The military census commission found a series of irregularities and possible abuses in bookkeeping and procurement of food for the needs of the Army of Montenegro (VCG) in the warehouse in Zeta, and the Minister of Defense Dragan Krapović accuses the Chief of the General Staff, Brigadier General Zoran Lazarevic, that he did not react on that occasion for months even though he asked him to do so, "Vijesti" learns.
A source close to the Ministry of Defense told "Vijesti" that at the beginning of February, due to the dubious material and accounting condition of food items for the needs of the Army of Montenegro, "an inventory of funds in the VCG Support Battalion was carried out on this bookkeeping label", which was carried out by members of that unit. but only after postponing the originally scheduled appointment for ten days.
The Central Census Commission determined a number of irregularities and possible abuses regarding the disposal of these funds and submitted a report on this to the head of the General Directorate in April, and proposed to start a procedure to determine responsibility for such a situation, the interlocutor states. Allegedly, among those irregularities are the fact that goods were not received and issued on a commission basis, but were done by one and the same person.
Lazarević, as the source further states, did not inform Krapović about this, but this topic was opened only four months after the report of the census commission, as a result of subsequent findings that the minister obtained.
Thus, at the end of July, the minister, by written order, demanded answers and clarifications from the Chief of the General Staff regarding the issue of the census in this Army unit.
Lazarević allegedly informed Krapović that he had concluded that there was no intentional shortage of food, that the employees had acted conscientiously, and that because of this "he will not implement measures of disciplinary, material, or criminal responsibility", according to the interlocutor, claiming that the report was prepared by the officer of that battalion in which he allegedly justified irregularities "unfoundedly".
The source "Vijesti" from the Ministry of Defense states that after the Minister's interest in this issue, rumors began to circulate among the members of the Army about serious abuses and the existence of criminal liability of some of the employees in this unit.
The interlocutor from the Ministry of Defense states that at the end of August, the Chief of the General Staff, without notifying the minister, formed a new commission that should determine the veracity of the minister's suspicions, and that this commission has so far confirmed the findings of the census commission and from hearing the employees of that unit came to the suspicion that there were attempts at bribery to cover up irregularities, falsification of documents and fictitious entry of trucks with goods into the warehouse, that is, it is possible that this is organized crime.
Allegedly, the operation of the warehouse has been checked since at least 2021, and it is suspected that there is a shortfall of 30.000 euros in one quarter. The interlocutor claims that the damage "for a longer period" is assumed to be in the amount of several hundred thousand euros.
When he found out that there was a new commission, Krapović sent an order to Lazarevic in October demanding that he be provided with additional clarifications regarding the contradictions that exist between the report of the census commission and the position taken by the Chief of the General Staff, according to the interlocutor.
According to the knowledge of "Vijesti", the Minister instructed the Chief of the General Staff with this order to engage the military police, as well as to consult with the prosecutor's office, in order to resolve this issue.
The interlocutor from VCG states that the existence of disagreements in the procurement process was noticed by the head of the GŠ, "who, in accordance with his responsibilities, took measures to process them, first of all, to reveal the validity of those doubts", and that a commission was formed "which is dedicatedly working to establish because of which there were those disagreements".
The newspaper's source from the Army of Montenegro said that it was explained that when the commission finishes its work, "it will proceed further with the Ministry of Defense in order to settle accounts with suppliers/firms, because without that it is not possible to establish the real situation".
"Only after that is it possible to establish whether there is a problem or not, and if there is, how is it possible that the Minister of Defense did not find out about it from so many of his authorities who have been controlling the business in various ways for years, but found it out from the Chief of the General Staff, trying now to turn the situation around and present the only person who noticed the possibility of irregularities as the only person responsible", says a source from the Army.
Disagreements between the Minister of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff date back a long time.
On August 28, Krapović submitted a proposal to the Council for Security and Defense on the dismissal of Lazarevic - due to "the assessment that a change of generations and rejuvenation of the officer cadre in the VCG is needed" - but the supreme command rejected it because there was no consensus among its members on this.
The three-member Council, which consists of the heads of state, the Assembly and the Government, decides unanimously, and Krapović's proposal was opposed by the president Jakov Milatović, saying that he will support the dismissal of Lazarevic when he is told what the general did not do properly or what he did badly.
The remaining two members, the Speaker of the Parliament Andrija Mandic and the Prime Minister Milojko Spajic they supported Krapović's proposal.
After that, on September 3, Krapović annulled the decision by which Lazarević's term of service was extended last year until the following June, stating that he meets the conditions for termination of service. That decision was revoked by the Government Appeals Commission.
In mid-September, Lazarević sent Milatović a request to "accept and sign" the decision on his dismissal from the head of the VCG, which was proposed by Krapović.
It was later found out that in March he organized the return of a "Yamaha" motorcycle with an official military vehicle, which had previously transported eight Montenegrin soldiers to Slovenia, about which Krapović then informed the Council. The head of the GŠ said that he did not do anything illegal and that Krapović was informed about the transport of the motorcycle, as well as that he also inquired about buying a motorcycle in Slovenia due to the difference in price.
On October 10, at a press conference, Krapović announced that he had informed the Supreme State Prosecutor Milorad Marković that the first man of the Army violated the order when he sent a letter to the members of the Council for Security and Defense individually, that the letter was not classified and that it contained parts that should not be made public.
In a previous letter to the members of the Council, Lazarevic accused Krapović of collapsing the combat readiness of the Army of Montenegro.
Milatović accused Krapović of stepping out of his jurisdiction and assuming the role of the Council, and preventing the head of the GŠ from performing his function, his advisor Dejan Vukšić of violating the Council's rules of procedure because he discloses information from the meetings of the supreme command without permission, and Lazarević also filed a lawsuit for discrimination.
In October, Krapović also submitted additional information to the VDT regarding the non-execution of the order on the delivery of documentation in connection with the transport of a private motorcycle "yamaha" by a vehicle of the Army of Montenegro from Slovenia.
Source from VCG: Minister responsible for contracts, payments, inspection, audit...
The source "Vijesti" from the Army of Montenegro explains that food in the Army is regulated by signing one-year contracts with companies from the territory of Montenegro on the procurement of goods/products, which are consumed through the preparation of food in the barracks or for the needs of the Ministry of Defense, claiming that the minister has powers and responsibilities in that process.
"It is an ongoing process. All these contracts are initiated and concluded with companies by the Minister of Defense, who is also responsible for the payment of invoices for delivered goods, for payment control, for the inspection of business regularity and the audit also carried out by the Ministry of Defense, as well as the existence of possible illegal actions on a daily basis through engagement employees of the Directorate for Intelligence and Security Affairs, who are under the direct control of the Minister of Defense", explained the interlocutor from the VCG.
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