The State Prosecutor's Office is examining whether there is a basis for initiating criminal proceedings based on three negative reports of the State Audit Institution (DRI) after the audit of the Institute for Textbooks, the Democratic Party of Ulcinj and state guarantees issued by the Government in 2010 and 2011 for other people's loans at the expense of citizens.
At the request of five NGOs, the former special prosecutor of Đurđin, Nina Ivanović, replied that for seven months the court expert's report has been awaited in connection with the audit of the state guarantees given by the Government to KAP, Željezara and Pobjeda.
The Prosecutor's Office estimated that there were no grounds for initiating criminal proceedings, despite the negative reports of the SAI for the University of Montenegro, Radio and Television of Montenegro, the Montenegrin National Theatre, the Center for Vocational Education and the Center for Contemporary Art.
The NGO Alternative Institute, Action for Human Rights, the Center for Civic Education, the Center for NGO Development and the Monitoring Center asked VDT to answer questions about the actions taken in connection with the negative reports of the SAI, the submission of which "speaks of the awareness that the observed situation in certain bodies in the area of criminal responsibility".
NGOs demanded that the VDT inform the police of how many binding orders the prosecution submitted to the police, how many persons were interrogated, how many orders were passed to open investigations and indictments were raised, and how many of the eight reports were rejected.
"We also invite you to determine the possible responsibility of the competent prosecutors who ignored the SAI reports," the five NGOs wrote in the letter.
In the report from 2013, the SAI determined that the guarantees for three companies, which the Government issued in 2010 and 2011, were given without detailed analysis of the financial position of those companies and the economic viability of the restructuring program, as well as without an appropriate assessment of the possible consequences that would the activation of guarantees had per state budget.
Total guarantees of around 132 million were approved for KAP, without interest, 6,4 million for Pobjeda, 17 million for Railway Transport, and 12 million for Railway Infrastructure.
When it comes to RTCG, in the report on the audit of that company for 2010, the SAI noted "avoidance of posting credit debt in the amount of EUR 858.256", and that four managers received a total of EUR 138.000 in net earnings.
It was established that more than 1,1 million euros were paid through the treasury, and that RTCG rented out 27 apartments at 36 euros per month, but also that a loan of almost 900.000 euros was taken without specifying the purpose, which was eventually taken over by the Government.
Ivanović also announced that there are no grounds for initiating criminal proceedings even in connection with the audit of CNP's operations in 2009, when the SAI determined that the management "spent the money they received from the Ministry of Sports, Media and Culture for an inappropriate purpose."
It was also established that the CNP management leased to the owner of the restaurant "Talija" for 10 years about 80 square meters on the ground floor, 160 square meters with all inventory and equipment on the theater floor, as well as a terrace of 320 square meters, which was not owned by the theater.
The SAI also found irregularities in the functioning of the ticket sales service in the CNP and the main ledger for cash and virtual payments.
Of particular concern are state guarantees
Marko Sošić, a public policy researcher at the Alternative Institute, believes that the case of the audit of state guarantees "in which the SAI showed the actions of state bodies and individuals that threatened the public interest and led to damage to the state budget" is "particularly worrying".
"Despite the huge amount, public interest and devastating findings of the SAI, more than two years after the publication of the report, the prosecution has not yet progressed in the investigation and the uncertain assessment of the 'very busy' court expert is still awaited. Also, although the DRI report includes the guarantees issued for Zeljezara, Pobjeda, Railway Infrastructure and Railway Transport, the prosecution focuses only on KAP from the very beginning.
Sošić assessed that the answer confirms the suspicions of the civil sector that the work of the prosecution, in terms of examining responsibility for inappropriate and illegal management of public funds, is slow and ineffective.
"The prosecution wastes time in the investigation by demanding additional documentation not from the audit subjects themselves, but from SAI".
Goran Đurović: Everything is possible in Montenegro, except justice
RTCG Council member Goran Đurović assessed that everything is possible in Montenegro except justice:
"The prosecutor's office and the courts contribute equally to that. The State Prosecutor did not take statements from the then members of the RTCG Council, requested additional explanations and information from the SAI, which gave a negative opinion on the work of the Public Service. This indicates a lack of seriousness and an unprofessional attitude in assessing the situation in the RTCG on the part of the prosecution itself".
Đurović said that the finding of the Labor Inspectorate, which pointed to the necessity of legally awarding salary compensation to employees, was not important to the prosecution:
"And during that period, around 800,000 euros were illegally paid out".
He pointed out that it took three years for the state prosecutor's office to establish the absence of elements of a criminal offense in the operations of RTCG during the period when Branko Vojičić was the general director:
"He was given a reward for illegal and bad business and disobeying the decisions of the RTCG Council. And this case is one of those that can vividly explain the situation in our prosecutor's office, but also in the courts, which is catastrophic. In these circumstances, neither elections nor re-elections within the prosecution organization will help to solve the problem".
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