Yesterday, the head of the Directorate for Good Public Administration and Activities of Non-Governmental Organizations, Branislav Todorović, claimed before special prosecutor Lidija Vukčević that he did not participate in the creation of a criminal organization that laundered money at the behest of the banker on the warrant for Duško Knežević, "Vijesti" has learned unofficially.
That official of the Ministry of Public Administration was arrested yesterday on suspicion of having committed two crimes - creation of a criminal organization and money laundering through incitement, while he was in the management of Knežević's Atlas Bank.
At the same time, handcuffs were placed on the hands of his former banker colleagues - Živko Šljivančanin and Tamara Karadžić, counter workers.
According to the same information, prosecutor Vukčević issued an order to expand the investigation - so the three are now accused of being part of a group whose members include, among others, Slavoljub Stijepović, Nebojša Medojević, Velibor Milošević, Vlatko Rašović...
After an almost two-hour hearing, Todorović was released to defend himself, his legal representative, lawyer Borivoje Đukanović, told "Vijesta" last night.
He explained that the procedure has the procedural status of an official secret, which is why he cannot talk about what his client said during the hearing.
"What is possible to state at this stage of the criminal proceedings, considering that by the order of the acting prosecutor all the data from the file, and therefore the elements of the statement, received the status of the obligation to preserve official secrecy, I will only point to something that does not violate this prohibition... The defendant denies the commission of a criminal offense in any sense and is categorical that there is no connection with the incriminations that have been charged", said lawyer Đukanović.
He added that Todorović presented his defense and answered the special prosecutor's questions.
"So that his testimony fully covered all the elements of the factual description that was charged against him... After the hearing and the detailed presentation of the defense, the special prosecutor allowed the defendant to defend himself in the further course of the proceedings," said Đukanović. A source from the investigation unofficially told "Vijesta" that Todorović is accused of approving illegal transfers of "dirty" money from the sale of the "Princess" hotel, while he was one of the heads of Atlas Bank. According to the same information, Šljivančanin and Karadžić carried out his orders.
Todorović, however, said during the hearing that his position in Atlas Bank did not allow him to engage in the activities for which he is now being charged...
In the same case, the Prosecutor's Office recently requested the removal of the immunity of Democratic Front MP Nebojsa Medojević, stating that he is part of Knežević's criminal group and that he indirectly took 10.000 euros from the fictitious sale of the "Princess" hotel.
And his name is in the notebook that the investigators found during the search of one of Knežević's houses, claimed the chief special prosecutor Milivoje Katnić, showing parts of that diary in a television show. Knežević said that it has nothing to do with that notebook.
Medojevic also denied any connection with that group and any illegal activities.
The Assembly has not yet made a decision on lifting immunity.
Made an extremely good impression...
When, in mid-November, Minister Suzana Pribilović explained the appointment of Todorović to the position of head of the Directorate for Public Administration, she pointed out that he achieved the highest number of points on the test of competence, knowledge and abilities, and during the conversation with her, he left an extremely good impression...
Todorović, a law graduate, held a high position in Atlas Group and Knežević's Atlas Bank for a long time, in various positions - first as head of the bank's legal department, then for a time as director of the NEX stock exchange (before the merger of the two CG stock exchanges in 2011), and after the departure of Đorđe Đurđić to in May 2016, he became the chief executive officer of Atlas Bank.
He also held the position of vice president of the Board of Directors of the "problematic" Atlas bank, which has been in bankruptcy since April 2019.
The State Secretary in the Ministry of Finance was from the end of 2017 until recently...
According to official data from the Central Clearing Depository Company, Todorović is the eighth largest and owner of the bankrupt DZU Atlas pension, with 0,071 percent of the shares. That society led to the bankruptcy of the voluntary pension fund "Penzija plus", in which the savings deposits of 2.251 members remained "trapped".
According to the available information, he was also employed in responsible positions in OTP Factoring, a company that dealt with the collection of receivables in favor of Crnogorska kommercielja banka.
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