The first-instance verdict in the "Global Carbon Credits" case will be pronounced on December 26, it was announced at the Higher Court in Podgorica, where the parties today gave their closing arguments in the trial led by Judge Igor Đuričković.
The indictment against Duško Knežević alleges, among other things, that Knežević, Predrag Dašić, Zoran Nikolić, Brankica Bašović and Biljana Bašović caused damage to the legal entity "Global Karbon" DOO Podgorica, and obtained unlawful benefits in the amount of 1,942,000 euros from the legal entities "Fin Invest", "Atlas Grupa", RTV "Atlas", "RT Mimoza", "Atlas Sistem" and "Mega Gulf Investments Holdings Limited".
Special State Prosecutor Miloš Šoškić said that he stands by the allegations in the indictment and asked the court to punish the accused in accordance with the law.
The legal representative of "Global Karbon" has filed a property claim against all defendants in the amount of 1.990.000 euros.
The defense requested an acquittal because they believe there is no evidence to confirm the prosecution's allegations against Knežević.
Knežević said in his closing remarks that this was a politically motivated proceeding.
"I did not commit a single act listed in the indictment. How can I be the organizer of something I did not commit? Everything that was done is recorded and transparent. It is impossible to understand this case if one does not understand the time in which it was created. This is a politically motivated proceeding. All the indictments were created after the release of the recording - the 'envelope' case," said Knežević, adding that in one of the proceedings against Montenegro, he requested compensation of 500 million euros before an international court.
"These are the third closing arguments in the proceedings against Duško Knežević, two proceedings resulted in acquittals. In two years, ten indictments have been filed against Duško Knežević. This cannot be part of the regular efficiency of the prosecution, but is part of politically motivated actions," believes lawyer Dušan Radosavljević, one of the defense attorneys for the accused Knežević.
He added that there is no evidence that Duško Knežević abused his position.
"This case arose at a time when the Chief Special Prosecutor had unlimited power to initiate proceedings. This is a politically motivated proceeding. Milivoje Katnić, who initiated all these proceedings, is currently in custody. This indictment is a consequence of institutional power that has been abused. This case is a consequence of a political decision and not the result of an investigation. All financial transactions were legal. The indictment arose as a result of the decision to bring the "Atlas Group" to a state of collapse," emphasized lawyer Radosavljević in his closing statement.
In his closing arguments, the accused Predrag Dašić said that there was no evidence that he had committed a criminal offense.
"The indictment is not supported by evidence. It is based on a factually impossible construction. There is no evidence. The defense of the accused Nikolić has not been called into question by anything. No evidence indicates that the refinancing was illegal. There is no harm," said attorney Lazar Aković.
Lawyer Milan Kovačević told the court that during the evidentiary proceedings it was indisputably established that Brankica Bašović and Biljana Bašović did not commit a criminal offense.
"There is no evidence in the indictment that they committed the crime, but there is evidence that they did not commit the crime. The evidence in the indictment supports their defense and innocence," said Kovačević and requested that the court pronounce an acquittal.
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