Despite the passage of over a year, police inspectors in Ulcinj have yet to identify the individuals responsible for stealing a valuable painting by Vojo Stanić from the Ulcinj Riviera, replacing it with a counterfeit.

This information was confirmed to Vijesti by the Ulcinj Prosecutor’s Office and the Police Directorate (UP).

“We wish to inform you that regarding the theft of a valuable painting from the premises of HTP ‘Ulcinjska rivijera’, a case has been opened against unidentified perpetrators in this prosecutor’s office. Additionally, the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office (ODT) in Ulcinj has requested the Police Directorate of the Ulcinj Military District to gather information, which has mandated police officers to collect the necessary details and take legally prescribed actions within their authority to locate and identify the offenders, yet officers of the Police Directorate of the Ulcinj Military District have not yet pinpointed the individuals involved,” stated the ODT in their response.

The Police Directorate indicated that officers from the Ulcinj Security Department acted following a report from the executive director of the Ulcinj Riviera Hotel and Tourism Company, who suspected that an original painting by Vojo Stanić had been removed and substituted with a forgery.

“The state prosecutor at the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office in Ulcinj was informed of the incident, and upon their directive, information was gathered from several individuals. Moreover, at the order of the acting prosecutor, a forensic examination of the disputed painting was conducted, with the findings forwarded to the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office in Ulcinj. Police officers continue to implement measures to clarify all facts and circumstances related to this case, in coordination with the relevant prosecutor’s office,” the UP’s statement elaborated.

Vijesti’s inquiry about whether the police determined that the painting was taken for framing prior to its disappearance, and whether it has been missing since then, went unanswered by that institution.

The ODT also did not reply to a follow-up question concerning the results of the expert examination of the replica.

The disappearance of the artwork in April of last year was first reported by the former director of the Ulcinj Riviera, Ćamil Hodža, who expressed doubt that the original was still hanging on the office wall.

The local prosecutor’s office had previously informed Vijesti that an expert evaluation of the painting’s value and authenticity, which was temporarily confiscated by Ulcinj security officers, was in progress.

In mid-May last year, reports indicated that Ulcinj inspectors were investigating the theft of a painting worth tens of thousands of euros, which had been replaced with a forgery in the same location.

At that time, the news also mentioned that the painting in the possession of the Ulcinj police is likely a forgery and comparable in size to the original.

In this context, UP announced that ten individuals were questioned: Ć. H., ML, N. Đ., ID, Đ. B., KM, EI, SV, MM, and VF.

At that moment, Ulcinj Riviera did not respond to questions regarding which painting was missing, if it had been recovered, its appraisal value, and who had been questioned by the police regarding this incident.

Before “Karisma” leased the hotels under the Ulcinj Riviera on Velika plaža, Stanić’s painting was displayed in the congress hall of the “Olimpik” hotel.

Following “Karisma” acquiring the hotels, the artwork was relocated to the offices of the “Ulcinj Riviera” management on Velika Plaza.

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