Rašo Čivović, a former employee of the Nikšić Bauxite Mines, submitted a letter today to Montenegro’s President Jakov Milatović, Supreme Court President Valentina Pavličić, Justice Minister Bojan Božović, and all parliamentary groups, announcing that the Commercial Court has ordered Russian businessman Oleg Deripaska to pay court costs amounting to 234,634 euros.

Outside the Parliament, Čivović informed reporters that his claim to clarify that there were no demands for approximately 17.5 million euros (plus several million euros in interest) from Deripaska’s companies was rejected by the Commercial Court. These amounts were allegedly invested in Bauxite, processed via a Lithuanian bank.

He described the ruling as “disgraceful,” asserting it reflects a corrupt judiciary or is motivated by “revenge.” He claimed he demonstrated during a session of the Parliamentary Commission for Monitoring and Controlling Privatization that the former government directed the privatization of the Bauxite Mines.

“It’s as if they sentenced me to death; perhaps that would be preferable to the deliberate destruction of my family,” Čivović stated, seeking attention from Milatović, Pavličić, Božović, and the parliamentary caucuses.

Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Boris Pejović (Europe Now Movement) assured Čivović in front of the Parliament that the party’s representatives would do everything they could to assist him.

President Jakov Milatović also spoke with Čivović outside the Parliament.

Čivović has been engaged in a 12-year legal battle against Deripaska’s companies, Shasta Universal and the Central European Aluminum Company (CEAC), as well as the Bauxite Mine that Deripaska once oversaw.

In his letter, he highlighted corruption within the Bauxite Mines, claiming Deripaska’s companies lent over 17 million to Bauxite (with Shasta contributing 17 million and CEAC about 500,000) and are pursuing this sum with an additional four million in interest.

During the final hearing at the Commercial Court in late March, Čivović expressed that he was not allowed to provide expert testimony, which he believed would reveal the truth regarding the alleged loan. He hoped the court would deliver a judgment based on the documentation he submitted over the years, rather than on political pressure or corrupt influences. He noted that the court ignored the production aspects of bauxite mined under a 2005 purchase agreement, which required a minimum output of 300 tons of bauxite ore to avoid contract termination.

The defendants’ attorneys argued for the dismissal of Čivović’s claims. At the hearings, Čivović asserted that the bankruptcy of Bauxite was orchestrated; the bank (CKB) could have reclaimed the funds without bankruptcy proceedings if the company had indeed possessed 17 million in its account. Bauxite filed for bankruptcy in 2013 at CKB’s request due to a debt of 1.5 million.

Čivović alleged that the expert examination was conducted without his knowledge; the judge dismissed his request for a new expert examination, prompting his call for her disqualification.

He pointed out that Article 243 of the Civil Procedure Code was violated, stating: “The court shall conduct expert evidence when, in order to establish or clarify a fact, expert knowledge that the court does not have is required.”

During the final hearing, Čivović claimed that even after a “secret expert examination,” the whereabouts of the 17 million euros had not been established.

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