A picturesque Montenegrin island flush with olive groves and Mediterranean forests may have just been bought by a Maltese development company.

Montenegrin media house Vijesti broke the news in a report indicating Gozitan construction magnate Joseph Portelli’s J. Portelli Projects had purchased the island Sveti Marko, also known as St Mark’s Island, at the cool price of €90 to €100 million.

The island, in the Bay of Tivat, is considered a former “paradise for tourists” as well as a potential example of sustainable tourism.

Owned by the Russian company Metropol, Vijesti said it had been reliably informed that Metropol wanted to sell the island following issues stemming from the 2008 financial crisis and were looking for buyers – and that J. Portelli Projects was the new owner of the untouched, 340,000 square metre island.

Both Montenegrin and Maltese media attempted to confirm the purchase with Portelli.

When contacted by Newsbook, Portelli didn’t deny that the purchase happened, responding with:

“Did I ever ask where you’ve been on holiday and what you got up to?… I’m mulling the idea of becoming a journalist because it’s an interesting job maybe one day the truth is reported.”

Montenegrin media noted the Montenegrin government was unable to confirm the purchase, but lamented it anyway, saying: “By selling the island to the Maltese, the state of Montenegro again missed the opportunity to buy and return to its possession the largest island in the Bay of Kotor and one of the most attractive properties on the Montenegrin coast.”