Ivanovic remains in Montenegro

The Court of Appeal canceled the decision to extradite Vladimir Gligorov Ivanovich (62) to the Russian Federation due to the completion of criminal proceedings in that country.

The decision of the High Court on extradition was annulled based on the appeal of the defense attorney of the Russian citizen, lawyer Vlad Vuković.

The Appellate Court stated that the data from the files of the High Court in Podgorica and those from the request of the Russian Federation for extradition, submitted to the Ministry of Justice of Montenegro, do not agree. The first-instance court previously stated that the legal prerequisites for the extradition of Vladimir Gligorov Ivanovich to the Russian authorities were met.

"From the case file of the first-instance High Court and from the content of the petition of the Russian Federation, it is established that the defendant Vladimir Gligorov Ivanovich is wanted for the purpose of criminal prosecution of the defendant for the criminal offense - illegal logging of a forest carried out on a particularly large scale, by a group of persons, according to a prior agreement and criminal acts - theft, committed by a group of persons, according to a prior agreement, on a particularly large scale. While from the content of the request of the Russian Federation, for extradition, submitted to the Ministry of Justice of Montenegro, bearing in mind the legal provisions of the criminal code of the Russian Federation, it could be concluded that the defendant's extradition is requested for two criminal offenses of illegal forest cutting and one criminal offense of theft. The High Court will clearly determine which criminal offenses have been determined to meet the legal requirements for extradition," the Appellate Court's decision reads, among other things.

Vladimir Gligorov Ivanovich was arrested at the Podgorica airport.

His former lawyer, Srđan Lješković, told "Vijesta" at the time that his client was a serious businessman who had no conflicts with the law. “He planned to create something similar to Silicon Valley in the US and had the right to work until 2015 when he could extend this contract to 49 years. Minister Sergej Shoigu, then the Minister for Emergency Situations, was informed about the situation in the forests".