Did Marijana Petranović come to the chair by false belief?

The assistant to the executive director of the Podgorica company "Tržnice i pijace" Marijana Petranović came to that position with the help of a falsified certificate about volunteer work in legal affairs in the Protection and Rescue Service (SZS) of the Capital City.

This follows from the minutes of the Department of Administrative Inspection, whose inspectors determined in the control procedure that there is no evidence that Petranović was in any way employed in the SZS.

The certificate that Petranović, a specialist in legal sciences, volunteered in the SZS from June 25, 2015 to November 1, 2016, was issued to her by the former commander of that service, Andrija Čađenović.

However, under the official number under which her conviction was filed, a letter sent to the Secretariat for Culture of the Capital City was filed in the books of the SZS, according to "Vijesti" sources from that company.

Petranović did not want to answer "Vijesta" whether and if so when she volunteered at the Podgorica Fire Department:

"I would not give any information related to that topic. We have already provided information where it was necessary," she said.

Unlike her, Čađenović was in the mood for answers, pointing out that Petranović volunteered: "If I gave confirmation that someone volunteered, then it certainly did, and no one from the police contacted me about it."

However, in the record of the extraordinary inspection, which is signed by administrative inspector Jovana Nišavić, it is written that there is no evidence of Petranović's involvement in the SZS.

The certificate states that it was issued on September 20, 2017 and registered under number 26-D1-228-1177/17, and Čađenović guarantees with his signature and the seal of the SZS that Petranović volunteered as an independent consultant and for legal affairs: "The named person performed the mentioned tasks professionally and with quality and thus gained a total of one year, four months and five days of work experience in the mentioned tasks".

It was explained that the certificate is issued upon personal request and serves only for applying to a public advertisement.

The prosecution is investigating whether he is guilty

Whether any criminal offense was committed by issuing the certificate and who committed it, will be determined by the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica, which initiated the investigation.

"In the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica, based on the marked report, a case was formed, which is currently in the investigation phase. The acting prosecutor gave an order to the police to collect data in order to verify the allegations of the criminal complaint and determine whether there are elements of criminal offenses in the actions of those reported, for which the prosecution is undertaken ex officio", replied the ODT Podgorica.

Allegedly, the fraud was discovered after the Administrative Inspection received a report that Petranović was appointed to the position based on her seniority "achieved in the Protection and Rescue Service of the Capital City, although she never came to the premises of that Service, but was issued a fictitious certificate."

After the inspection, inspector Nišavić noted that there is no material evidence of Petranović's involvement in SZS on any basis, and that she was not provided with the disputed certificate for inspection: "It is established - Marijana Petranović did not establish an employment relationship in SZS in accordance with the Law on Local Self-Government ... She did not perform volunteer work under the conditions and in the manner prescribed by the Law on Volunteer Work... There is no material evidence of Marijana Petranović's employment in SZS on the basis of contracts on casual and temporary jobs and part contracts," the finding reads.

No one saw her at the fire station

According to Administrative Inspection documents that "Vijesti" had access to, the new commander of the SZS, Goran Janković, said that on July 9, 2019, an inspection was carried out in that Service "in connection with the issuance of a certificate of volunteer work in the name of Marijana Petranović."

"I was informed by the inspector that there are certain problems related to the issuance of the said certificate. Given that I am not aware of any issuance of a certificate of volunteering, I have issued an order to the employees of the Protection Service who are directly responsible for filing documents, recording the insurance of volunteers and the independent adviser and for legal affairs who prepares all documents and contracts in the Service to make statements in in connection with the mentioned circumstances".

And the former head of accounting, now the head of the Department for General and Accounting Affairs, Nina Kostić, stated that she learned from the inspector about the certificate of volunteer work issued to Petranović: "The named person was not registered for accident insurance in the disputed period."

Archivist Enisa Ramović explained that another memo was entered in the SZS Institutional Book under the number under which Čađenović gave the certificate, but that she does not know how the error occurred.

Snežana Spaić gave a slightly more detailed explanation, pointing out that the position of adviser for legal affairs is the only position of its kind systematized in the SZS and that she covers it: "During the four-year mandate of Commander Andrija Čađenović, I never saw the aforementioned lawyer Marijana Petranović in the Protection Service and rescue, and in the legal office there is no file of the appointed person in which the volunteer work contract, disputed certificate and other documentation can be found".

Spaić explained that, as a lawyer, she did not process the certificate signed by Čađenović: "With a note that I sign all documents that I legally process as a processor. Also, as a lawyer in SZS, I did not draw up a contract on volunteer work for lawyer Marijana Petranović".

The credibility of the belief was not checked

"Tržnica i pijaca" replied to "Vijesta" that they did not check the credibility of the certificate that Petranović submitted to them when she applied for the position of assistant director.

They explained that she was appointed as the assistant executive director for technical-operational affairs, for a mandate period of four years, on February 1, after a previously announced competition.

He was elected to that position by the Board of Directors of the Company.

They explained that the public competition for employment in that position was announced on January 11: "After the competition was completed, the applicant's application was reviewed and it was found that she submitted all the necessary documentation requested in the advertisement along with her CV. As proof of work experience, among other things, the Certificate of work experience-certificate of volunteering issued by the Protection Service of the Capital City was submitted. Given that it is a certificate that has the force of a public document, because it was issued by a competent authority, with the signature and seal of an authorized person, 'Markets and Markets' have no right, nor obligation, to determine the authenticity of the issued document".

They explained that, on the basis of an anonymous report, an inspection was carried out on July 5: "And according to the minutes, no irregularities were noted regarding the announced public competition. In the event that the competent authorities determine possible irregularities and illegalities and inform us about it, the company 'Tržnice i pijace' will act in accordance with the law", they said.