Until recently, Janović also had a Croatian passport - the new head of ANB had two citizenships until a month and a half ago

Newly appointed head of the National Security Agency (ANB) Ivica Janović until a month and a half ago, he had, in addition to Montenegrin, Croatian citizenship, from which he was removed at his own request.

This is written in the decision of the Croatian Ministry of the Interior (MUP), adopted on October 30, which "Vijesti" had access to.

The document states that Janović was born in 1977 in Kotor and that his residence is in Budva, but not since he had Croatian citizenship, when he requested to be released from it, and why he did so.

In the explanation of the decision, it is only stated that in the conducted procedure it was determined that "the prerequisites" from Article 18 of the Law on Croatian Citizenship were met.

In that article, the conditions under which a release from the citizenship of that country is obtained are clarified. A person can obtain this right if they have reached the age of 18, if there are no obstacles regarding military duty, if they have paid taxes, fees and other public duties, as well as obligations towards legal and natural persons in Croatia, if they have legally arranged property obligations from a marital relationship and the relationship of parents and children towards Croatian citizens and those who remain to live in that country, and if she has foreign citizenship or has proven that she will be admitted to it.

The Croatian law (Article 21) also states that their adult citizen, who resides abroad and has foreign citizenship, can renounce Croatian, and that the person who has done so cannot re-acquire the citizenship of that country.

The Croatian MUP has not responded to "Vijesta" since Janović had their citizenship, when he asked for a printout and why. Janović also did not respond to inquiries about this, sent to the private number and email address of the director of the ANB, as well as to the questions - whether the request for dismissal had anything to do with the fact that he knew he was a candidate for the head of the secret service, and whether he considered that his professional impartiality in office is questionable due to the fact that until recently he had the citizenship of another country.

The last question was not answered by the Government, which five days ago appointed him as acting (acting) director of ANB.

An employment relationship in that institution can be established by a person who, in addition to the general conditions for employment in a state body, does not have the citizenship of another country. Although the director of ANB does not establish an employment relationship in the classical sense, because he is a public official, and although the aforementioned provision of the Law on ANB (Article 27a) refers to the Agency's employees, it is understood that neither is its first man, due to the sensitivity of the position he covers , should not have another nationality.

This could be the reason why Janović renounced his Croatian passport.

According to the Law on Montenegrin Citizenship, a person may, in addition, have the citizenship of another country if he acquired it before the declaration of independence of Montenegro on June 3, 2006, or if there is a bilateral agreement with another country.

Although since October 30, Janović has had no objection to holding a position in ANB, in terms of citizenship, due to his recent Croatian passport, even though it was obtained legally, the question arises - whether a man who until a month and a half ago had and "papers" of another country can be objectively and professionally managed by ANB.

On the other hand, a "Vijesti" source familiar with the process of selecting Janović for the current position said that the Croatian authorities also significantly accelerated the process of dismissing him from Croatian citizenship, which he initiated after meeting with the prime minister Milojko Spajić, supposedly in October, agreed to be the acting director of the Montenegrin secret service.

The Montenegrin MUP told "Vijesti" on Friday that Janović has been a Montenegrin citizen since 1995, but that they have no information whether he has or had Croatian citizenship.

On December 12, Janović was appointed acting director of the ANB, after previously being the head of the secret police Boris Bato Milić resigned after talking with Spajić.

"Vijesti" announced on Saturday that Janović is a co-owner of the company "Gvardia", which he founded with a security-interesting face Mata Bošković, whose property was raided seven years ago in an action directed against the Skaljar and Kavak criminal clans. That company was founded in 2006.

Janović graduated from the Higher Maritime School in Kotor, is a former seaman, sailed on the ships of the "MSC" company and is a private entrepreneur with no experience in the security sector. He is the paternal brother of the MP of the Movement Europe Now (PES) Tonći Janović, husband of the president of the Management Board of Morski Dobr Zvezdane Barac Janović. Tonći Janović is the godfather of the head of Spajić's cabinet Branka Krvavac.

Vlade did not answer the questions of "Vijesti" last week about whether Janović passed the security checks and whether any disturbances were registered, considering that he has business contacts, i.e. that he is a co-owner of a company with a person of security interest, who is listed in the police records as a member of the Skaljar clan.

Even Janović did not answer the newspaper's questions at the time, including the question - how will his business be affected by the fact that he is in a business relationship with a person who is listed in the police records as a member of a criminal clan, and what, according to the unofficial information of "Vijesti ", represented an obstacle during the preparation of the security assessment.

Prime Minister Spajić announced on Saturday that Janović was legally appointed, and that people from the security sector and international partners of Montenegro "reacted positively" to that appointment.

"The most important thing is for a man to produce results, and we will see if he will do that in the future," said Spajić in a guest appearance on "Adria" TV.

He stated that Janović's recommendation for the position was that he worked as a seaman in a shipping company whose employees smuggled drugs.

"Our sea border was the source of all evil in Montenegro. You know that most drugs come mainly by ships. Clans used the ports of Bar and Kotor to import cocaine, our people on ships were couriers and organizers, we also had cigarettes through the Port of Bar, human trafficking and many other unfortunate stories. So, someone who has a background in that sphere will surely contribute a lot to the understanding of risks from that sphere of national security," Spajić said.

The appointment of Janović was criticized by the head of state Jakov Milatovic, whose cabinet announced that the government is "re-introducing the national security system into a state of emergency".

They concluded that the appointment of "a person without any experience in the security sector", who is recommended by "only a relative-godfather relationship" with high-ranking PES officials, can be "characterized not only as a continuation of bad practice, "but also as an attack on our national security in moments of great international challenges".

"Vijesti" announced yesterday that Milatović will ask NATO to control how Janović obtained permission to access secret data.

Pejović and Adžić are requesting a control hearing

Members of the Parliamentary Committee for Security and Defense, Jevrosima Pejović and Filip Adžić, submitted a request for a control hearing of Spajić and Janović yesterday.

The independent member of parliament and the vice-president of the Civic Movement URA stated in the request that it is important to examine whether the appointment of Janović is based on professional qualifications and experience or political interests.

"The election of the acting director has a key role in preserving national security, protecting the interests of our country and the stability of all segments of social life. Through this process, it is important to ensure that the Agency will be able to respond to contemporary challenges and provide the citizens of Montenegro with security at the highest possible level." , it says, among other things, in their request.

Social Democrat MP Nikola Zirojević announced last night on the X network that at the prime minister's hour scheduled for Friday, he will ask Spajić - on the basis of which expert references he proposed Janović and whether he thinks such a proposal is adequate, "taking into account the extremely confusing security situation".