It took the officers of the Special Police Department (SPO) two full days to accompany the suspect Petar Ivanovic and his lawyer visit all properties believed to be registered to the former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and members of his family.
SPO officers searched properties in Podgorica, Bar and Kotor until late last night, which is why the suspect Ivanović was supposed to be brought to the investigating judge of the High Court in Podgorica during the night, who was deciding whether to accept the proposal of the Special State Prosecutor's Office to orders detention on suspicion of abuse of official position.
On the first day, the SPO spent almost the entire day searching the villa, the rich wine cellar and the Ivanović estate, in Doljani near Podgorica.
That part of the investigative procedure is very important because the investigators' suspicions of abuses in the Department of Agriculture, as it is believed, coincided with what they found during the two-day search of property worth millions.
DON'T MISS IT
The Special State Prosecutor's Office also asked the investigating judge to order detention for the former secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Nemanja Katnić.
Former head of the Finance Department Vukica Perović she was released after the hearing, and the former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development was also included in the SPO's criminal report Budimir Mugoša.
The Special State Prosecutor's Office will most likely ask the High Court to order house arrest for the former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. Milutin Simović, which is on Friday evening, after the hearing before the prosecutor Jovan Vukotić, released to defend himself from freedom.
DON'T MISS IT
In front of the prosecutor, Simović gave a detailed statement and numerous clarifications regarding the functioning of the payment of money from the Agrobudget intended for non-governmental organizations, for the promotion of agricultural products and strengthening of competitiveness.
Simović's lawyer Miroslav Adzic last night around 21.30:XNUMX p.m. he did not have information on when his client would be heard by the investigating judge.
"They haven't invited us yet, I don't have that information," Adžić said briefly.
The Special State Prosecutor's Office announced that the officers of the Special Police Department filed a criminal complaint due to the existence of grounds for suspicion that the suspects committed three extended criminal offenses of abuse of official position and two criminal offenses of abuse of official position.
They clarified that the subject of the criminal complaint and procedure is the illegal allocation of funds to certain non-governmental organizations, in the period from April 2014 to July 2019, contrary to the Decree on the conditions, manner and dynamics of the implementation of agrarian policy measures - the Agricultural budget for specific years.
"With this, non-governmental organizations were benefited, and damage was caused to the injured Montenegro in the amount of more than 300.000 euros," reads the announcement of the Special State Prosecutor's Office.
The SPO and the prosecution believe that during Ivanović's mandate in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, a scheme was created to divert money from the Agricultural Budget to certain NGOs, which received money for the improvement and support of agriculture based on submitted plans and programs.
However, as is suspected, in several cases it was not a trial, but the money for the support of NGOs was illegally paid contrary to the Decree on the conditions, manner and dynamics of the implementation of agrarian policy.
Agricultural budget at the time when Ivanovic was the head of the Department of Agriculture in the Prime Minister's Government Milo Đukanović in 2014, it was 14 million, and in 2015, almost 15 million.
SDT believes that the scheme of illegal payment of money to NGOs on a smaller scale functioned until the summer of 2019, when the Agrobudget amounted to 22 million euros, while the suspects Budimir Mugoša and then Milutin Simović were at the head of the department.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development was responsible for agricultural budgets for the implementation of projects, measures and supervision and control over the payment of money intended for agricultural organizations and NGOs.
A trial is pending over the Abu Dhabi fund
At the end of October, the indictment against Ivanović was confirmed in the "Abu Dhabi fund" case, and the court proceedings in that case also await the defendant Mugoša, whom the SDT accuses of abuse of position in this case.
The indictment charges i Zoran Vukcevic, the former head of the Investment and Development Fund (IRF), for unscrupulous work in the service.
The Abu Dhabi Development Fund (ADF) is a state agency of the United Arab Emirates, which in 2015 provided a loan of 50 million dollars to encourage agriculture in the north of Montenegro.
The former director of the Directorate for Payments in the Ministry of Agriculture is also on the indictment for misappropriating a loan of 50 million Blagota Radulović and appraiser Milan Adzic.
"The Special State Prosecutor's Office filed an indictment against the defendants, the former ministers of agriculture and rural development and the former director of the Directorate for IPARD payment in the then Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of PI, BM and BR, due to the well-founded suspicion that they committed the prolonged criminal offense of abuse of official position, during allocation of funds from the loan of the Abu Dhabi Development Fund, in the period from 2015 to 2017", said the special prosecutor earlier Vukas Radonjic.
At the end of February, Ivanovic said in the High Court that he did not understand the indictment of the SDT, because, he said then, some of the loans were returned in full, while the rest were covered by collateral that exceeded the amounts of the loans.
At that time, he stated that there was no damage to the state.
"Explain to me exactly what I am being charged with, because I cannot understand what this is about. I'm an economist, I'm not a lawyer, so someone explain it to me, if possible", Ivanović asked.
He asked for someone to answer him who benefited in connection with the loan from the Abu Dhabi Fund.
"We are talking about six loans, two of which were duly repaid, with interest. Returning one is in progress. Collaterals were provided for three loans, the values of which exceed the amounts of the given loans. How did I benefit someone, if someone else did not initiate the collateral collection procedure", Ivanovic said.
Stijović on alleged illegalities
Former Minister of Agriculture Aleksandar Stijović he spoke several times about the alleged illegalities he found in that department, after the DPS authorities were replaced on August 30, 2020.
In February 2021, he spoke to journalists about the documentation on the loan from the Abu Dhabi Fund, saying then that former Minister Ivanovic had opened a special account at Prva Banka, which contained two tranches of loans from the Abu Dhabi Fund in the total amount of 29,6 million dollars, beyond the state treasury.
At the time, he also said that he submitted the complete documentation to SDT.
"The money was transferred to a special account in Prva banka, which is outside the state treasury system. We have no information about who opened this account, nor is there any information about it in the Ministry of Finance. All payments concerning state money must go through the treasury system," said Stijović at the time.
He also said that they asked Prva banka for information about who opened a special account in Prva banka where the money was paid according to the orders of former ministers Simović and Ivanović, while Nemanja Katnić "monitored the whole business" and Blagota Radulović approved.
Bonus video:
