Either he was hiding weapons or he was protecting his brother: ASK claims that Milo Đukanović never reported a single weapon to them

Former head of state Milo Djukanovic He has never reported to the competent Agency for the Prevention of Corruption that he has a single weapon registered in his name or received as a gift.

They announced this to ASK News, announcing that they would initiate new proceedings against the former public official - to determine whether he had broken the law.

The former president has weapons in his name, the legal representative of his arrested brother announced. Aca Đukanović, lawyer Nikola Martinovic, after his client was questioned on Saturday at the Nikšić Basic State Prosecutor's Office on suspicion of committing the criminal offense of illegal possession of weapons and explosives.

Martinović said on Saturday evening that some of the weapons found belonged to Milo Đukanović, while some were inherited from their late father and, as he says, there is documentation for it.

"...Some rifles were found with a dedication to his brother Milo Đukanović and it is definitely clear that these rifles have no connection to Aco Đukanović. A certain amount of weapons that belonged to his late father were also found, for which there is documentation. The police took all of these weapons. They will be the subject of an expert examination and I don't think there will be any dispute about that. Aco agrees to have it examined. DNA was taken. To our knowledge, the DNA will absolutely certainly show that Aco Đukanović has no connection to these rifles," said Martinović.

On February 28, at around 2:30 a.m., the brother of the long-serving prime minister and president of the country was arrested, after a search of the family home in the Nikšić neighborhood of Rastoci and the discovery of weapons and ammunition... He was brought to the Nikšić ODT building about 12 hours after his arrest. After questioning, the police took him out of the prosecutor's office and escorted him to a police vehicle, amid chants from the crowd. Yesterday, as he was leaving the court, some people shouted "gang, gang", and one of them also shouted "Just keep going like this, and we'll see"...

The former president's office did not respond to "Vijesti"'s questions about why not a single weapon was ever reported in Đukanović's asset reports over the years.

"Upon reviewing the records of the income and asset reports of the former public official to whom your question refers, it was determined that he did not report his ownership of weapons to the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption. The Agency will initiate a procedure to determine relevant facts and evidence in connection with these allegations. The public will be informed of the outcome of the procedure, in accordance with the principles of transparency, immediately upon its completion," the Agency's editorial office, headed by Dušan Drakić, responded.

Businessman Aco Đukanović (60) was remanded in custody due to fear of flight, after being suspected of the criminal offense of illegal possession and carrying of weapons and explosives.

"It has been established that there is a reasonable suspicion that the suspect A. Đ. committed the criminal offense of illegal possession and carrying of weapons and explosives under Article 403, paragraph 2, in conjunction with paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro, which results from the suspect's defense, as well as from the minutes, official notes and photo documentation of the Police Administration of Montenegro. The investigating judge is of the opinion in his specific opinion that there are circumstances indicating that the suspect, if released, could flee and be inaccessible to the state authorities of Montenegro in the further course of the proceedings, pursuant to Article 175, paragraph 1, item 1 of the Criminal Procedure Code," the judge's spokesperson wrote in a statement. Miloš Ivanović.

Arrest

The brother of the long-serving prime minister and president of the state was arrested on the night between Friday and Saturday, after a search of the family home in the Nikšić neighborhood of Rastoci.

According to the defense attorney, the police deprived him of his liberty around two and a half hours after midnight, and he was brought to the building of the Basic State Prosecutor's Office (ODT) in Nikšić the next day around 2:30 p.m., or about 12 hours after his arrest.

At around 7:30 p.m., after the interrogation, the police took him out of the prosecutor's office and into a police vehicle, with the gathered family members and friends chanting: "Aco, Aco."

The Police Directorate announced that officers from the Crime Prevention Sector, with the support of the Special Police Unit and inspectors from the Regional Security Centers "Center" and "West", searched several Đukanović's buildings and premises in Podgorica and Nikšić on February 27 and the night of February 28, based on orders from the competent prosecutor's offices and courts.

The police stated that certain documentation was seized, which the prosecutor's office was notified of, and that "a case will be opened regarding the above for the purpose of further action," while they did not provide details about the activities in Podgorica.

During the search in Nikšić, the police, according to the statement, found a large quantity of firearms and ammunition: a “Mauser” hunting carbine with an optical sight, a “Brno” rifle with a “Busnell” optic, a shotgun and a pistol of unknown brand, an “M-48” hunting carbine, as well as a “CZ 99 PARA” pistol with a magazine containing five bullets and a firearms license in the name of a deceased family member. They also stated that over 400 pieces of ammunition of various brands and calibers, three empty magazines, five ballistic body armor and “Zeiss” binoculars were found.

Defense attorney Martinović, however, claimed that some of the weapons found in the house belonged to Milo Đukanović, stating that “some rifles with inscriptions” to his brother were found, as well as weapons that belonged to their late father, for which, he said, there is documentation. He announced that Đukanović agreed to have everything examined by an expert, that DNA was taken, and that the defense expects the findings to show that the suspect has no connection to the disputed rifles.

Regarding the ammunition and bulletproof vests, Martinović said that they were most likely a "leftover" from members of the Ministry of Interior and the National Security Agency (ANB) who, as he stated, had been guarding the protected person in that house for years. He added that the bulletproof vests were allegedly unusable due to their age, and that they were hunting weapons, not "offensive" weapons, claiming that "there are no Kalashnikovs here." He also emphasized that each piece had a number, and that an expert examination would show its origin and status.

Martinović previously assessed that the prosecution, if it believes there are reasons for detention, should "without delay" submit a proposal to the investigating judge. When asked why officers would leave a large amount of ammunition in the house of a protected person, he replied that he did not want to comment on the work of the police and the ANB, but rather to "clearly show" that his client had nothing to do with that ammunition and weapons, stating that "disorganized" ammunition of various calibers was found.

The police previously confirmed that during the search in Podgorica, some expensive watches were inventoried and photographed, as well as documentation arranged in binders. The defense attorney, on the other hand, stated that signal pistols used on vessels to fire signal rockets were also seized, claiming that they "cannot be considered weapons" and that, as he expects, they will be dropped from the case.

According to unofficial information from "Vijesti", Đukanović has crossed the state border more than 20 times in the last six months, which was reportedly taken into account when assessing the risk of flight. After the 2020 elections, in which the DPS lost power, he moved to Luxembourg, then to Italy, and, according to the same information, arrived in Montenegro a few days ago. The police said that in this and all cases they are acting "indiscriminately, professionally and legally", and that they are continuing the fight against crime in order to strengthen security and citizens' trust in institutions. An appeal against the detention order is allowed within 24 hours of delivery, and it is decided by an extra-judicial criminal panel.

Watches, VIP revolving...

Last year, the Agency determined in two cases that Milo Đukanović had not submitted accurate and complete data in reports on assets and income over the years.

In both cases, that institution forwarded the information it obtained to the Special State Prosecutor's Office, which recently questioned Đukanović regarding the ASK's findings that for years he had not declared a collection of at least seven watches, worth more than 200.000 euros.

According to the ASK decision, during his last presidential term, i.e. in the period after the termination of that function, Đukanović submitted income and asset reports with incorrect and incomplete data, because he did not declare movable assets with an individual value exceeding 10.000 euros - a collection of at least seven watches.

During the proceedings, ASK, among other things, officially requested photographs from the photo archive of "Vijesti".

Following the decision, the former head of state announced that the decision by the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (ASK) “reeks of the same evil intent, a tendency to falsify facts and suppress crucially important information, as well as hopeless legal dilettantism.” However, Đukanović did not deny ASK’s allegations that he owned the seven luxury watches in his public address.

At the beginning of last year, the Agency announced that Đukanović spent a quarter of a million euros during the nine years he was the owner of an Atlas Bank VIP revolving card.

In February 2025, the agency published a decision according to which Đukanović violated the Law on the Prevention of Corruption, because in 2019 he failed to report the amount of 16.741,24 euros - a debt on a VIP revolving card at Atlas Bank, which was allegedly settled that year by his son Blažo.

"A review of the case files submitted by the Commercial Court of Montenegro on 21 November 2024 at the request of the Agency has established the indisputable existence of the VIP revolving card in question, and that it was used in the period from January 2007, where by May 2015, the revenue side generated a turnover of 236.195,02 euros, and the expenditure side in the period until December 2015 amounted to 249.016,33 euros. An overview of the card's analytics recorded cash payments to credit card accounts in the amount of over 10.000 euros, a total of 11 times, as follows: March 2007 - 20.000 euros, September 2007 - 20.100 euros, April 2008 - 15.000 euros, January 2009 - 16.635 EUR, April 2009 - EUR 12.760, October 2009 - EUR 15.000, October 2010 - EUR 18.149.17, November 2010 - EUR 10.000, July 2011 - EUR 10.000, July 2012 - EUR 11.600 and May 2015 - 20.000 euros", the decision states, among other things.

After that decision, the former senior statesman for decades sued the Agency - for alleged violation of honor, reputation and dignity, seeking compensation for non-pecuniary damage in the amount of 5.000 euros.

The first-instance verdict, rendered by Judge Valentina Vuković, rejected his lawsuit as premature, because the legality of the ASK decision, on which Đukanović bases his claims of violation of personal rights, is the subject of an administrative dispute pending before the Administrative Court of Montenegro.