Bulgarian cigarettes without excise stamps
Although the European Union has donated hundreds of millions of euros to strengthen institutions and the rule of law since Montenegro’s independence in 2006, only a kilometer from the EU embassy in Podgorica, illegal cigarette trade is booming, including brands officially produced outside Montenegro.
The main point of sale for illegal cigarettes in Podgorica is the shopping center known as Gintas. Investigating which cigarettes are sold on the black market, the journalistic team found out that most of those cigarettes are officially produced in Bulgaria. Cigarettes have the label of Bulgarian companies, which registered them as their own but do not have excise stamps of Montenegro.
These are companies that are connected with the Bulgarian mafia. According to the official data of the Ministry of Finance of Montenegro, in the period from 2016 to 2020, a little over 21,000 dollars worth of cigarettes were exported from Bulgaria to Montenegro. This information can be found in the United Nations register – Comtrade.
However, in the same register, the Bulgarian Ministry of Finance reports that it exported about $ 20 million worth of tobacco products from that country to Montenegro in the same period. This means that earlier, the Ministry of Finance of Montenegro concealed the real data on the import of tobacco from Bulgaria. Institutions in Montenegro do not react to these phenomena, nor do they answer questions about illogicalities about these import and sale transactions.
Obviously, the former Montenegrin government is heavily involved in these criminal affairs, and the new government has yet to show determination to resolve these issues. The inspection silently observes the sale and does not react. Bulgarian cigarettes cost from one to 1.80 euros, have no stamps, and are of very poor quality.
Authors: Marko Vesovic, Vladimir Otasevic, and Atanas Tchobanov
Project implemented with the support of the European Journalism Center.