THE TIVAT CASE: When Vučić’s SIA „sleepers“ wake up
For 45 loyalists of Aleksandar Vučić, accommodation and food were provided at the hotel „The Chedi Luštica Bay“, a luxury resort on Luštica, while the remaining members of the group who arrived on a charter flight Belgrade - Tivat were assigned apartments in the same tourist resort, which is also rented out by the Luštica Development agency. Sources from security circles point out that the entire operation was assisted by people from a wide network of influence of the Serbian regime and the Serbian BIA on the territory of Montenegro.
An analysis of the deportation of 87 of Vučić’s loyalists from Tivat Airport on Thursday, June 4, reveals a network of official Belgrade in Montenegro. At the same time, it also exposes part of the influence of the Serbian Security Information Agency and its associates.
According to information from Television E, the Serbian travel agency „Happy Travel“ from Bijeljina, regularly engaged in Serbia for the needs of Aleksandar Vučić’s regime, organized a charter Air Serbia flight from Belgrade to Tivat.
But that was only part of Vučić’s team’s large-scale operation.
- While rooms were reserved for 45 people at the „The Chedi Luštica Bay“ hotel, apartments were prepared for the remaining Vučić loyalists in the same resort, which is also rented out by the Luštica Development company agency. Meals for all 87 „ćaci“ were reserved at the „Ched“ hotel - a source from the National Security Agency told ETV.
„THE RIGHT PEOPLE FOR THE 'REAL' TASKS“
The key person for organizing the accommodation and stay of Vučić’s loyalists on Luštica was Dejan Ljevnaić, Director for Strategic Development of the Luštica Bay resort.
Ljevnaić is a former BIA operative who - not only maintained ties with the agency - but expanded his network after meeting Milorad Dodik. In 2024, Ljevnaić quickly left his position as director of the Jahorina ski center, leaving behind a debt of around 100 million euros.
He settled in Luštica and quickly formed a logistics team - business and political logistics. Numerous influential people from Belgrade, through Ljevnaić, purchased real estate in Luštica. One of them is Miloš Popović, long-time chief of staff of Ana Brnabić, former Serbian Prime Minister and now Speaker of the National Assembly of Serbia.
According to Television E, Popović purchased an apartment through Ljevnaić’s mediation.
Serbian media have written about numerous suspicious activities involving Popović, Brnabić, and other SNS officials. In March 2024, TV Nova published findings from the Serbian magazine „Radar“ about illegal activities involving Popović and rigged tenders.
POLICE APARTMENTS IN LUŠTICA
In addition to Popović, Serbian media have also pointed to Ljevnaić’s ties with high-profile figures from the Serbian police, such as the former head of the Belgrade police and former advisor to the President of Serbia, Veselin Milić, who is now in custody on suspicion of the murder of Aleksandar Nešović, a businessman close to Aleksandar Vučić’s government.
- Saša Vuković „Boske“, suspected of being the direct perpetrator of the killing, stayed in Montenegro shortly before the tragedy at Dejan Ljevnaić’s place. At the same time, suspended police official Veselin Milić frequently stayed in Jahorina and Luštica, precisely in the company of Ljevnaić. It is also mentioned that through contacts with Ljevnaić, who is today connected to the Luštica Bay project, real estate purchases were carried out for the needs of Veselin Milić or people connected to him - writes the portal „Crna Hronika“.
Until recently, Peđa Savić, whose father is controversial businessman Branislav Savić „Gugi“, was also on the Board of Directors of Luštica Development as a state representative.
ALL THE PEOPLE OF SVETOZAR MAROVIĆ
A decade ago, the name Branislav Savić was mentioned in the corruption affair in Budva and the case of Svetozar Marović.
Radio Free Europe reported on July 26, 2016, on the role of Branislav Savić in the „Marović affair“ in Budva.
- Dragan Marović, brother of Svetozar Marović, confirmed on Monday in the Higher Court that he was responsible for irregularities in two Budva cases in which the company Gugi Komerc damaged the Municipality of Budva by around 3.7 million euros. The owner of that company, Branislav Savić, was released last week from a five-month investigative detention - reported RFE.
Branislav Savić stayed in Belgrade for a long time, hiding from arrest ordered by then-chief special prosecutor Milivoje Katnić. During that time, he built strong connections with important figures in the Serbian government. At the same time, as a friend of Svetozar Marović, he was allowed access and conversations with certain key operatives of the Serbian Security Information Agency.
NETWORK OF INFLUENCE
Later, through his father’s connections in Belgrade, the younger Savić - Predrag - also connected with people around Aleksandar Vučić and Ana Brnabić, and through Džihan Abazović, partner of Ana Brnabić’s partner, with Dritan Abazović, former Prime Minister of Montenegro.
Abazović’s influence was decisive in October 2024 when Savić received an appointment in Luštica Development as a member of the Board of Directors.
Based on all this information, it is not surprising that Vučić’s loyalists were provided accommodation in Luštica. Clearly, a well-developed network of influence was used to „prepare the ground“ for the operation in Montenegro.
However, the plans were disrupted by the French intelligence service - the Directorate General for External Security - whose members arrived in Montenegro a few days earlier for the visit of French President Macron to Montenegro.
After the French officially raised the alarm, the Montenegrin security sector had no choice - an operation by the Police Directorate and the National Security Agency followed, resulting in the deportation of Vučić’s „ćaci“.