Bej". By order of the General Court in Kotor, officers of the Criminal Police Station of the Tivat Security Department searched his apartment in detail last week, and the Belgrade media close to the ruling regime covered the whole event with thunderous headlines in the style that all this is happening to Ljevnaić because he is a Serb. "Even though I am exiled, I will never say a bad word about Montenegro, because I sincerely believe that the vast majority of people in Montenegro want good, friendly and fraternal relations with Serbia. Our two countries and peoples are naturally directed towards each other and I believe that we should build relations based on mutual respect, appreciation and good neighborly cooperation," Ljevnaić wrote on social networks, stressing that he was forced to move out of Montenegro because his security was allegedly threatened.
As it usually happens lately, the SNS establishment immediately spoke on this topic through the head of this party's caucus, Milenko Jovanov. "If a Serb cannot be a director in Montenegro, then Montenegrins cannot be directors in Serbia either," Jovanov stated, adding that reciprocity should be applied in this case as well.
BIOGRAPHY AND CONNECTIONS
Dejan Ljevnaić is not an unknown name neither in Serbia nor in the region.
He graduated from the Police Academy in Belgrade, and then specialized studies at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade. He started his career in the civil service, in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia from 1997 to 2008. After that, he made a key turn towards tourism and management, when he transferred to the Public Company "Skijališta Srbije". He was first hired there as a security advisor, and later took over the position of executive director. Ljevnaić will head the Jahorina Olympic Center in 2017. At that time, it was announced that the company was burdened with a debt of more than 20 million convertible marks, while forecasts for its further development were far from optimistic. In the years that followed, Jahorina went through a major infrastructural and business transformation, and the income from the sale of services increased from 3,37 million to around 21 million marks, while Ljevnaić insisted on changing the previous business model - instead of a mountain that lives almost exclusively during a few winter months, the goal was to create a tourist destination that operates 365 days a year. On September 22, 2025, it was announced from the Olympic Center "Jahorina" that "Dejan Ljevnaić no longer serves as the director of this center", but also that OC Jahorina is again in a financial blockade.
photo: jahorina mountain rangeTROJAN HORSE OF THE SERBIAN REGIME: Dejan Ljevnajić
After Jahorina, Ljevnaić will continue his professional path in a new position - he becomes strategic director in Luštica, a project worth hundreds of millions of euros. Before the shift, Ljevnaić came to the center of attention of the Montenegrin public during the famous charter flight between Belgrade and Tivat. Miloš Medenica, better known as Medeni, spoke first, who announced on "Telegram" that Ljevnaić was actually sent to Tivat by the "Serbian BIA" and that it was Dejan Ljevnajić who provided the tourists from the charter flight with accommodation in the luxury resort in "Luštica Bay". "Why don't you tell the citizens that Dejan Ljevnajić was sent by the Serbian BIA to carry out that responsible job, as well as that he once officially worked for that agency and that on behalf of that agency he was appointed to run a ski resort in Serbia, and for the last five years he was appointed to run a ski resort on Jahorina in the Republic of Srpska? And that he is connected to a corruption scandal involving hundreds of millions of marks," Medeni asked publicly. Medenica repeated that Dejan Ljevnajić is one of the financiers and logisticians of the "Cacija", that his best friend is Dritan Abazović, "who, at Vučić's request, arranged through the board of directors to appoint him to this strategically important position".
ROUND ROBIN
Afterwards, the Montenegrin media played up the topic, and Ljevnaić denied these allegations. However, the executive director for strategic projects "Luštice Bay" was soon dismissed after the National Security Agency (ANB) did not give him permission to extend his stay. In Montenegro, many were of the opinion that this rather unexpected move was actually caused not so much by the Tivat Čača episode, but by an attempt to take a loan of 15 million euros from the Belgrade-based Alta Bank. This almost usual business arrangement was interesting in that it was accompanied by a request to the Government of Montenegro for consent to the establishment of a lien on the right to use the object of nautical tourism - a marina with a coastal promenade in the tourist resort "Luštica Bay", in favor of Alta banka from Belgrade. In other words, in the event that "Luštica Bay" does not return the mentioned loan, Alta banka would become the owner of one of the most attractive parts of the territory covered by this ambitious project.
photo: saša matić / tanjugUNDER PRESSURE: Milojko Spajić, Prime Minister of Montenegro
Last week, however, Milojko Spajić's government, suddenly and without further explanation, withdrew the consent it previously gave to the company "Luštica Development" from Tivat that it could establish the aforementioned lien on the right to use the nautical tourism facility, which was a signal for alarm in this company. The role of Ljevnaić in this arrangement with Alta Bank is not known, but, aware of the sensitivity of the current relations between Montenegro and Serbia, the president of the Board of Directors of the company "Orascom Development Holding" Nagib S. Saviris spoke out more quickly. "To be completely explicit, so that there is no doubt: we do not have any business arrangements with the president of Serbia or with his relatives", Saviris said in an interview with "Vijesti" from Podgorica. The first man of the company that manages "Luštica Bej" actually wants to distance himself from speculations about the credit arrangement with Alta Bank and allegations that this financial institution from Belgrade is close to the regime of Aleksandar Vučić. "You know more about the allegations regarding that bank than I do. We are a company based in Switzerland, focused exclusively on business, strictly apolitical and without any agenda other than the economic development of Montenegro", Saviris sent a clear message to the Government of Montenegro, which is nevertheless the most important partner of "Orescom" in the implementation of the "Luštica Bay" project.
ALTA BANK AND OTHER GAMES
And here we come to Alta Bank, one of the important factors in the current Serbian-Montenegrin economic relations. This company, mapped in the local public as an extended arm of Aleksandar Vučić, is becoming more and more noticeable on the Montenegrin market even before it will cause additional attention regarding the aforementioned loan. As early as 2024, Alta Pay Group begins a rather complicated financial operation, the ultimate goal of which is the purchase of four Addiko banks in the region, among which is Addiko bank in Podgorica. The Alta business system first buys 9,63 percent of Addiko Bank AG, and for an additional 19,96 percent, it enters into conditional contracts that have not been implemented to date. Since Addiko Bank AG from Vienna controls Addiko Bank AD Podgorica, Alta Pay Group requested approval from the Central Bank of Montenegro for the acquisition of an indirect qualified participation, with a planned participation of 29,59 percent in the capital of the Podgorica bank. At that time, the CBCG officially confirmed that it is conducting the procedure according to that request, and Alta itself confirmed that it is obtaining regulatory approvals for the planned 29,59 percent of Addiko Bank AG.
In the Western Balkans, this kind of financial transaction, almost common in the banking world, acquires, of course, other meanings. The possibility of a Serbian company buying a bank in Podgorica would not in normal times cause too much attention. Because, for example, AikGroup, majority-owned by Aleksandar Kostić, son of the late Miodrag Kostić, completed the purchase of the first 74,9 percent of Hipotekarna banka in June 2025. It paid 9,77 euros per share, or about 74,5 million euros for that package. CBCG previously gave consent for the acquisition of qualified participation. According to the currently published ownership structure on the website of Hipotekarna banka, AikGroup (CY) Limited now has 90,0001 percent of shares. Formally, the parent company AikGroup is registered in Cyprus, but the group includes AikBank and AikLeasing in Serbia, Hipotekarna banka in Montenegro and Gorenjska banka in Slovenia, and the group itself states that the majority owner is Aleksandar Kostić. Ivanjica from Serbia currently has 8,264 percent of shares in Lovćen banka TIS doo. However, the dominant owner is "Zetagradnja" from Podgorica with 86,8869 percent ownership, while the German "Sparkassen International Development Trust" has 4,849 percent.
If the arrangement between Alta Group and Addiko Bank were to be realized, two significant banks in Montenegro would be under the control of two business groups whose main owners are from Serbia - Hipotekarna under AIK Group and Addiko Bank Podgorica under Alta Group. And while hardly anyone deals with AIK Bank in Montenegro in this way, even though, for example, Kostić publicly announces that he is interested in buying the "Budvan Riviera", one of the most important tourist complexes here, Alta Bank is, as you can see, under the watchful eye not only of the public but also of the Montenegrin Government. This is, in a way, expected given the numerous controversies, primarily around Damir Matsura, the majority owner of Alta Bank. Until then, this member of the Vučić family was mostly known as the owner of a chain of exchange offices new rich class, in 2019, he bought the state share in Jubmes Bank for about five million euros, after which the bank was renamed Alta Bank. Later, he acquired the remaining share capital and became the sole owner of the bank. Alta banka is part of a wider business network controlled by Matsura through Alta Group, Alta Holding and other related companies.
PRESSURE LEVERS
How this Alta bank business trip to Montenegro will end will be known soon. There remains, however, a question that still hangs in the air, and it concerns the numerous possibilities of economic pressure of Aleksandar Vučić on Montenegro. We should not forget that Serbia is the most important foreign trade partner of Podgorica and that the local economy is highly dependent on imports from Belgrade. According to MONSTAT data for the year 2025, Montenegro imported a total of goods worth 4,458 billion euros, of which 777,8 million euros were imported from Serbia. This means that Serbia participated with about 17,45 percent in the total merchandise imports of Montenegro in 2025 and that last year it was the largest individual import partner of Montenegro, ahead of China with 549,4 million and Germany with 453,1 million euros. If we add to that that some of the key Montenegrin state companies, such as Luka Bar, Željeznica Crne Gore or Aerodrom and Air Montenegro, are owned by companies from Serbia, one should not be too imaginative and assume that Aleksandar Vučić has at his disposal many means of economic pressure on Montenegro, not quite as "refined" as the entry of "Alta banka" into the Montenegrin market.
photo: borislav zdrinja / srna / tanjugSUPPORTED THE STUDENTS: Bishop Joanikije
Although, for example, a special regime for the export of food from Serbia to Montenegro, the redirection of goods transport from the port of Bar to, say, Thessaloniki or the change of conditions for the Montenegrin air carrier at the Belgrade airport would most certainly cause financial damage for Serbia, it will not be the first time that irrational moves are made from Belgrade towards Montenegro, mainly for the sake of propaganda effect for the internal needs of the SNS regime. After all, generally speaking, the practical effect of Vučić's policy towards Montenegro in the last year and a half is such that, after Andrija Mandić's retraction, he was left without the support of half of the political spectrum that he had controlled until some time ago. On the other hand, his direct influence on the SPC was limited to Metropolitan Metodije and his Chetniks, while the most influential Montenegrin spiritual leader Joanikije clearly expressed his attitude towards the current government in Belgrade with a letter of support to Serbian students.
However, Vučić's calculation is quite clear and simple. According to the latest Population Census of Serbia from 2022, 20.238 citizens declared themselves as Montenegrins. That is about 0,30 percent of the total population of Serbia and a completely insignificant number of potential SNS voters in the future elections, which at this moment are the only thing that matters to the President of Serbia. From that point of view, attacks on Montenegro, political, religious or economic, represent a perfectly acceptable electoral risk in relation to the possibility of manipulation before the electoral body in Serbia about the threat of Serbs and the anti-Vuvučić policy of Podgorica. That is why Vučić is not very impressed by the public opinion survey published this month, according to which the majority of Montenegrin citizens believe that Serbia interferes in the internal affairs of the "brotherly state" and does not want Montenegro in the EU, and 36,1 percent of respondents think that the neighboring country will do everything to stop Montenegrins on their way to Brussels. This could be one of the practical epilogues of Aleksandar Vučić's policy towards Podgorica, which has been intensively pursued in the past year and a half.
In such circumstances, in view of the recent elections, it seems that it is much more realistic to ask what is the next move of Aleksandar Vučić towards Montenegro, and not whether he will withdraw it.
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