In October 2022, MANS looked into whether Nikola Jovanović, the city manager of Budva municipality at the time, had purchased an apartment without clear evidence of the money’s origin. It appeared that Jovanović’s income and property records, available on the agency for the prevention of corruption (APC) website, did not reflect the real estate acquisition and suggested insufficient funds for the purchase.

MANS submitted freedom of information (FOI) requests to the Budva cadastre and obtained the purchase agreement, which revealed that Jovanović paid €85,000 for a 109m² apartment with a private parking space. However, an independent appraisal commissioned by Jovanović for a bank loan estimated its market value at €143,000.

Further investigation uncovered a mortgage contract showing that Jovanović borrowed €70,000 from the bank, while the remaining €15,000 was self-financed – without clear evidence of its source. In January 2023, MANS reported the case to the APC, but no response has been received to date.

The story was first published in January 2023, sparking political reactions and a personal denial from Jovanović, who claimed that the apartment purchase was completely legal. MANS also tried to investigate the seller, Russian citizen Ismagilov Rashit, through the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and international investigative journalists, without success.

In May 2024, Jovanović faced additional allegations of violating the Law on Financing Political Entities and Election Campaigns. His electoral list, Budva naš grad – Nikola Jovanović, received a €1,000 donation from a legal entity that had an active contractual relationship with the Municipality of Budva.