The trial of the former director of the Real Estate Administration, Dragan Kovačević, and other defendants in this trial ended today with closing arguments at the Higher Court in Podgorica.
The president of the special panel, Judge Zoran Radović, scheduled the first-instance verdict for April 29th.
The indictment states that the defendant Dragan Kovačević committed the criminal offense of creating a criminal organization, the defendants Ana Lakićević-Grdinić, Veselin Tomašević, Danko Kovačević, Sanja Popović and Aleksandar Boljević committed the criminal offense of creating a criminal organization, and the legal entity "Geo & Arh" from Podgorica committed the criminal offense of creating a criminal organization.
"For over 30 years, I have worked in responsible state affairs, in inspection supervision for a year, as the head of the Regional Units of Budva, Danilovgrad, Bar and Tivat, for over 12 years as the assistant director of the Real Estate Administration, and for 10 years for two terms as the director. I have worked professionally, qualitatively and extremely professionally. In my work, I have achieved enviable results and brought the Administration to the level of a state body that could be compared in terms of expertise, personnel and technology with European state bodies specialized in land administration. During my working career and life path, I have never committed any offense that would violate the law," said Kovačević.
He added that at the end of his working career, he and his family experienced "hell of a life."
"I was arrested at work and imprisoned in a concrete mixer on December 23, 2020, pursuant to a criminal report filed by a convicted criminal and violent person, Aleksandar Gazivoda, a person of dubious morals. That criminal report included several people and was the reason for their arrest and imprisonment. We were accused as an organized criminal group, and in fact we were arrested by an organized criminal group led by GST Milivoj Katnić, special prosecutor Lidija Mitrović, who has since been suspended and convicted in the first degree, SPO police officer Milijana Ćukić, I would say more of a criminal with a police badge with which she makes threats and spreads fear and trembling in state institutions without any orders or written warrants, and of course with Aleksandar Gazvid, a convicted kidnapper."
Kovačević said that they had devised a plan with the intention of falsely accusing the director of the Real Estate Administration, the head of the cadastre, two notaries, a licensed geodetic organization and a licensed state surveyor, and prominent citizens, all for the purpose of media propaganda and their demonization, i.e. in order to create an image in the public that the prosecution had succeeded in arresting big capitalists and to gain points from the public and European officials.
"They accused us in order to improve their statistics, and those they were supposed to arrest they protected and let pass like trains through corn. They were helped in this by certain media outlets that did not want to engage in investigative journalism but only broadcast or wrote what they copied from our indictment, thus creating a bad media image of us. What a terrible criminal organization they arrested, which has been operating on the territory of Montenegro since 2011, is shown by the fact that the group was united to register cadastral plots 105/1 with an area of 97 m2 and cadastral plot 105/4 with an area of 22 m2 in the Bogisici administrative district and a building built on the same plots. Let me mention that my son Danko Kovacevic bought these two plots from private individuals and built a building on the same approximately 250 m2. When registering the plot and the building, my son did not need anyone's help except for my professional advice. The plot of 119 m2 and the building of approx. 250 m2 were registered in accordance with the Law on State Survey and Real Estate Cadastre. I would like to point out that registration in the real estate cadastre is carried out in accordance with Article 84, or for objects, Article 64 and 64a, and that tens of thousands of plots and objects were registered in the same way as Danko Kovačević was registered. And finally. Aleksandar Gazivoda, known to the Montenegrin public and the judiciary as a kidnapper, who does not choose any means to get money, is not the injured party, but the man who took or kidnapped money from my son and threatened me and my family, but since there were more of us, he could not commit the kidnapping scenario typical of him, "said Kovačević in his closing statement. The indictment adds that Dragan Kovačević built a house on cadastral plot KO 105/1, but that he occupied state property of 15 square meters in size.
It is added that the defendant Ana Lakićević Grdinić under points a, b, cie of the indictment committed a prolonged criminal offense of abuse of official position, Dragan Kovačević under points a, b, cie committed a prolonged criminal offense of abuse of official position through incitement, then the criminal offense of illegal occupation of land and the criminal offense of extortion by means of incitement.
The defendant Veselin Tomašević committed the criminal offense of abuse of official position, while the indictment presented that the defendant Krsto Pavićević committed the criminal offense of abuse of position in business operations in conjunction with the criminal offense of document forgery.
Danko Kovačević committed the criminal offense of tax and contribution evasion, the defendant Dalibor Knežević committed the criminal offense of abuse of office, while the defendant Aleksandar Boljević and the defendant Sanja Popović committed the criminal offense of coercion. The legal entity "Geo & Arch Projekt" doo Podgorica committed the criminal offense of abuse of position in business operations in conjunction with the criminal offense of forging a document.
The prosecutor requested that the court punish them according to the law.
State Prosecutor Maja Janković stood by the allegations of the indictment and in her closing statement asked the court to declare the accused guilty and punish them according to the law. Dragan Kovačević, former head of the Tivat cadastre Ana Lakićević-Grdinić, surveyor Veselin Tomašević, notary Danilo Jovanović, Danko Kovačević, Sanja Popović, Aleksandar Boljević and a representative of the Podgorica company "Geo&Arh" requested that the court acquit them of the charges that, as members of a criminal organization, they misused their position and illegally appropriated valuable plots of land on the sea foam.
The Protector of Property and Legal Interests of Montenegro, Radomirka Raičević, joined the criminal prosecution against the defendants with a request to restore the state of affairs prior to the usurpation of land owned by Montenegro. She raised a property and legal claim of 1 euros, which is the amount of damage caused by the actions of the defendants.
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