The Ministry of Justice intends to propose three models for confiscating assets acquired through criminal activity, given that, as they believe, the current legislative solution has proven inadequate.
From the minister's department Bojan Božović, unofficially told "Vijesti" that one model represents the improvement of the Law on Confiscation of Property through earlier initiation of proceedings, the second - the introduction of a special "anti-mafia" law, and the third - the strengthening of the tax system and property control.
"The goal is to establish an efficient, legally sustainable and European-harmonized system, which enables the permanent confiscation of illegally acquired assets with full respect for human rights and procedural guarantees," they said.
They announced that during November, these models will be the topic of discussion in a working group, and will then be sent to the European Union for its opinion.
As they explained, of the three models they will propose, two are main and one is supplementary - and together they will form the basis of a new policy in this area.
The first model, which refers to improving the existing legal solution, envisages, as they say, amendments to the existing law that would allow the state prosecutor to file a request for permanent seizure of property after issuing an order to conduct an investigation, or confirming an indictment, if the results of the financial investigation indicate that such a request is well-founded.
"This would enable earlier initiation of proceedings, regardless of the outcome of the criminal trial. Even in the event of an acquittal, property for which the legal origin cannot be proven could be permanently confiscated. This model represents a rapid and realistically achievable reform, which would significantly improve the efficiency of the system with minimal changes to the structure of the judiciary," the Ministry said.
They said that the second model (a special anti-mafia law) is more complex, but systemically deeper and is based on the Italian "anti-mafia" concept, adapted to the Montenegrin legal framework.
Its implementation would require, as they specified, the enactment of a special law that would define persons considered "particularly dangerous to society", determine behaviors that "endanger social stability", and establish that the procedure can be conducted independently of a criminal verdict, focusing exclusively on property.
They state that this law would apply to entities identified as particularly dangerous by SOCTA (Serious and Organized Crime Threat Assessment in Montenegro), and high-ranking public officials covered by the Law on the Special State Prosecutor's Office, with the possibility of expanding or correcting the list.
The Ministry says that a request to conduct a financial investigation would be submitted to the Supreme Court (president or council), with strictly defined rules - limited duration of the investigation, mandatory observance of the principles of adversarial and two-instance proceedings in any permanent confiscation proceedings.
"This model would not require criminal proceedings against individuals, but would focus solely on determining the origin of assets. Further strengthening of the system is possible through the introduction of a new criminal offense that would encompass unexplained enrichment," they explained.
They add that implementing this model would also require institutional strengthening - the formation of a permanent financial investigation team, an increase in the number of specialized prosecutors and judges, and strengthening of technical capacities. For the sake of international cooperation and data exchange, the system would remain within the criminal justice system, the Ministry said.
The third track (model) refers to the activities of tax authorities and tax procedures.
"Although it is often in the background in public debates, its importance is no less. Tax audits, asset file analyses and procedures for determining the difference between declared income and actual assets represent a key tool in detecting and sanctioning unexplained enrichment," the Ministry stated.
This model, they add, is seen as a complementary, but inseparable part of a comprehensive strategy, which would enable parallel action by financial and judicial institutions.
"It may remain a dead letter on paper"
The Ministry announced that it plans, through amendments to the Criminal Code, to specify the criminal offense of illegal acquisition of wealth, thus opening up space for conducting financial investigations and expanded confiscation of property.
This was welcomed by the Network for the Affirmation of the Non-Governmental Sector (MANS), because, as they say, it is a legal solution that the NGO has been seeking and proposing for years, aware that without such a mechanism there is no real fight against high-level corruption.
Deputy Executive Director of MANS Dejan Milovac He said that this legal solution is necessary, but that it comes with a serious delay, despite almost daily examples of public officials whose assets do not match their declared income in many ways.
"Instead of gradually building a system over the years that would allow for the sanctioning of such phenomena, each government has persistently chosen to turn a blind eye and protect its own personnel, while the institutions that should implement anti-corruption policies have been systematically weakened and politicized," Milovac told "Vijesti".
He adds that since the change of government in 2020, almost nothing has been done to build institutions capable of implementing such a law in practice.
He says that anti-corruption agencies, the prosecution service, and the judiciary continue to function under strong political influence, and appointments and personnel decisions are made based on party affiliation, rather than professional criteria.
"Therefore, there is a justified suspicion that the announced criminalization of illicit enrichment will remain just a dead letter - another in a series of political attempts to create the illusion of fighting corruption, without the real intention of applying this law to the most protected individuals in the country," he said.
“Corruption is considered deeply normalized”
Dejan Milovac reminds that Montenegro ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption in 2006, by which it committed to introducing this criminal offense, and almost 20 years later, that obligation has not yet been translated into a concrete law, which best demonstrates the lack of political will of every previous government to open up space for the accountability of its officials.
"During the same period, very few laws were passed that substantially increased the scope for control of public officials and the government as a whole - while those that enabled the concealment of assets, abuse of position, and avoidance of responsibility persisted," he said.
He recalls that MANS has been systematically investigating the assets of public officials for more than a decade and warns that illicit enrichment is the first alarm for corrupt behavior, which very often precedes serious abuse of position and criminal activities.
"Unfortunately, despite numerous evidence and publicly published analyses, institutions have almost always refused to react, which has led to a situation where corruption in Montenegro is today considered not only widespread, but also deeply normalized," said Milovac.
According to him, MANS therefore believes that the initiative to criminalize illicit enrichment can only make sense if it is accompanied by decisive institutional changes - primarily through strengthening the independence of the prosecution, the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption and the courts, as well as through the introduction of a comprehensive check on the assets and integrity of all public officials.
"Anything else would be just another political maneuver trying to cover up the complete lack of results in the fight against corruption and organized crime," he concluded.
"Instead of gradually building a system over the years that would allow for sanctioning such phenomena, each government has consistently chosen to turn a blind eye and protect its own personnel, while the institutions that should implement anti-corruption policies have been systematically weakened and politicized," Milovac said, responding to questions about the government's intentions to seize illegally acquired property.
It is clear that everyone is interested in confiscating property.
The Ministry reminds that the confiscation of property acquired through criminal activity is one of the rare topics that attracts equal attention from both politicians and the wider public - "with good reason."
"The existing legislative solution has proven inadequate, resulting in modest outcomes when it comes to the permanent confiscation of property without legal origin," the department said.
They state that, under the current framework, proceedings for the permanent confiscation of property can only be initiated after a final conviction and, although the law recognizes certain exceptions, they do not change the basic rule.
"Such a conservative approach has its legal arguments - respecting the presumption of innocence, the right to peaceful enjoyment of property, and avoiding retroactivity - but there is an increasingly expressed view that such a system is ineffective in the fight against organized crime and corruption," they said.
The Ministry states that the European Court of Human Rights, in its practice, accepts the possibility of a broader approach to confiscation of property, if appropriate guarantees and limitations are respected.
"This leads to a clear conclusion that permanent confiscation of property acquired through criminal activity should be possible even before a final verdict, as a minimum of reform," claim Bojan Božović's department.
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