As part of an operation against cigarette smuggling, Montenegrin special police raided the Stanaj family's villa complex in the Stari Aerodrom neighborhood in Podgorica.
This family owns the Rokshped company.
The action was carried out by order of the Special Prosecutor's Office.
On June 9, the former director of Rokshped, Prokopije Perić, and four other people, including the owner of the company MP Shped Trans, Predrag Maxhgal, were arrested, while Ivan Turčinović surrendered himself.
Periq is the director of the company Plus, which trades tobacco products and is affiliated with Rokshped.
The investigations target the businesses of Rokshped - one of the most powerful companies in Montenegro.
The head of the Rokshped company is Nuo Stanaj, while the Rokshped Auto Center is run by Sander Stanaj.
According to unofficial sources, they have not been in Montenegro for a long time.
What is known about the Stanaj family's businesses?
The Stanaj family founded the Rokshped company in 1992.
The company, run by Rrok Stanaj, was initially focused on transporting goods by land.
During the sanctions against the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the company was engaged in the import and sale of oil and oil derivatives.
He opened his first gas station in 2000.
Eight years later, he sold the gas station chain to the Russian company, Lukoil, for 26.5 million euros, with a clause that allowed Rokshped to continue operating in this business.
In 1992, the company was also registered for the import and export of cigarettes, with the approval of the Commercial Court in Podgorica.
The firm is the sole authorized importer of a large number of well-known cigarette brands in Montenegro and the distributor of one of the largest international manufacturers, Japan Tobacco International.
It owns a network of approximately 300 points for the distribution of press and cigarettes.
In 2009, it acquired the network of 188 press outlets from the Croatian company Agrokor, while a year ago it founded Tobacco S press, with 80 retail outlets.
Rokshped Auto Qendra is the authorized distributor of car brands: Volkswagen, Audi, Seat and Cupra.
During the 1990s, the company supplied cars to the Government of Montenegro.
In 2006, she bought the "Galeb" hotel in Ulcinj, which was later demolished and a new hotel had to be built in its place.
Rroku, who had six sons, died in November 2016.
The businesses were mainly run by his sons, Antoni and Nua.
The other brothers, Lubo, Vaso, Sandri and Simoni, also worked in the family company, holding various positions.
Antoni - accused in Belgrade, killed in Sudan
Antoni, who in September 2007 left Cyprus - via Belgrade - for Podgorica, was arrested at Belgrade airport, during a police operation called "Memphis".
He was accused of organizing an international cigarette smuggling ring, using the family company as a cover.
In addition to trading in legal cigarettes, according to the prosecution, he also dealt in counterfeit cigarettes, which he imported into Montenegro through companies registered in Cyprus and Delaware, USA.
The cigarettes were stored at the Port of Tivat. Officially, they were reported to be sold in duty-free shops in Montenegro, but in reality, they were smuggled into Serbia and from there distributed to countries in the region and the European Union.
Antoni and 26 other people were accused of causing 65 million euros in damage to the Serbian budget between 2004 and 2007 through cigarette smuggling.
In 2011, Antoni was sentenced to 6 and a half years in prison and a fine of 100 thousand euros as the leader of the criminal group.
Other members of the group were sentenced to various measures - from suspended sentences to 5 years in prison.
The court then released him on bail, after accepting a guarantee of 400,000 euros for him to defend himself in freedom.
But in March 2013, he was killed in Sudan, where he reportedly had a tobacco manufacturing company.
His family announced that he had stayed and worked there for "a short period."
According to employees, he was killed by his business associate, Mujo Sefa, from Kosovo.
Activities in Serbia and ties with Bosnia and Herzegovina
Anton Stanaj is also mentioned as one of the participants in the consortium that privatized the Zmaj combine harvester factory in Zemun, which failed after privatization.
He is also mentioned as the owner of the Erdevik winery in Vojvodina.
In addition, the Center for Investigative Journalism of Serbia (CINS) reported that Rokshped has also purchased shares in several companies in Serbia - among them: Agrovojvodina, Agrocoop, Stanisic, Banat Seme, Mlinpek, Sheqer +, MEA and Panonliv.
The financial investigation into Stanaj's activities in Serbia was never initiated.
In 2013, CINS and the regional network for reporting on organized crime and corruption OCCRP reported that they had obtained a report from the State Investigation and Protection Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (SIPA), which stated that the Stanaj family had collaborated with Naser Kelmendi and Ekrem Lluka from Kosovo.
Naser Kelmendi was sentenced in May 2023 by the court in Pristina to four years and eight months in prison for drug trafficking.
Nuo Stanaj - accusations in Serbia
According to the same source, Antoni's brother, Nuo Stanaj, was accused in 2011 in Serbia of abuses during the privatization of the Belgrade company Industria e Kushinetave Sferike.
According to the indictment, the company suffered a damage of 9.2 million euros.
Nua is listed as the founder and director of the company Rokshped, with 50.02% of the shares, while Lubo owns 33.3% and Vaso 16.6%.
Despite Anton Stanaj being arrested and tried for cigarette smuggling, the Rokshped company continued its activities in Montenegro without hindrance - distributing newspapers, cigarettes, and cars.
According to documents obtained by OCCRP and CINS, from 2008 to 2011, Rokshped won contracts in public tenders with a total value of 3.8 million euros.
Sander Stanaj - investigations in Montenegro
Sandri is the sole owner of the company Rokshped Auto Qendra.
In January 2021, the Special Prosecution Office of Montenegro launched investigations against him and temporarily froze over two million euros.
He was questioned after the Police Financial Intelligence Unit submitted data to the Prosecution indicating that he had legally introduced over two million euros into the financial system.
Sandri said that his father had given him this money more than ten years ago, and that he was now saving it in the bank.
During the investigation, 11 members of the Stanaj family were also interviewed.
The prosecution also began investigations against Sandri on suspicions of tax evasion and money laundering.
This investigation has not yet been completed.
Sander Stanaj also has a firm in Albania./ REL (A2 Televizion)
A2 CNN Livestream
MUND TE LEXONI GJITHASHTU
