Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Raško Konjević, today at the session of the Parliamentary Committee for Security and Defense, accused the former Director of the Revenue and Customs Administration (UPC) Rado Milošević of being one of the organizers of cigarette smuggling.
He claims that Milosevic smuggled cigarettes with an organized criminal group (OKG), and that the outgoing Prime Minister Dritan Abazović knew about it.
The session of the Committee, where the hearing of the head of the Government, the security sector and the prosecutor's office regarding current events in the security sector, continued for two and a half hours, after which the president of that body, Milan Knežević, took a break. As he announced, the continuation of the session will be determined later.
The session was attended by Abazović, Konjević, Minister of the Interior Filip Adžić, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ranko Krivokapić, former Acting Director of the National Security Agency (ANB) Savo Kentera, Chief Special Prosecutor Vladimir Novović, Acting Supreme State Prosecutor Maja Jovanović and prosecutor in the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) Jovan Vukotić.
Konjević said that he is not ready to present some of the information on cigarette smuggling in an open session that he would have presented in a closed session, because he does not want to break the law.
"I will give a few political observations, which I am ready to argue. I think that the former director of the Tax Administration (Revenue and Customs Administration) is one of the organizers of a criminal group that was involved in cigarette smuggling. The Prime Minister knew about his actions. A political-media scandal was being created performance, where the Prime Minister tried to create a different impression in the public, accusing me of being a political sponsor of cigar smuggling. Of course, he could not provide any evidence for that. He participated three times in actions that were part of cigarette smuggling, which presenting to the public as the destruction of cigarettes that were allegedly confiscated, and we do not have a single criminal complaint against the owner of the cigarettes..." Konjević pointed out.
He added that he had the opportunity to hear that 90 percent of the cigarette quotas that were destroyed ended up in smuggling, and that only ten percent were destroyed.
"It is clear that they wanted to create the impression that someone else is sponsoring smuggling, and that the Prime Minister is against any kind of illegal activity. From the actions carried out by the prosecution and that I have seen in public, persons who have been deprived of their liberty and who have been detained , is a qualified criminal offense - the creation of a criminal organization and accepting bribes. I am sure that the prosecution will determine in the following who gave bribes to whom. According to the operational knowledge at their disposal, there are not only police officers, but also members of a criminal group with whom the Prime Minister had several meetings, and the director of the Revenue and Customs Administration did not separate himself from them," Konjević said.
"Abazović appointed a person who had contacts with Milović to the position of secretary of the Council"
The Deputy Prime Minister said that he will talk about some of the data he has in a closed session. He stated, among other things, that as the former head of the Bureau for Operational Coordination (BOK), he has information that Abazović "surrounded himself with two people who had direct contact with the heads of another criminal group."
"In the position of secretary of the National Security Council, he appointed a person (Jelena Maraš) who had direct contacts with Ljubo Milović. Milović fled from justice, and the person in that position was able to give information to Ljubo Milović, while she was on to the position of chief of staff of the (former) minister of the interior. When you put all this together, it is clear why the prime minister proposes a person convicted several times (Artan Kurti) to be the inspector general of the National Security Agency (ANB). We can guess with whom that person has all contacts. On stage, in a long interval, there is an attempt of media propaganda in which the slogan 'hold the thief' - he wants to engage in the business of smuggling cigars. Milošević did not become the director of UPC by accident. changed decisions until the afternoon, with a promise and an agreement to carry out one transaction of four million euros for the road Petijevići - Herceg Novi," said Konjević.
He said that, when the story about smuggling broke out, the prime minister proposed his (Konjević's) dismissal from the position of head of BOK.
"The prime minister shows that he wants to obstruct the ongoing investigation in any way possible. My position according to everything I know is that Milosevic should be arrested. He is one of the organizers of smuggling, he did it with an organized criminal group, with the knowledge of the president Government," Konjević said.
"Milošević presented Abazović with an encrypted phone"
He also stated that he was the deputy who asked Abazović if he had an encrypted phone.
"I didn't talk about it until now. I asked who he got it from and whether he reported it (the phone) to the relevant agencies. The prime minister said he had an encrypted phone, but he didn't want to say who gave it to him. He gave it to him is Milošević... If Milošević was not guilty, three days of miracles in the government would not have happened for him to resign, but he would have remained where he is, because the presumption of innocence applies to him as well as to all others. security opened the story about the status of Milošević...", Konjević said.
He announced that he would tell her with whom and what a current official of the Civic Movement URA, who, as he stated, "thinks this is Mexico City" was negotiating with.
"For this, I will offer part of the information that I officially had. If the prime minister or anyone gives a single proof that I am a sponsor of tobacco smuggling... Imagine if a former political director or a high-ranking official of some other structure was involved in this - Abazović wouldn't shut down. A clear scheme was being worked out - to use political influence for a very lucrative business. There were deputies who talked about this during the previous government. I did not have information then, because I was not part of the government. But what has been happening since this government was formed - things are largely clear in the political sense," said the Deputy Prime Minister.
Konjević said that he has confidence in the competent state authorities and that he believes that it is in their interest to see the case through to the end.
"We received a very clear indication from the law enforcement authorities - that 90 percent of the cigar quotas ended up in smuggling, and that only 10 percent were burned. They wanted to create a political and media spectacle, that whoever participates in this in a political sense - and Milošević probably also directly - he can do that in peace. That the Prime Minister did the same things before that is confirmed by the two reports I sent to the prosecutor's office. Abazović accused me of working on a conflict between citizens from the position of Minister of Defense. Without a single piece of evidence. Evidence it can't be, because no normal person would do that. I wasn't involved in tobacco smuggling. And if Milošević and Abazović and others from GP URA were involved - we'll see. If any evidence is found for the accusations that were made on my account, I am ready to bear the responsibility," he underlined.
He thanked Abazović for the opportunity to open this topic, because, as he said, it is important that they talk about smuggling through the institutions.
"I encourage the competent state authorities. In both cases - cigarette smuggling and malignant Russian influence - it is clear that someone has an obligation. Someone to the law, and someone to someone else," Konjević said.
The former acting head of the ANB, Kentera, said that the service provided counterintelligence protection to Prime Minister Abazović, and that he personally warned the Prime Minister about Milošević and his contacts.
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Abazović, responding to Konjević, said that there are three criminal clans in Montenegro that deal with cigarette smuggling, and that they are the political patrons of one party in which Konjević and Krivokapić (Social Democratic Party - SDP) and the president and leader of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) are ) Milo Đukanović. The resigned prime minister accused businessman Ranko Ubović and former assistant director of the Police Department Zoran Lazović of smuggling cigarettes and cocaine.
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Krivokapić: The model that we also heard from Marović - it's not my fault, but they stole about someone else
Minister of Foreign Affairs Krivokapić said, reacting to Abazović's evaluations, that the prosecutors know how the defendants explain things.
"That's the model we heard from Svetozar Marović (former DPS official) - I'm not to blame, but others also stole. There is a serious problem with the Prime Minister. He can clean the system of everyone who can bring it into danger. Cleaned is the head of BOK, then the director of ANB... Is it possible for someone to bring crime to power? I'm afraid it's possible. There are political individuals who came on the back of money. If some are guilty, that doesn't mean that those who accuse are not," said Krivokapić.
Konjević: Abazović made Milošević a political umbrella for smuggling three times
Among other things, Konjević said that Abazović is trying to create the impression with "media hype" that someone is for and someone is against solving the issue of cigarette smuggling.
"I am sure that we are all at this table for this to be resolved institutionally. Abazović's problem is Milošević. He (Abazović) made him a political umbrella for tobacco smuggling three times. Abazović appointed a person in his closest circle who was in contact with Milović. Milović escaped from the competent authorities a few days before several other arrests, and the person who was in contact with him is the closest associate of Abazović. All this is written in the papers. That person attended three sessions of the Council, chaired by Abazović, without authorization. in violation of the Secret Information Security Act, because she was not cleared to access that information. Both she and Kurti were given a negative assessment, and the clearance request was denied. I warned the Council about this. I have no problem that in closed session, with a series of details, I will point out and strengthen the argumentation about what I am presenting today at the open session... Abazović says that he does not know whether he starved with a male or a female person - it is important that that person is a member of the OKG," said Konjević.
Abazović: I couldn't be surprised why the prosecution took so long to take action against Lazović's son
Abazović, speaking about the secretary of the Maraš Council, said that she has permission to access secret data that lasts until 2024.
"It is a matter of fact. When it comes to Kurti, he received a negative opinion when the director of the ANB was dismissed. As for Milošević, after 30-40 days of taking office, the man received permission to access classified information. If the services knew that he had, so to speak, some tendency towards other activities as well, why did the Agency allow him to be given that permission? Why wasn't he warned then? About sitting with Milović - there was also this from other female colleagues who were very close to Konjević. ..," he added.
Abazović said that he could not "be surprised" why the prosecution needed 40 or 50 days to take action against Petar Lazović, Zoran Lazović's son, and Milović. He stated that he had "his own political doubts" about it.
"Why did it take so long when in 40 days he can not only move from Montenegro, but also destroy every piece of evidence? Some people were at parties with (Radoj) Zvicer and everyone kept quiet about it. Those clans ran rampant here until 2020 . year. Montenegro cannot get rid of everything immediately. When the arrests of members of the Kavac clan took place, those people were immediately released, so we had to arrest them again. In two years, we have not come a long way. Face people who are not they couldn't be like that if they didn't have political protection. I would never politically protect someone who breaks the law," said Abazović.
Kentera: Let's solve the Spičanović issue once and for all
Kentera said that when it comes to the issue of permission to access secret data to Kurti, Abazović was informed during his visit to ANB that it was negative.
"The man from ANB told you that the check was completed, and it was sent while I was still the acting director. As for the deletion of criminal offenses from Kurti's criminal record - that doesn't matter. When these checks are done, he doesn't look whether someone has been deleted from the records, but the complete personality is being looked at. We have a person who continuously causes problems. That person cannot be part of the Agency... Let's once and for all resolve the issue of Drago Spičanović (until recently the head of the Counterintelligence Service at the ANB) Everything anyone has about Spičanović - I call on the SDT to investigate Spičanović and all the people from my management, who are ready to take a polygraph and say all the things. Those people were not working for you (Abazović), but were working in the interest of the state. Everyone is ready to be questioned," Kentera said.
Adžić to Konjević: You were not allowed to lay a finger on smugglers while you were the head of the MUP
The Minister of Internal Affairs, Filip Adžić, said that at the last session of the Committee, DPS MP Predrag Bošković accused the Prime Minister of being connected to the Skaljar clan, and that Konjević today accused him of connections to the Kavak clan.
"It will turn out that for 30 years Abazović was the sponsor of murders, smuggling, all illegal activities and everything that happened in Montenegro... Mr. Konjević, you should not have laid a finger on the criminal smugglers while you were the head of the MUP. Only 1.637 packages a cigarette was confiscated in Montenegro during your term as the head of the MUP. You can give political speeches, the results are not behind you. Why are people extremely close to you protecting Ljub Milović? You, Mr. Kenter, know that your associates met in "Urban pub" with high-ranking criminals in Montenegro. Do you have those official notes? I would like the restrictions to be lifted and you to tell how they got access to classified information. Let's see how Mr. Konjević's friend and associate of Mr. Kentera made it impossible to get out Let's remove from the MUP a man who everyone knows is a high-ranking member of the OKG. Let's see how the Special Police Department (SPC) was prevented from functioning. Were we stopping the smuggling of cigars or did someone try to obstruct the fight against smuggling?" he asked. is Adzic.
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He added that he is sorry that he cannot talk about everything, because the law obliges him.
"I would like us to talk about names in an open session. The Prime Minister did not say that any of the people here, Mr. Krivokapić and Mr. Konjević, directly participated in criminal activities. Did he politically represent the same side - absolutely yes... The goal is to collapse institutions and to avoid individuals from being caught by the hand of justice," said Adžić.
According to him, today it is clear who disclosed the secret information to the media.
"I can freely and openly doubt that the information from SOCTA was presented by the one who talked about it today (Konjević)... The man who ran the portal 'Udar' was returned to ANB. A close associate of Milo Đukanović and Milan Roćen was returned to the Agency. He was brought back to lead a special media war against people who want to deal with organized crime and corruption. She had no formal role in breaking up smuggling. Their only role was to discredit the people from GP URA. I can't wait to see carry out an investigation within the Agency. That's why Kurta bothers them, because he exposed their activities without access to secret data. They know that a part of them will end up the way the former head of the Agency Dejan Peruničić ended up... I didn't say that Mr. Kentera was directly involved in that, but the people he chose - certainly. After Mr. Kenter was dismissed, a group of his associates stayed at the Agency and probably removed a certain number of clues and data," Adžić said.
Konjević: Adžić was in a position to light cigars with Abazović and Milošević, and allegedly did not know that Milošević was smuggling them
Konjević said that Adžić was in a position "to light cigarettes with Abazović and Milošević", and that he allegedly did not know that Milošević was smuggling them.
"He was not once, but three times. Only the cigars sold by Rade Milosevic were confiscated. The three times you attended the lighting of cigarettes, 90 percent of that contingent was smuggled, and 10 percent was burned. Milosevic would not have resigned if the prime minister he didn't seriously talk to him and try to repair the damage," Konjević said.
He said that he did not say anywhere about Abazović that he was a part of the Kavac criminal clan.
"I said that with someone who was designated as the head of the clan, his closest associate had contact that was registered by ANB. These are political formulations... I tried once to the Government to suggest that there are some indications regarding Mr. Kurti. You ( Abazović) you ignored it," Konjević said.
Kentera: Everything is clean
Kentera said that Adžić is using the session to promote political messages, not to deal with his work.
"You told a series of untruths. Let's not ignore what is the key to everything - the operations led by the Agency. If anything was happening - you have the prosecution, contact them, tell them everything you know, and let them start the proceedings. Don't talk about hearsay. Kurti he didn't expose anything because he has nothing to expose. Everything is clean. Kurti doesn't need to deal with those things. The man who led 'Udar' is back - don't talk about what you don't know. If we were meeting at the weekend to remove something - nothing to be removed. You say that Petar Lazović got a weapon four days before his arrest - it is not true. He has had a permit to carry a weapon for 15 years. Four days before, he only replaced his service pistol. No one gave him a permit four days before...", Kentera said.
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