Piperović on Bemax: For five years they’ve been turning over every paper, but they haven’t found anything

Lawyer Zoran Piperović claims that the company Bemax and individuals associated with it have for years been subject to various controls and investigations, but that, as he states, the competent authorities have not found evidence of illegal activities in the company’s business operations.

Appearing on Aplus Television, Piperović spoke about claims that have circulated in public for years regarding the so-called „Grand clan“, the role of Ranko Ubović and Aleksandar Mijajlović, as well as the operations of Bemax.

„What is the Grand clan and who are its members?“

Piperović disputes the existence of what parts of the public call the „Grand clan“ stating that „the Grand was just a restaurant“.

- What is the Grand clan and who are the members of the Grand clan, what does the Grand clan do - Piperović asked.

He believes the term was created in media discourse and is not based on legally established facts.

- I am only interested in who authored that coinage and on what basis it was created - the lawyer said.

On Aleksandar Mijajlović and the connection to Bemax

Speaking about claims linking Aleksandar Mijajlović to the company Bemax, Piperović said that the fact an email address containing the company’s name was used does not represent proof of ownership or managerial connection.

- I confirm that he used the word Bemax only because we are all friends within the legal entity Bemax, especially the owners. His brother is the executive director, and the owners are people with whom he is connected through godparent and friendship ties - he said.

He added that Mijajlović, according to his claims, has no formal connection to the company.

- He has absolutely no connection to Bemax. You will not find a single document, no matter how hard you look - he said.

Ranko Ubović has known construction since the age of 14

Piperović believes that certain statements by Bemax founder Veselin Kovačević are being misinterpreted.

- Ranko has been in construction since he was fourteen. He has worked with machinery and construction all his life and knows the job. Vesko Kovačević founded the company and was its owner - he said.

Speaking about Kovačević’s claim that Ubović was a „de facto owner“, Piperović says the essence of that statement differs from how it is interpreted today.

- Ranko was there to help him whenever needed and he helped him. Ranko was neither employed, nor paid a salary, nor did he procure anything, nor manage the company’s operations - he said.

According to him, Kovačević was actually referring to a relationship of trust.

- The key sentence is that he did not get involved in operations, did not define business activities, did not set business dynamics. He did none of that - the lawyer said.

Five years of checks on Bemax

Piperović repeatedly stressed during the show that Bemax’s operations have been inspected by numerous institutions after the political changes in 2020.

- Is there any security service that has not been involved in investigating Bemax’s operations? There is none. They’ve pitched tents since 2020 and have been camped out in Bemax. They have gone through every single document from the company’s beginning to today - he said.

He added that, according to him, no irregularities were found during those checks.

- Did they find anything that Bogdanović, Kukruvca, Šaranović, Bečić or anyone else could wave around? Is there any report showing something problematic? There isn’t - he said.

Claim about financial expertise report

Speaking about the company’s operations, Piperović said that the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office engaged a financial expert to analyze Bemax’s business from its founding.

According to him, the report was positive for the company.

- The Basic State Prosecutor’s Office engaged a well-known financial expert to examine all Bemax operations from 27 January 2006 until the day the report was due. That expert concluded that he had never seen a similar business, organization, and method of founding in Montenegro as in Bemax - he said.

He claims the report did not receive significant public attention.

- Have you heard that the Basic State Prosecutors's Office later came out and said it received an analysis of Bemax’s operations from its founding and that everything was fine? No. It was left aside - he said.

If there were illegalities, why has no one proven them?

Piperović believes the key fact is that, despite years of inspections, the allegations frequently appearing in public have not been substantiated.

- There is nothing they haven’t searched in Bemax. From 2006 to today, everything possible has been reviewed. Security services and inspections alike. If someone has proof of something else, why don’t they show it - he asked.

Speaking about contracts obtained by the company in earlier years, Piperović said that any irregularities would already have been discovered if they had existed.

- If there was anything non-transparent in the contracts Bemax obtained before 2020, how is it possible that those who, after the change of government, had access to complete documentation did not find it - he asked.