The Central Bank of Montenegro (CBCG) revoked Alta Pay’s licence on 1 November, and no citizens’ money remained in its system, Governor Irena Radović told the Parliament of Montenegro’s Committee on Economy, Finance and Budget. She also described pressure from individuals after the central bank refused to support the attempted takeover of Addiko Bank. Radović answered questions from Boris Mugoša, a deputy of the European Alliance, at the committee’s meeting on 5 November 2026.
The licence decision followed CBCG activity to prohibit Alta Pay from operating that began several weeks before events in Serbia. Mugoša asked whether the payment system would have continued operating in Montenegro if those events had not occurred. The governor’s account was that additional information gathered in the meantime was important to the decision to withdraw the licence. Alta Pay had held a licence to operate in Montenegro and was supervised by CBCG.
As part of that supervision, CBCG conducted indirect control of Alta Pay’s capital and three direct inspections related to preventing money laundering. The central bank required clear and undisputed integrity as a condition for the company to enter the Montenegrin market. Radović described the controls as taking place “almost every hour”.
Questions about Alta group’s earlier review and its business in Montenegro also featured at the hearing. Radović said the review began in August 2023, with a formal request submitted on 21 August 2023. Information collected during the checks did not indicate money-laundering risks, according to the governor. On 27 November 2023, assessments based on information from domestic and international institutions were positive; she said the then-council and the information gathered had received “exclusively positive assessments”, well before her formal appointment.
The timeline she gave included an earlier endorsement: Alta group’s business received approval and strong support from some centres of executive power in March 2023. In September 2025, Austria’s regulator imposed a sanction of about 160,000 euros in connection with an attempted takeover of Addiko group. CBCG had not had contact with Alta group’s founders and owners up to that point, Radović told committee members.
In October 2025, Radović met Davor Macura alongside Vice Governors Zorica Kalezić and Milan Remiković. She told Macura that CBCG considered the integrity of Montenegro’s financial market essential and could not support the takeover of Addiko Bank. The governor described “well-intentioned suggestions” and attempts to impose conditions after the meeting, including questions about the selection of vice governors. Those pressures came from individuals rather than political circles, she added. CBCG notified the competent state security bodies and provided information on the identities of the people involved.
Radović also rejected claims that millions of euros had flowed from Montenegro to Serbia, saying there had been no such transfers. The only transaction she cited was 50,000 euros involving a German legal entity; average transactions amounted to 63 euros. She said there had been no outflow to other destinations and that the owner had already faced the highest penalty allowed by law. “Not a cent of citizens’ money remained in Alta Pay’s system,” she told the committee.
Mugoša also asked whether state-owned companies had done business through Alta Bank. Radović said the question fell within the remit of the National Bank of Serbia, rather than CBCG, which had no authority over the matter. The Serbian central bank was responsible for information on state companies’ dealings with Alta Bank.
