Radulović filed criminal charges against Krapović, Democrats and several unknown persons

Lawyer Veselin Radulović filed a criminal complaint with the Special State Prosecutor's Office against Defense Minister Dragan Krapović, Democratic Montenegro, and several currently unknown responsible persons from the Ministry of Defense, due to, as he stated, the existence of grounds for suspicion that they committed the criminal offense of creating a criminal organization and, within it, several criminal offenses of abuse of official position.

"The criminal complaint is based on documentation, laws and publicly available data that justify the conduct of the investigation by the Special State Prosecutor's Office. In particular, it points to the reasonable suspicion that the contract for the procurement of two patrol boats from November 2024, worth approximately 120 million euros, was concluded without conducting a public procurement procedure, although at the time of its conclusion, the international agreement between Montenegro and the Republic of France, to which the Ministry of Defense and the reported Krapović referred, had not yet entered into force. The notification of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs published in the Official Gazette last month unequivocally confirms that this Agreement entered into force only on April 23, 2026. Therefore, the reported Krapović concluded a contract worth 120 million euros with a company from France, referring to the agreement between Montenegro and the Republic of France, which entered into force a year and a half after the conclusion of the contract," Radulović announced.

He adds that the application also points to the content of the Technical Arrangement, from which it follows that it regulates technical support for the implementation of an already concluded commercial contract, and does not represent a legal basis for its conclusion.

"The criminal complaint also indicates a reasonable suspicion that the defendants were trying to conceal possible illegalities by presenting to the public that by contesting the procurement, the Republic of France was allegedly accused of corruption. However, the subject of the complaint is not the actions of France, but the legality of the work of the state authorities of Montenegro. The contract for the procurement of patrol boats was concluded with a French company, not with the Republic of France, while the intergovernmental agreement between Montenegro and France only entered into force a year and a half later. I believe that the defendants in this way tried to politically hide behind a member state of the European Union in order to avoid answering key questions about the legality of the procurement procedure."

Radulović announced that, in addition, the SDT was asked to examine the legality of hiring several retired military personnel under service contracts to supervise shipbuilding in France, including payments of compensation, official travel expenses and other benefits from the budget of the Ministry of Defense.

"The report indicates that these circumstances require special verification, especially considering the recent first-instance verdict in the case against the former director of ASK, which related to the financing of official trips of a person engaged under a contract for services. The criminal report also contains allegations of other actions for which institutional verification is requested, including the actions of the Ministry of Defense in relation to a member of the Army of Montenegro, for whom the Ministry of Defense publicly announced that he had been absent from duty for a long time without properly justifying his sick leave, as well as the need to verify publicly published information relating to possible contacts of certain security sector officials with members of organized crime groups."

It is added that the Special State Prosecutor's Office has been requested to urgently launch an investigation, obtain complete documentation on the procurement of patrol boats, the engagement of retired military personnel and other necessary documentation, to conduct a financial investigation, question the reported and other responsible persons, as well as all persons who have knowledge of the events from the criminal report, and to determine whether there are elements of criminal liability for the reported or other criminal offenses for which prosecution is being undertaken ex officio.

"The aim of filing a report is not to prejudge anyone's guilt, but rather for the competent authority, based on the law and evidence, to examine all circumstances that raise serious doubts about the legality of the actions taken when disposing of significant budgetary funds and the functioning of the defense system. I particularly pointed out the need for urgent action by the Special State Prosecutor's Office, bearing in mind the publicly presented accusations and information indicating possible connections of certain reported persons with organized criminal groups, as well as the fact that I, as the submitter of this and previous reports, as well as other persons indicating possible illegalities, have been publicly exposed to unfounded and untrue accusations that I am acting on the orders of or in the interests of criminal clans. Such claims are not and cannot be substantiated by evidence and therefore represent a serious attempt to discredit me, and may have a frightening and deterrent effect on all other persons who wish to report corruption and other forms of crime. At the same time, if there are grounds for suspicion about possible connections of any state official with organized criminal groups, it is the Special State Prosecutor's Office that is obliged to urgently and impartially verify them, because any delay additionally threatens citizens' trust in institutions and the rule of law."

Radulović recalls that these are the 13th criminal charges he has filed since August last year against Democratic Party officials and other responsible persons on suspicion of committing organized crime and corruption.

"I will not respond to their attempts at intimidation, personal disqualification, insults and slander in the same way, nor will I participate in political showdowns. I believe that a responsible and professional attitude towards the public interest implies that every well-founded suspicion of corruption, organized crime or other criminal offense is reported to the competent state authorities, with the submission of evidence and proposals for the implementation of evidentiary actions. Whether these suspicions are well-founded should be decided exclusively by the competent institutions, not by political forums or media polemics. Therefore, I will leave the politicians to their mutual discussions, including insults, labels and slander that, instead of answering questions of public interest, attempt to divert attention from the essence of the problem, and in the future I will continue to use exclusively the legally prescribed mechanisms for the protection of the public interest and the fight against corruption. I have informed the EU Delegation and the UN Office in Podgorica about this criminal report and the continued attempts at discrediting and intimidation," said Radulović.