The European Commission stated in its annual report for Montenegro that results in investigations and prosecutions of high-level corruption cases continue to improve, but the low number of final convictions and the lack of effective and dissuasive sentences continue to contribute to the perception of impunity.
It states that the prosecution and courts must continue to improve the effective implementation of criminal legislation, including preventive and repressive measures.
"This also includes addressing the abuse of provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code, which are used to delay proceedings in high-level corruption cases without justifiable reason," the EC report says.
They emphasized that amendments to the Law on the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SSO), adopted in 2024, significantly improved the efficiency of this institution's work in the fight against high-level corruption.
The SDT has launched investigations against 17 individuals and filed indictments against 16.
"It is particularly significant that the SDT has launched an investigation against the former director of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (ASK/ACA), who is accused of abuse of office and misuse of budget funds," the document states.
The European Commission stated that the application of the guidelines on plea agreements by prosecutors and judges in corruption cases contributes to a more effective and dissuasive criminal justice response.
However, they also emphasized that the quality of indictments and verdicts (including decisions to extend detention) has not significantly improved, nor is it uniform across courts or within the SDT.
"It is necessary to adopt - guidelines on the quality of indictments and verdicts, quality control mechanisms and performance indicators for assessing the legal reasoning and writing skills of prosecutors and judges," the EC states.
Significant increase in corruption investigations
During 2024, the Police Directorate and the Special Police Department submitted 88 reports on criminal acts related to corruption, which represents an increase of 35,5 percent compared to 2023.
During that period, six criminal charges were filed in connection with high-level corruption cases.
"The defendants included six police officers and nine public officials," the document states.
The number of final judgments increased in 2024, but still remains low compared to the number of high-level corruption cases that are ongoing or under investigation.
The European Commission noted that the institutional framework for preventing and combating corruption has been established, but that it needs to be further strengthened.
"Despite some improvements, human capacity in the fight against corruption remains insufficient, which poses a challenge to improving the effectiveness of criminal justice in addressing this problem," the report says.
In that section, they emphasized that the Judicial Council appointed five new judges to the High Court in Podgorica, increasing the total number to 11 judges, but that it was not clear whether the new judges would be assigned to the Specialized Department, where the number of unresolved cases is extremely high.
"During the reporting period, no cases were concluded and no final judgments were forwarded from the Court of Appeal," the EC states.
During 2024, the High Court in Podgorica had a total of 106 organized crime cases, which were conducted against 769 defendants - of which 713 were natural persons and 56 were legal entities.
The number of final verdicts in organized crime cases is increasing, indicating more proactive and successful work on investigations and prosecutions.
However, results need to be further improved, especially in areas such as tobacco smuggling, cybercrime, stand-alone crimes of money laundering and human trafficking.
The SDT is currently staffed by GST Vladimir Novović and 15 special prosecutors (out of a planned 16). The European Commission noted that amendments to the Law on the Special State Prosecutor's Office, adopted last year, limited the SDT's jurisdiction to cases of organized crime, corruption committed by high-ranking public officials, and money laundering.
This change, as noted, has yielded positive results in terms of efficiency, as the number of cases per prosecutor has been reduced and the scope of investigations has been narrowed, which enables better quality work.
SPO the most operational service
The European Commission stated that one of the key innovations was that the Special Police Department (SPO) was given the status of a special department separate from the Anti-Crime Sector.
This step, which is in line with the recommendations of the European Commission, will allow the SPO a greater degree of autonomy, given that, as they emphasized, it is the most operational service in the security sector, working on the most difficult and complex cases under the jurisdiction of the Special State Prosecutor's Office.
The human resources situation in the SPO is improving, but remains unsatisfactory, despite the adoption of the new Rulebook on Internal Organization and Systematization of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in December 2024.
"The number of planned positions in the SPO has been increased from 50 to 60. However, only 33 positions were filled in August. The conditions of the SDT and SPO offices are below the minimum required by European standards, which prevents these institutions from performing their duties efficiently, effectively and independently," the report states.
The EC also stated that the Ministry of Interior has initiated a procedure for hiring new police officers, especially in the unit for combating high-level corruption and money laundering.
"This process must ensure transparent and merit-based employment," the report says.
In addition, the SPO does not have specialized initial or continuing training in the field of financial investigations, and the Police Academy does not have regular courses in this area.
Overall, according to the EC, human capacity is considered insufficient in three key institutions – the Special Police Department, the Special State Prosecutor's Office and the Specialized Department of the High Court in Podgorica – to successfully cope with their responsibilities and workload.
Rooms below the minimum
All three institutions, SDT, Specialized Department and SPO, continue to face very poor infrastructure, while their equipment and technological resources require significant improvements, which limits their overall efficiency.
The premises of the SDT and SPO are far below the minimum standards prescribed by European norms, which prevents these institutions from performing their duties efficiently, effectively and independently.
The conditions in the offices of the Special State Prosecutor's Office of the SPO are far below the minimum standards prescribed by European norms, which prevents these institutions from performing their duties efficiently, effectively and independently.
ARO processed 46 cases
During 2024, the Asset Recovery Office (ARO) processed 46 foreign requests for identification of assets in Montenegro acquired through criminal activities, which included checks on 242 individuals and 10 legal entities.
The ARO needs to be further strengthened with human resources, because currently within the International Police Cooperation Group, within which the ARO operates, out of six officers intended for tasks related to the ARO, only one is actually assigned to those duties.
The number of cases of temporary freezing and seizure of assets has slightly increased, but definitive confiscations remain limited and need to be further strengthened.
"Courts issued temporary security measures in nine cases (compared to 17 in 2023), including a ban on the disposal and use of real estate," the document states.
Despite the increase in the number of financial investigations, the number of actual asset seizures remains low.
The European Commission also noted that Montenegro must address the problem of incomplete land cadastre records, which hinders financial investigations and asset seizure, and ensure that all available legal means for confiscation are fully applied.
Montenegro continued its good cooperation with Europol and the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) and participated in 76 operational actions of the European Multidisciplinary Platform against Criminal Threats (EMPACT), including three actions in which it played a co-leading role.
For further alignment with the EMPACT mechanism, Montenegro is recommended to use the access to the EMPACT Support Network (ESN), established by CEPOL.
It is also recommended that Montenegro take advantage of CEPOL's training program and integrate the acquired knowledge and skills into the national law enforcement training system.
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