Italian businessman linked to Belgrade Waterfront arrested in Montenegro

The arrest of Antonio Facchinetti, one of the directors of the Italian company Pizzarotti in Montenegro should be a signal to Serbia’s authorities since his company signed a contract with Belgrade Waterfront in 2018 for building a tower within the project, Crime and Corruption Reporting Network, KRIK, warned on Friday.

Facchinetti was released pending trial.

According to Podgorica’s News, the investigators suspect that Pizzarotti company pulled some 20 million euros out of Montenegro by transferring it to related parties ’accounts.

In November 2018, Belgrade Waterfront act with Pizzarotti as the main contractor for the construction.

"We now have information that the prosecutor's office ordered the opening of an investigation into the alleged embezzlement of 20 million euros, which were taken out of Montenegro through related companies from Switzerland, Italy and Serbia, based on fictitious invoices for consulting services," Dejan Milovac told the Network. affirmation of the non-governmental sector (MANS).

“Facchinetti’s company is building the tallest building in the capital on the biggest Belgrade project was arrested in Montenegro, and it is a signal that the Serbian prosecutor's office is going to investigate, Jelena Vasić from KRIK says.

"It would be quite logical and expected that the prosecution, because that company is present on important projects in Serbia, such as Belgrade on the water, would check whether there are problems in the business of that company in Serbia as well," states Jelena Vasic.

Six years ago, Pizzarotti Montenegro signed a contract worth hundreds of millions of euros with the company Azmont Investment, which is building the luxury resort Portonovi in the Bay of Kotor, which is owned by Azerbaijan’s President daughter.

"Obviously, it was done in part to the detriment of the budget of Montenegro, as soon as we have this kind of suspicion determined by the Special State Prosecutor's Office in Montenegro," says Milovac.

He also states that apart from this, there is no more detailed information on whether the police and the prosecution had any information when it comes to the legality of Azmont's business in Montenegro.