The special military commission found numerous irregularities in the procurement of food for the Army of Montenegro (VCG) in the warehouse in Zeta, and the Minister of Defense Dragan Krapović he asked the Chief of the General Staff Zoran Lazarevic to check the operations of the Support Battalion in the last 10 years and for the procurement of construction materials, fuel, spare parts for cars and hygiene products, "Vijesti" learns.
Yesterday, the military police submitted to the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica the findings of the Commission with the illegalities established so far, the Ministry of Defense told the newspaper.
The commission found irregularities for eleven randomly selected months in the procurement of food during a three-year period, and Krapović ordered that by March 1, the entire operation of the battalion in the last 10 years be checked, and requested that financial experts and the prosecutor's office be involved, that the military police cooperate with to civil and other state authorities, in order to establish who is responsible for the past and possibly newly established irregularities and punish the guilty, said an interlocutor of "Vijesti" close to the Ministry of Defense.
"The commission did not find anything positive in the report," said the source, adding that the disputed procurements are worth several hundred thousand euros.
Among the irregularities are those with accounts in business with three Montenegrin trading companies, conclusion of procurement contracts without a tender, forgery of signatures on delivery notes, fictitious receipt of goods.
A source close to the Ministry of Defense previously told "Vijesti" that at the beginning of February, due to the questionable material and accounting condition of food items for the needs of the Army, an inventory was made in the Battalion for the support of the Croatian Armed Forces, but only after the originally scheduled appointment was postponed for ten days. Defense Minister Dragan Krapović accused the Chief of General Staff, Brigadier General Zoran Lazarevic, of not reacting to possible abuses in bookkeeping and food procurement for months, even though he had asked him to do so.
A source from VCG then replied that the minister learned about everything from Lazarevic, "now trying to turn the situation around and present the only person who noticed the possibility of irregularities as the only person responsible".
That interlocutor claimed that the minister also has competences and responsibilities in that process.
"All these contracts are initiated and concluded with companies by the Minister of Defense, as he is also responsible for payment of invoices for delivered goods, for control of payments, for inspection of business regularity and audit", said the interlocutor from VCG at the time, adding that illegal actions should have been determined by the employees of the Directorate for Intelligence and Security Affairs, which are under the direct control of the Minister of Defense.
Allegedly, the commission found, among other things, that the contract for the delivery of dry daily meals with one company was concluded in March 2022 on the basis of a negotiation procedure without a tender, and that the contract was implemented by the Directorate for Logistics of the Ministry of Defense. According to that contract, the chosen company was supposed to deliver 7.000 dry daily meals for a donation worth 62.650 euros including VAT and 9.500 for the Army worth 87.132 euros.
In addition to the differences in price when compared to the current annual contract 2021/22, the commission also determined that the original version of the record of the implementation of the contract was not scanned, as well as that six delivery notes from the supplier were missing, according to which 9.500 dry daily meals for the Army were to be delivered , said a "Vijesti" source familiar with the commission's findings.
Allegedly, the vehicles of the selected supplier were not recorded as having entered the "Knjaz Danilo" military airport during 2022, and the responsible officer told the Commission in a later conversation that he did not receive 9.500 meals and that his signature on the delivery notes was forged, as well as that the invoices for he did not sign the disputed installments.
The commission also established that the signatures on most of the material lists did not match the signature of the competent officer and that the competent ensign controlled the material lists for food consumption based on the calculations he made himself and put facsimiles of signatures, i.e. signed documents with another signature, which he has no right to do .
As the "Vijesti" source said earlier, Lazarevic did not immediately inform Krapović about these irregularities, but this topic was opened four months after the report of the census commission, as a result of the minister's subsequent findings.
Thus, at the end of July, the minister, by written order, demanded answers and clarifications from the Chief of the General Staff about the list in this Army unit.
Lazarević allegedly informed Krapović that he concluded that there was no intentionally created shortage of food, that the employees acted conscientiously, and that because of this "he will not implement measures of disciplinary, material or criminal responsibility".
On August 28, Krapović submitted to the Council for Security and Defense a proposal for the dismissal of Lazarevic due to "the assessment that a generational change and rejuvenation of the officer cadre in the Army is needed", but the Supreme Command rejected it because there was no consensus among its members on this. After that, Krapović submitted it to the Supreme State Prosecutor Milorad Marković information about, as he stated, the illegal actions of the Chief of the General Staff, among other things, about 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.
NEW ORDER OF THE MINISTER OF DEFENSE
At the end of October, Krapović issued a new order asking Lazarević to explain the reasons for postponing the extraordinary census in the warehouse at the "Knjaz Danilo" military airport and why it took so long from the census to the report of the central census commission.
The minister asked for an order on the preparation of the commission's report, an explanation of the competence of the preparation of regulations, decrees, procedures governing the field of nutrition, as well as data on who and in what way made specifications for food items in the previous period.
He also requested information on when the list was made in the food warehouse for the last ten years, who did it, as well as the submission of the report and the names of the committee members.
Krapović also asked whether Lazarević had taken additional measures to determine the situation after July 30 of this year, since the report on the extraordinary census had been submitted.
The minister pointed out the need to engage the military police in the process of collecting data and evidence, while consulting the competent prosecutor so that he can order further steps. Krapović stated October 31 at nine o'clock as the deadline for submitting the report.
In his reply to the minister dated November 15, Lazarevic states that he forwarded the complete documentation that he obtained and prepared by a commission with the task of studying it within the next seven days and submitting a report with an assessment and a proposal for further processing of the case according to the primary prosecutor.
He states that he ordered the Chief of Staff to look into the possibilities in order to propose adequate personnel changes in the command of the Support Battalion, and he asked for information on how in the last four years the Department for Inspection and Audit of the Ministry of Defense controlled material and financial operations in the Army. and what their observations were.
From the Intelligence and Security Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, Lazarević, as he stated, requested the information they have about "criminal or other illegal activities in the Army" in terms of material and financial operations.
He announced that by November 20 at the latest, he will submit proposals for personnel changes in the command of the Support Battalion when it comes to officers.
MOST QUESTIONS REMAIN UNANSWERED
In a letter to Lazarevic dated November 28, Krapović states that he did not receive answers to most of the questions he asked in previous orders, and he did not receive proposals for personnel changes in the command of the Support Battalion, which Lazarević announced.
With the new order, the Minister of Defense requests an urgent review of the previous assessment and decision of Lazarevic and an analysis of all relevant aspects regarding this problem, by December 10 of this year.
It also demands that Lazarevic urgently, within the same period, submit complete answers to the questions raised, as well as all relevant documents and evidence requested by this and earlier orders, as well as control for the previous ten-year period not only of food items, but also of bookkeeping related to construction means, fuels and lubricants, parts for motor vehicles and means for maintaining personal and collective hygiene until March 1, 2025.
"Immediately ensure that the irregularities established so far and all relevant information that indicate possible violations of the law are notified to the competent state prosecutor's office. Immediately enable, through cooperation with the competent state authorities, the engagement of experts for material and financial operations for the purpose of expert analysis and identification of already established and possibly newly established irregularities," says Krapović's new order.
The Minister also requested that the cooperation of the military and civilian police and cooperation with other state authorities be ensured immediately in order to ensure support in gathering evidence, identifying potential responsible persons and elucidating all the circumstances of the case. It also demands that Lazarevic play a more active role in the coordination of these measures, "which would contribute to strengthening trust in the system and institutions."
Lazarevic dismissed three non-commissioned officers
Lazarevic dismissed the non-commissioned officers who debited, booked and discharged food, and for whom the commission found irregularities.
"The Chief of the General Staff, in accordance with his powers, dismissed three non-commissioned officers whose commission, which he formed, found irregularities in the business regarding the reception, registration and discharge of food items," said the interlocutor of "Vijesti" from VCG.
The battalion commander was not dismissed because the process led by the military police is pending, which should inform the prosecutor's office when it determines whether there are suspicions of committing criminal acts, said the source.
"In addition, he engaged, in accordance with the procedures, the expert bodies of the Military Police to investigate the circumstances and facts related to the business. After gathering the facts, the Military Police will, if there is a basis, contact the competent prosecutor," said the interlocutor.
In the letter/order to Lazarevic, the minister pointed out that problems and abuses are happening in the unit that Lazarevic declared the unit of the year 2022 and rewarded its commander, who is still in the same position.
"This further convinces me that you do not have the capacity to look at and process this in the right way, in accordance with the law and applicable regulations," said Krapović.
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