After almost 10 years, the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Kotor rejected the criminal complaint filed by the former high-ranking official of the Croatian Civic Initiative Mato Marović against the former leadership, led by the former president of HGI Marija Vučinović, for allegedly spending a little less than half a million party money on fictitious travel orders. money.
In addition to Vučinović, the application also included the technical secretary of the party.
"On May 25, 2021, the ODT Kotor rejected your criminal complaint filed on December 1, 2011, against Marija Vučinović and Danijela Biskupović for the criminal offense of abuse of position in business operations... because there is no reasonable doubt that they committed that criminal offense, or any other a criminal offense that is prosecuted ex officio", it is written in the notification about the dismissal of the criminal report delivered to Mat Marović by the state prosecutor in the Kotor ODT Ljiljana Milić.
He told "Vijesta" that he is dissatisfied with such a decision of the prosecution and that he will appeal again to the Higher State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica.
The VDT headed by Ivica Stanković already ordered the Kotor prosecutor's office to recheck the report on alleged abuses in the Croatian Citizens' Initiative (HGI) once, at the end of 2017.
Former HGI official, Mato Marović from Tivat, six years earlier accused the now former president of the party and minister without portfolio, Marija Vučinović, of allegedly embezzling almost 2007 euros of party money from 2011 to 400 with forged travel orders.
After several years of investigation, the ODT rejected the report, but then the VDT, based on Marović's appeal, determined that the acting prosecutor in the Kotor ODT, Ljiljana Milić, should take additional actions in accordance with the instructions of the Supreme State Prosecutor, and returned the files of this case to her again.
By the way, after hearing Vučinović and witnesses, as well as the findings of two financial experts, in October 2013, Milić rejected the report for the first time. She stated then that Vučinović did not commit that "or any other criminal offense that is prosecuted ex officio".
However, in the official record of the prosecutor Milić from that investigation, which "Vijesti" had access to, several of those questioned confirmed that travel orders were fictitiously written in their names and money was taken, but the money was not spent on travel.
Former member of the Central Board of HGI, Filo Biskupović, said that he signed all travel orders in his name and that he withdrew money for unrealized travel orders, which was "used mainly for financial support of party members".
The former high-ranking official of HGI Miroslav Marić then said that he received 20 euros each based on two travel orders for official trips, but that he did not know who signed the travel orders on his behalf for which he did not receive money or travel.
In the document of the Kotor prosecutor's office, it is stated that the secretary of the party, Danijela Biskupović, said that she wrote the travel orders at the behest of Vučinović, that the money was withdrawn by the president of the party, and that he justified himself through the travel orders. She then said that she signed the travel orders on behalf of HGI members with the approval of Vučinović.
Vučinović claimed in the prosecution that she disposed of the money based on the decisions of the party's competent authorities, stressing that all the orders were adopted by the party's authorities. She then said that this was confirmed by numerous controls and audits by the SEC, SAI and an independent auditor.
It is also stated that two court experts could not find any evidence in the documentation that the HGI party bodies ever made decisions regarding the disputed movements of cash.
They determined that 395.400 euros were withdrawn from the party's coffers, of which "298.687 euros were justified, and a refund of 104.712,20 euros was made."
ODT Kotor, despite the fact that Vučinović herself confirmed in her latest statement before the prosecution that party money was disposed of in HGI in an at least suspicious way, there was no basis for suspecting that other criminal acts were committed in HGI - forgery, illegal influence on the electoral commitment of citizens and the like.
It follows from the documents that Vučinović confirmed that the money was spent and taken from the party's account on the basis of alleged verbal decisions of the party's presidency, justified withdrawal of cash from the cash register with fictitious travel orders, which was then distributed as "aid" to members and sympathizers of HGI in the field, that is, as a fee to party activists.
In the new decision on the rejection of the criminal complaint against the former president of HGI, it is stated that Vučinović's defense that she acted in accordance with the party's decisions and her powers under the Statute was confirmed by the findings of the financial expert, as well as 22 blocks of receipts for the period 2006-2012. years that she submitted to the police and the prosecutor's office, which show that the money was raised on fictitious travel orders, she gave to people according to a list compiled by the HGI Presidency.
That was allegedly not illegal at the time because the Law on Financing Political Parties was only passed later.
There is no evidence that the donation ended up in a private account
Prosecutor Milić stated that from the testimony of the heard witnesses and the collected documentation, there is no evidence that Vučinović obtained material or other benefits for herself with party money, as well as that there is no evidence that she allegedly paid and later spent 14.500 euros in the bank in her own name. Marović collected as donations for HGI around Croatia and which he allegedly handed over to Vučinović in front of witnesses at the Party Presidency.
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