The Podgorica High Court will decide, after the hearing, whether the president and members of the former Government Commission for Housing Affairs and high-ranking state officials, against whom the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) brought charges yesterday on suspicion of abusing their official position, will be on the dock. damaged the state budget by more than 2,6 million euros.
The spokesman of that prosecution, special prosecutor Vukas Radonjić, announced yesterday that the SDT, after the investigation, filed an immediate indictment against Predrag Bošković, Budimir Šegrt, Suad Numanović, Sanja Vlahović, Ivan Brajović, Dražen Mičković, Damir Šehović, Dragica Sekulić, Osman Nurković, Suzana Pribilović, Jelena Radonjić and Aleksander Jovićević.
DON'T MISS IT
The Code of Criminal Procedure on the filing of a direct indictment states that "the state prosecutor will not conduct an investigation if the collected data relating to the criminal offense and the defendant, who was previously heard, provide sufficient grounds for the filing of a direct indictment."
SDT suspects former high state officials that in the period from 2016 to 2020, as members of the Commission for Housing Affairs of the Government of Montenegro, they committed the extended criminal offense of abuse of official position, for which a prison sentence of two to 12 years is prescribed. .
Prosecutor Radonjić explained that the defendants are accused of having acted contrary to the Decision on the method and criteria for solving the housing needs of officials.
That decision stipulates that housing needs are addressed according to a plan that contains the amount of funds for granting loans to improve housing conditions, but also that loans for improving housing conditions can be granted in the amount of up to 15.000 euros, and that the amount of the loan is determined based on the volume works evaluated by the expert committee of the then Property Administration...
"That... without a plan to address housing needs and an assessment by the Board's expert committee, they approved and granted housing loans to improve housing conditions for 119 public officials and employees in state bodies and state administration bodies, in amounts between 17.500 and 40.000 euros, and thus benefited them, and caused damage to the budget of Montenegro, in the total amount of 2.604,740,59 euros", explained Radonjić.
In the press release, he specified that during the investigation, it was established that 49 loans in the amount of EUR 40.000 each, five loans in the amount of EUR 35.000 each, 20 loans in the amount of EUR 30.000 each, 30 loans in the amount of 20.000 euros, 10 loans of 25.000 euros each, but also loans in the amounts of 29.500 euros, 28.000 euros, 25.920,76 euros...
All the accused previously, in front of the special prosecutor Radonjić, denied guilt, claiming that they had acted lawfully.
Radonjić pointed out that after the indictment was filed, they sent a copy of the criminal complaint to their colleagues from the Basic State Prosecutor's Office, in order to determine whether the then Prime Minister Duško Marković and members of his government had violated the law.
"In order to assess, after the investigation, whether there are grounds for suspicion that the President and members of the Government of Montenegro, in the period from 2016 to 2020, committed the extended criminal offense of unconscionable work in the service, which is within the actual and local jurisdiction of that prosecution ", announced the prosecutor and spokesperson of SDT.
The president of the former Commission, Predrag Bošković, said yesterday that they welcomed the fact that the SDT filed an indictment in the case known as the "apartment affair" with satisfaction and relief.
"Because we will finally be able to put an end to the entire case through possible court proceedings, and not media persecution, because none of us has made any decision in the cases for which we are being charged," he announced.
He also announced that they are sure that they will release the final court verdict, if the actual procedure takes place:
"And then we will take steps to protect our personalities from persecution by the outgoing Government and its Prime Minister, when we will initiate appropriate proceedings against all of them who participated in this obvious political farce".
DON'T MISS IT
Bonus video:
