The verdict acquitting Knežević and former bank executives in the "Airports" case has been confirmed.

The Court of Appeals upheld the verdict of the Higher Court in Podgorica, which acquitted businessman Duško Knežević of charges that, together with former Atlas Bank executives Marko Nikolić and Dijana Zečević, he damaged Montenegro Airports for three million euros.

"The Court of Appeal of Montenegro rejected as unfounded the appeals of the Special State Prosecutor's Office and the attorney of the injured company 'Aerodromi Crne Gore' AD Podgorica and confirmed the verdict of the Special Department of the Higher Court in Podgorica, by which the accused Duško Knežević, Marko Nikolić, Dijana Zečević and the accused legal entity Atlas banka AD Podgorica in bankruptcy were acquitted of the charges that they committed the following: the accused Duško Knežević and Marko Nikolić the criminal offense of abuse of position in business through incitement, the accused Dijana Zečević the criminal offense of abuse of position in business through incitement, and the accused legal entity Atlas banka AD Podgorica in bankruptcy the criminal offense of abuse of position in business through incitement. By the same verdict, the injured company 'Aerodromi Crne Gore' AD Podgorica was directed to initiate civil proceedings in order to exercise its property rights claim," the Court of Appeal announced.

In this way, the verdict of the Higher Court in Podgorica became final.

"The indictment of the Special State Prosecutor's Office accuses the accused Duško Knežević, Marko Nikolić as the responsible person - the Chief Executive Officer of Atlas Bank AD Podgorica and the legal entity Atlas Bank AD Podgorica in bankruptcy of having intentionally incited the accused Dijana Zečević to abuse her position as the responsible person - the Deputy Executive Director of Atlas Bank AD Podgorica in such a way that after the expiration of the term deposit of funds in the amount of €3.000.000,00 that the damaged company 'Aerodromi Crne Gore' AD Podgorica deposited with that bank on the basis of the contract on a term non-purpose deposit and its annex, the said funds were not transferred to the transaction account of the damaged company, but were retained in the bank's account. The indictment states that by acting in this way, the accused caused damage in the amount of €3.000.000,00 to the damaged company, and Atlas Bank benefited in the same amount," it is recalled in press release.

"Determining the appeals against the first-instance verdict, the Court of Appeal assessed that the Higher Court in Podgorica correctly concluded that it was not proven that the accused committed the criminal offense they were charged with, because the evidence presented during the proceedings before the first-instance court shows that all the actions of the accused were undertaken solely for the purpose of extending the deposit agreement, i.e. concluding Annex II of the basic agreement, which conclusion is indicated by the indisputable communication conducted on that occasion, arranging a meeting for the purpose of concluding Annex II, paying interest on the aforementioned funds by the bank and insisting on the bank signing it. Ultimately, the aforementioned funds were transferred from the deposit account to the transaction account of the company 'Aerodromi Crne Gore' AD Podgorica. The decision of the Court of Appeal states that the fact that Atlas Banka was evidently in liquidity problems during that period, in the sense that certain funds were blocked, indicates that the intention of the accused was solely to conclude Annex II, all with the aim of improving the bank's liquidity, and that there were certain "The Airport's promises that the annex would be concluded, so the Court of Appeal's assessment is that the defendants did not know that they were facing temporary administration, and then bankruptcy, and that their actions were taken with the aim of preventing temporary administration, moratorium, and bankruptcy proceedings, because that would be to the detriment of the bank, and thus all depositors," the Court of Appeal added.

According to the Court of Appeal, it has not been proven that Atlas Banka obtained unlawful material gain in the amount of three million euros as a result of such conduct by the defendants, nor that Aerodori suffered damage in that amount, "which benefit or damage must be specifically determined, not abstract".

"In addition, it is pointed out that failure to fulfill a contractual obligation does not automatically create criminal liability, but rather represents a violation of Article 1138, paragraph 2 of the Law on Obligations, which regulates the issue of the relationship between the creditor and the debtor in a cash deposit agreement in a situation where the debtor has not fulfilled his contractual obligation, which may result in liability under the rules of civil procedure," the statement reads.

The verdict of the Court of Appeal will be published on the institution's website.