Dollars coming from Knežević's companies?

The money allegedly laundered by Atlas Bank employees was paid from the accounts of Cypriot companies Polarisco mix limited and Florista group corporation, "Vijesti" has learned.

Sources close to Atlas Group president Duško Knežević claim that he controls those two Cypriot companies.

In the investigation of money laundering organized under the guise of banking operations, six people were arrested - Knežević's driver Vlatko Baja Rašović and his colleagues Goran Grujović, Natko Peličić, Predrag Pejović, Dražen Vujisić and Vlado Stevanović.

Special prosecutor Lidija Vukčević suspects that each of them converted 12 "dirty" dollars into euros on October 2016, 16.000, at the Atlas bank branch in Podgorica.

That money was previously withdrawn from the accounts of Cypriot companies, and the prosecution claims that the dollars came from the illegal activities of the company, and that by converting the money, the dollars were put into legal flows.

SDT suspects that the arrested officers of Atlas Bank received their orders in that business from Knežević and the then director of the bank, whose name is known to the editorial office of "Vijesti".

In that investigation, the prosecutor plans to question Knežević and several other former and current directors and executives of Atlas Bank.

The prosecution claim that the criminal group had two organizers and a clear plan:

"That the money that was illegally acquired through the illegal and illegal activities of the legal entities Florista group corporation and Polarisco mix limited, which have open accounts in Atlas banka AD Podgorica, is transferred to the accounts of those legal entities in the said bank and the accounts of members of the criminal organization in the territory of Montenegro ".

The head of the criminal group allegedly planned to put the money illegally acquired through the operations of those two companies into legal flows "by handing it over to members of the criminal organization who will convert that money in commercial banks, with the intention of concealing and falsely presenting the origin of the money." ".

After the arrest of his employees, Knežević announced that he had evidence of the origin of the money and told the prosecution to leave his employees alone.

"These are my employees and I stand behind them. Even if there are any elements of a criminal offense, and I am convinced that there is not, I am the one who is ready to answer," Knežević wrote, adding that the money for which they were arrested was his.

Two days ago, the leaders of the Democratic Front, Milan Knežević and Andrija Mandić, announced that Knežević's employees laundered the money of the mayor of Podgorica, Slavoljub Migo Stijepović. Mandic said that one of the suspects told this during the hearing with the chief special prosecutor Milivoj Katnić, but that Katnić hid that information. SDT denied his claims, and DPS replied that they were "lying and slandering".

The company Polarisco took over the debts of Knežević's company

According to the financial reports of Atlas Bank, in 2011, that bank granted a loan to the company Polarisco Mix Limited. In that document, it is written that this client, as well as the other foreign companies to which the loan was granted, "are not related parties of the bank".

In the same year, Invest Bank Montenegro, which Knežević controlled at the time, also granted a loan to that company.

The company Polarisco Mix Limited is also mentioned in the audit report of the Adriatic Fair for 2013.

According to that document, on May 25, 2012, they concluded a debt assumption agreement with the company Expom Hotel Partners Ltd, founded in the same city - Limassol.

With that contract, Polarisco assumed the basic debt for the purchase of Expo Hotel Partners doo Budva in the amount of 5.415.711 euros, as well as the debt for the purchase of land in the amount of 696.600 euros.

"Which in total amounts to 6.112.311 euros. With the new agreement of December 28, 2012, Polarisco confirms the assumption of the total debt of 6.112.311 euros, as well as the debt based on the loan of 20.898 euros that Expo Hotel Partners doo Budva received from the parent company AD Jadranski sajam Budva, while it was in a group of subsidiaries", the report says.

It is added that the deadline for debt repayment was then extended until December 31, 2015.

"Atlas Grupa doo Podgorica issued a corporate guarantee on May 28, 2013 in the amount of 6.500.000 euros, in favor of Expo Invest as an instrument to ensure payment in case Polarisco does not fulfill the obligation from the agreement," the auditor's report says.

Rašović and Grujović cooperated with Duško, the others know who he is

Most of those arrested in the investigation of money laundering under the guise of banking business are employed by the company Atlas as drivers.

According to "Vijesti" information, only Vlatko Baja Rašović and Goran Grujović had close cooperation with the owner of the company, Dusko Knežević.

The other suspects for money laundering and the creation of a criminal organization - Natko Peličić, Predrag Pejović, Dražen Vujisić and Vlado Stevanović - allegedly also claimed before prosecutor Vukčević that they had no communication with Knežević.

"Vijesti" learned that most of them explained to the prosecutors what their tasks were - to deliver mail, employees...

During the hearing, all of them denied being members of a criminal group, and claimed that they did not launder money.

A source close to the investigation told "Vijesti" that the suspected drivers, explaining where their signatures on the dollar conversion orders came from, claimed that they had never signed such orders.

They explained that they signed travel orders, as well as confirmations of receipt of mail, but not bank documents.

In addition to the question of whether they knew Knežević, the money laundering suspects also answered the questions of special prosecutor Lidija Vukčević - whether they knew the directors of that company, and whether they cooperated with them and received orders from them.

Vukčević declared a secret investigation into the laundering of $96.000.