With the continuing political upheaval still some way from resolution, speculation was mounting in the Balkan media on February 4, 2011, that President Mubarak may be heading for an unlikely choice of exile - Montenegro.
Montenegro and the Mubarak Connection
While the connection with Montenegro may sound strange, the Mubarak family already have firm connections with one of Europe's newest countries, through the President's son, Gamal. According to local media reports, he has a substantial stake in Orascom Telecom, which has signed contracts with the Montenegrin Government to build tourist resorts on the Lustica Peninsula, including hotels, resorts and golf courses, with an investment in excess of a billion euros, according to a report by Denis Romac, in Novilist.hr.
Montenegrin Citizenship for Sale for Half a Million Euros.
In a highly controversial move for a country seeking membership of the European Union, the Montenegrin Government announced on August 9, 2010 that, for an investment of 500,000 euro in the country, "Clearly established criteria on the part of the Montenegrin government will assure legal security in the acquisition of Montenegrin citizenship," according to a Reuters report the following day.
New Citizens of Montenegro in 2010: Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
Should President Mubarak decide to head for retirement in this tiny Balkan country, he would not be the first former premier to take advantage of Montenegrin citizenship. Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra became a Montenegrin citizen in early 2010.
One of the benefits of Montenegrin citizenship is the freedom of travel within mainland Europe, as Panit Vikitset, assistant to Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya was quoted in the Bangkok Post on March 18, 2010:
"As a Montenegro citizen, Thaksin can get a Schengen visa that allows him to travel to 30 European countries under the Treaty of Amsterdam. Thaksin's Montenegro citizenship will not change the verdict of the Ratchada land procurement case since he is still a Thai citizen.
"However the case would be affected if his Thai citizenship were withdrawn."
From the Chaos of Cairo to the Serenity of Sveti Stefan
Moving from Cairo to Montenegro would be a huge upheaval for the Egyptian president, who would be relocating from a city which could swallow up the entire 670,000 population of Montenegro several times over. It is a country of outstanding beauty with its walled coastal stone towns of Budva and Kotor, while the tidal island of Sveti Stefan, now a luxury hotel, was once the most exclusive resort in Yugoslavia, attracting the likes of Sophia Loren, Princess Margaret, Marilyn Monroe, as well as serving as a honeymoon destination for Elizabeth Taylor.
The Montenegro of today has gained a reputation as a rich man's playground, particularly the Russian rich, perhaps best described by John Follain article in The Times on October 26, 2008, The New Monte Carlo: A Honeypot for Russians and Rothschilds.
Paul Bradbury - Author of Hvar: An Insider's Guide to Croatia's Premier Island, and Lebanese Nuns Don't Ski
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