Milošević to pay 2.000 euros Petričević: Court case over violation of reputation and honor of former UPC director concluded

The High Court upheld the Basic Court's verdict from late 2024, so the former director of the Revenue and Customs Administration (UPC) will Milosevic works for violation of honor, reputation and personality - must pay 2.000 euros to the former acting director of that institution Milena Petričević.

This is stated, among other things, in the second-instance verdict, issued by the Higher Court in Podgorica, which "Vijesti" had access to.

Petričević filed a lawsuit against Milošević in civil proceedings, seeking 30.000 euros in non-pecuniary damages, because in a statement on the "Libertas press" portal dated June 13, 2022, he stated that she had concealed that cigarettes from the American company "Lenora International", which had been seized the day before in an action by the Police Directorate and UPC, were stored in the Free Zone of the Port of Bar...

Judge of the Basic Court Katarina Janković then issued a ruling on December 12, 2024, ordering Milošević to pay the former director 2.000 euros, while rejecting Petričević's request for a further 28.000 euros. Milošević appealed this decision, and the dispute ended up in the Higher Court.

Milošević requested that the verdict be reversed or quashed and the proceedings be repeated, claiming that it was a journalistic fabrication that was placed in the headline and subtitle - while he had not made the statement. He stressed that he had made true allegations that the cigarettes should have been confiscated earlier, as well as his professional beliefs.

Petričević denied these allegations and requested that the appeal be rejected as unfounded.

"The appeal is rejected as unfounded and the judgment of the Basic Court of December 12, 2024 is confirmed in the first and third paragraphs. The claim is partially accepted, and the defendant is ordered to pay the plaintiff the amount of 2.000 euros as compensation for non-pecuniary damage due to the violation of personal rights, reputation, honor and integrity. The plaintiff's request in which she requested that the defendant be ordered to pay her an additional 28.000 euros on the same grounds is rejected as unfounded," reads the decision of the Higher Court from March, which was issued by a panel of judges consisting of Marko Blagojevic, Diana Rovčanin i Natalija Boricic.

The Higher Court also determined that Milošević's statements were not true, that he did not make corrections or denials to media releases in accordance with the Media Law, that the deadlines for storing cigarettes expired during his term, that it was proven that Petričević did not hide them, and that her peaceful life and professional continuity were disrupted, with a detrimental impact on the rest of the family...

They emphasized that the awarded amount of compensation was fair for the mental anguish suffered and that it was not a question of damages.

Petričević was appointed acting director of UPC on October 21, 2021. Her six-month term expired on April 21, 2022, and the Government Zdravka Krivokapića six days later, appointed Milosevic as the director of this institution. He was appointed to that position at the suggestion of the then Minister of Finance and Social Welfare Milojko Spajić.

Milošević resigned from that position in October 2022, after being questioned as a citizen in an investigation into cigarette smuggling. He was arrested in late December of that year on suspicion of being the organizer of a group that smuggled confiscated cigarettes intended for destruction, and was released from custody in June 2023.

He was handcuffed by officers of the Special Police Department (SPO) in late 2022, as part of an investigation into the disappearance of millions of packs of cigarettes. More than three years after his arrest, Milošević has not been charged with cigarette smuggling.