The special prosecutor suggested confirming the indictment against Knežević and Stijepović

In the High Court in Podgorica, a hearing was held where the legality of the indictment against Duško Knežević, Slavoljub Stijepović, and other defendants was discussed.

The extrajudicial panel was presided over by judge Radomir Ivanović, and the court will make a decision within the legal term of 15 days.

Special prosecutor Lidija Vukčević remained with the allegations of the indictment and proposed to the court to confirm it.

Lawyer Lazar Aković, the defender of Slavoljub Stijepović, said that unlike the prosecutor, the defense has a longer view of this criminal legal matter.

"The indictment in relation to my client Stijepović contains material deficiencies, which make it entirely unfounded. There is not enough evidence that the suspect was founded for the crime that is the subject of the accusation. There is not a single piece of evidence that Stijepović made a joint decision with the other defendants and that had knowledge that the money of at least 62.070 US dollars was obtained through criminal activity, and that he had the intention to conceal its origin. The defendant Stijepović had no idea, let alone direct intent, to commit the criminal offense of money laundering as a co-perpetrator. The defense does not dispute the fact that in the middle of October 2016, the defendant Duško Knežević handed Stijepović the amount of 47.500 euros in his family home, and that Stijepović handed this money to Spas Popović, the president of the DPS Golubovci Board, who distributed the money to DPS Zeta activists for operational expenses However, for the money he took, Stijepović had no knowledge that it was obtained through the possible criminal activity of the defendant Duško Knežević. The defendant Stijepović neither knew nor could have known that the money was obtained through criminal activity. He was not aware of the illegality of the act. He had known the defendant Knežević for a long time, who was a very successful businessman, who had his own banks and dozens of companies in Montenegro and abroad. I propose that the panel of the High Court decide that there is no place for accusations and that the criminal proceedings against Stijepović be suspended, because it was established that there is not enough evidence that he is suspicious," said lawyer Aković at the hearing.

Defendant Duško Knežević's defense attorneys did not attend the scheduled hearing.

His defense lawyer Zdravko Đukanović from Belgrade told "Vijesta" that his fellow lawyer Nemanja Jolović cannot come to the hearing in Podgorica for health reasons.

Special prosecutor Lidija Vukčević stated that lawyer Jolović was a guest on a Belgrade television program a few days ago. Judge Ivanović did not accept the reasons for the non-appearance of lawyer Đukanović, that he did not properly receive the summons, because the court sent him a summons to come to the hearing via email.

Lawyer Milan Kovačević, the defense attorney of the defendant Goran Grujović, suggested that the court, based on Article 294 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, issue a decision suspending the criminal proceedings because there is no evidence that he committed the crimes of money laundering and membership in a criminal organization.

Defendant Tamara Krdžić's lawyer, lawyer Nikola Laković, also proposed that the court issue a decision that will suspend the criminal proceedings because there is no evidence that she committed the criminal offense for which she was accused. The other defense attorneys of the defendants also suggested that the court suspend the proceedings.

The indictment was brought in the "Envelope" affair, which Knežević opened in January 2019 by publishing a video in which he hands Stijepović an envelope before the 2016 election, explaining that it contained 97.000 euros. In the indictment, however, it is written that Dusko Knežević, after his associates converted 110.000 dollars into euros, handed Stijepović "only" 47.500 euros.

In addition to Duško Knežević and Slavoljub Stijepović, Knežević's associates and friends Branislav Todorović, Živko Šljivančanin, Tamara Krdžić, Goran Grujović and Tomica Knežević were also accused.

The indictment states that in the second half of 2010, Duško Knežević created a criminal group whose members were in charge of withdrawing the money obtained from the illegal activities of several companies and then handing it over to him in order to put it into legal flows. In addition to Knežević, the former vice-president of the board of directors of Atlas bank Branislav Todorović, former employees of that bank Živko Šljivančanin, Tamara Krdžić, Goran Grujović, employees of the Atlas group, Tomica Knežević and former president of the municipality of Podgorica Slavoljub Stijepović were also accused. Stijepović is charged with money laundering, while the others are accused of creating a criminal organization.

"Duško Knežević determined for himself the role of the organizer, he gave instructions to the members - who carried out the conversion of money and then handed it over to him, as testified by the head of general affairs at Atlas Bank, Vlatko Rašović, who received the status of an associate witness. Rašović accepted Knežević's proposal to perform the function of an authorized person in companies that were formed or will be formed due to the realization of a criminal plan - he withdraws money and hands it over to the organizer. The accused Tomica Knežević accepted that money originating from criminal activity, i.e. illegal business of legal entities, is withdrawn from their accounts and hands it over to the organizer of the criminal organization. Acting on the instructions received from the organizer Duško Knežević, the accused Šljivančanin converted the money derived from criminal activities and drew up the necessary documents. The defendants Grujović and Krdžić accepted that after the conversion of the money derived from criminal activities, they would draw up the necessary documents so that everything would appear legal during regular controls by state authorities," the indictment reads.

"The defendants Duško Knežević, Todorović, Tomica Knežević, Krdžić, Goran Grujović, Slavoljub Stijepović and Vlatko Rašović - an associate witness, knew that 62.070 was obtained through criminal activity. Knežević, in addition to giving instructions and advice to other defendants, 110.000 dollars, of which at least 62.070 obtained by criminal activities, and which part of the money he had previously taken from Rašović, Tomica Knežević and Andrej Kononenko in October 2016, handed over to the defendant Slavoljub Stijepović in order to put it into circulation - legal flows, for the purpose of using that money for parliamentary elections," the indictment says .

Stijepović asked Duško Knežević to exchange the money in euro, after which Knežević instructed Rašović on October 12, 2016, to realize the criminal plan, to take $110.000 from Stijepović and take it to Atlas Bank. Rašović handed over 97.500 euros to Duško Knežević, who then handed over 47.500 euros from that money to Slavoljub Stijepović in his family home. Then Slavoljub Stijepović handed it over to Spas Popović, the president of the DPS Golubovci Committee, which was distributed to DPS Zeta activists for the operating costs of the work of local committees and the costs of activists in the electoral campaign for the parliamentary elections in October 2016. year, it is written in the indictment.