Petar Ivanović, former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and former official of the Democratic Party of Socialists, has had his detention extended for another two months.
The Supreme Court Council, deciding on the proposal of the Special State Prosecutor's Office from March 10, issued a decision to extend his detention until May 13, the court announced.
His detention was extended due to the existence of reasonable suspicion that he committed the continued criminal offense of abuse of official position under Article 416, paragraph 3, in conjunction with paragraph 1 and Article 49, paragraphs 1 and 4 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro, and the continued criminal offense of abuse of official position under Article 416, paragraph 3, in conjunction with paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro in conjunction with Article 23, paragraph 2 and Article 49, paragraphs 1 and 4 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro.
Ivanovic's detention was ordered on December 15, 2024, by a decision of the investigating judge of the Higher Court in Podgorica, and extended by a decision of the panel of that court on January 10.
Petar Ivanović, his successors at the head of the Ministry of Agriculture, Milutin Simović and Budimir Mugoša, former State Secretary Nemanja Katnić, and former Head of the Finance, Accounting and Public Procurement Service Vukica Perović are suspected of abuse of office, that is, from April 2014 to July 2019, contrary to the Regulation on the Implementation of Agrarian Policy Measures, they distributed money and caused damage to Montenegro of over 300.000 euros...
Former leaders of the Ministry of Agriculture are charged with suspicious payments to only one non-governmental organization - the National Association of Winegrowers and Winemakers, and the amounts of money given to that civil society over a five-year period varied from 450 euros to 70.000 euros.
The Special State Prosecutor's Office claims that Ivanovic facilitated the majority of illegal payments during 2014, 2015, and 2016.
Bonus video:
