The accused businessman Duško Knežević, accompanied by the police, will be extradited to Montenegro from London. His arrival in Podgorica is expected around 13 pm today, "Vijesti" has learned.
Knežević will come to Montenegro by plane of the Government of Montenegro.
Knežević's extradition is realized after the Westminster Court of Great Britain made an illegal decision last year to extradite the businessman to Montenegro, who has been wanted by the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SST) since July 2019.
Knežević's extradition is realized by the final decision of the local courts.
There was no agreement with the authorities in Podgorica regarding surrender.
As planned, the police will wait for Knežević at Podgorica Airport, after which he will be immediately brought before the investigating judge of the High Court in Podgorica.
Indictments against Knežević in Montenegro
The businessman told Television Vijesti in mid-January of this year that he is ready to surrender and come to Montenegro if he is allowed to enter and leave the country, to report regularly when needed according to the agreement he would reach with the prosecutor's office.
The spokesman of the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) and prosecutor Vukas Radonjić then explained that according to the warrants issued for Knežević, he "will have to be arrested and put in custody."
"I will surrender, come and be allowed to enter and leave Montenegro, to report regularly when necessary according to the agreement I would reach with the prosecutor's office. I have nothing to answer for, I was not a responsible person anywhere, not even in the banks not even in those companies," said Knežević in a conversation with the author of the Načisto show, Peter Komnenić.
He also said that he did not want to be a protected witness and that he had "nothing to answer for".
"And I am ready to give all the evidence I have against Milo Đukanović that I have presented and reported so far," Knežević claims.
Radonjić then clarified that the SDT cannot give any defendant or accused person a promise that they will not be arrested, stating that in Knežević's situation, "we have several decisions regarding detention based on national and international warrants".
"According to those warrants, he will have to be deprived of his liberty and placed in custody. In the event that he is extradited, he will immediately, from the moment he appears in Montenegro, be brought to the judge for investigation. After that hearing, the judge will to decide whether there are still grounds for the detention decision to remain in force and to decide on the eventual placement or duration of detention," said Radonjić.
Three indictments were brought against Duško Knežević in Montenegro - for organizing a criminal group, money laundering and abuse of position in business operations.
At the beginning of 2020, the Podgorica High Court confirmed the indictment against Knežević in the "Karbon" case, in which he allegedly caused damage to the company "Global Karbon" with four other members of the criminal group and obtained an illegal benefit of 1.942.000 euros.
Knežević was also accused in the "Airports" case, where together with the directors of his Atlas bank, Marko Nikolić and Dijana Zečević, he allegedly damaged the Aerodrome of Montenegro for three million euros.
The beginning of 2019 was marked by the "Envelope" affair, when Knežević published a video showing him handing over, as he claimed, 97.500 euros to the functionary of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) and the former mayor of Podgorica, Slavoljub Stijepović.
Knežević claims that this is money for financing the government's election campaign and that he did it in agreement with the former leader of the DPS and the former president of the state, Milo Đukanović.
Atlas Group is seeking EUR 500 million in compensation from the state of Montenegro
The arbitration proceedings initiated by Duško Knežević, Atlas Capital Holding Limited and Meljine Complex Limited against the Government of Montenegro should begin at the end of May.
Atlas Group is seeking EUR 500 million in compensation from the state of Montenegro.
The request for arbitration was sent on December 1, 2020.
"Based on the bilateral agreement that the joint state of Serbia and Montenegro signed with Cyprus in 2005, and since Atlas Capital Holding Limited and Meljine Complex Limited are Cypriot companies, a lawsuit was filed against Montenegro before the international Washington Convention for the Protection of Foreign Investments, and in accordance with the arbitration rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), an investment arbitration procedure has been initiated against Montenegro for the compensation of the entire damage done," Knežević's legal team announced a few days ago.
They said that Knežević was forced to initiate an arbitration procedure in order to protect his interests and recover the illegally confiscated property. A compensation request of 500 million euros was submitted, which is estimated to be the damage that Atlas Capital Holding Limited, Meljine Complex Limited and the president of Atlas Group suffered, as a result of a politically motivated campaign against Knežević's investments in Montenegro, which also includes two banks - Atlas Banka and Invest Bank Montenegro (IBM), and the project of building hotel complexes on the seashore...
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