Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic last week, he submitted a criminal complaint to the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) against several former high-ranking officials, due to the suspicion that by abusing their official position, when granting housing loans, they caused multimillion-dollar damage to the budget of Montenegro.
At yesterday's press conference, Abazović said that they were covered by the criminal complaint Predrag Boskovic, Damir Sehovic, Suzana Pribilović, Dragica Sekulić, Ivan Brajović, Suad Numanović, Sanja Vlahovic, Budimir Apprentice, Drazen Milickovic, Jelena Radonjic, Aleksandar Jovićević i Osman Nurkovic.
Not long after the conference, Bošković reacted, emphasizing that it was "another performance" by Abazović, and that there was no basis for criminal charges. Šehović announced on Twitter that "the random prime minister, the day before the election silence, is scheduling the press, but not about the obvious crime in his own party related to cigarette smuggling, but again about apartments."
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It was also announced at the conference that during the day they will publish data on officials and employees who received loans from the previous government.
A part of the list has been published, which includes, among others, the former Supreme State Prosecutor Ivica Stankovic, former DPS deputy and former ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Edited by Mišo Stanišić, former president of the Commercial Court Blazo Jovanić, former chief of staff of the Prime Minister Dragoljub Bulatović, judges of the Supreme Court Vesna Begović, Dragica Milacic, but also many other officials of the executive power and holders of judicial functions.
Abazović said yesterday that the list contains 500 names, but that not all of them obtained the aid illegally, but that "there were certainly officials who met the criteria for granting aid".
Missing binders, 30-year secrecy marks...
Abazović said that it should be decided to remove the immunity of MPs who are included in the criminal report.
He also said that a large amount of evidence has been submitted to the SDT, and that he expects that someone will be held accountable for abuse of official position.
He emphasized that the data were not published earlier, because people from the previous government sent a request to the State Archives to mark those documents internally for 30 years.
"We made a new decision. Unmarked internally from these documents, because this is no secret. People got money or apartments, many probably in a regular way, but everything should be transparent. We have completed the procedures and now everything will be announced," said Abazović.
According to him, during the transport of materials from the Government to the State Archives, 60 binders disappeared.
"The government Duško Marković 15 days after she lost the elections, she decided to destroy all audio recordings of the Government sessions. The commission destroyed the audio minutes taken on the work of the government sessions from 2010 to 2020, Abazović said.
He reminded that the earlier criminal complaint of the civil sector in 2018 was made by the then special prosecutor Milivoje Katnic refused, because he found that there was no violation. Abazović says that his government has now "submitted quite extensive evidence".
We will see if the new special state prosecutor will evaluate in a different way", added Abazović.
He also announced the filing of criminal charges in connection with the allocation of apartments, but also against people who did not save documentation.
Legal adviser to the prime minister Ivo Šoć he said that it was estimated that during the decision-making on requests for housing loans, from 2016 to 2020, damage of 1,8 million euros was caused by abuse of official position.
Šoć points out that every document in this regard had a degree of secrecy internally.
"I'm sorry that I can't give too many details, because the prosecutor has to investigate everything. The arrogance of these people was enormous. People received from 40.000 to 50.000 euros without any explanation, and the limit was 15.000. For the Government Commission, there were privileged people and about 95 percent of them from the state administration, for which the same rules did not apply. There were many more apartments and we believe that most of them were allocated illegally," Šoć added.
Answering the question whether the conference was an institutional abuse of position before the elections, Abazović replied that it had already been scheduled earlier, but that it had not been held until now due to "business dynamics".
"I submitted the application last week. I did not arrive yesterday because of the Government session, although it was planned for yesterday as well. This is a political story, but it should have a legal epilogue," he replied.
He said that citizens should know this.
"Citizens need to go to the elections, and then later maybe complain to those who ransacked state property. Timing is irrelevant to me".
Bošković: I worked according to the law, bad performance by Abazović
DPS MP Predrag Bošković points out that, as president of the housing commission, he always worked in accordance with the laws and according to the submitted documentation of the institutions that requested housing loans for employees and the decisions of the government.
"There is no basis for a criminal complaint," Bošković said, adding that one such complaint had already been dismissed as unfounded.
"Another performance by the season's prime minister, known for deception, and you lie to her like Dritan," said Bošković.
He stated that Abazović will receive a counter criminal complaint, for false reporting.
Bošković said that he never asked for or received an apartment or housing loan from the state.
"I personally made decisions conscientiously and lawfully, where I participated in the decision-making, and my colleagues from the commission were with me," said Bošković.
He stated that it was Abazović who was recognized by the concealment and destruction of evidence.
Bošković said that Abazović is falsely accusing that before the election he would try to remove the mortgage of all the inactions and illegalities of his short-term mandate with suspected collaborators.
"A drowning man who, when given a life belt, activates what he is manipulating - in this case, housing loans," the announcement states.
Bošković said that "a self-proclaimed fighter for justice, the one in which he protects his smugglers or people prone to bribery", he had time to report if anything was illegal, but he didn't.
"For another circus, like the marketing of "lighting cigarettes" - while the trucks are going out on the black market for multimillion-dollar damage to the state, he waited two days before the elections to shout into the void," the statement said.
Bošković said that Abazović is trying in vain to cover up his and his suspected associates' misdeeds.
Šehović announced that the press conference was scheduled "to inform the public that he submitted a report to the prosecution, which was previously rejected by the same prosecution as unfounded".
Dritan, who continues to lie, demonstrates a panic that is comical. And it becomes tragic when we know that this is done by the leader of a party that is already growing into a criminal group. Small, but organized. Specialized in subterfuge. And 'lighting' cigars. Which is Rade 'stuck'. But it's not Rade sam...", Šehović announced on Twitter.
MANS: The Prime Minister is politicizing the fight against corruption
Prime Minister Abazović published data on the allocation of apartments and housing loans just before the local elections, thereby continuing to politicize the fight against corruption, according to the Network for the Affirmation of the Non-Governmental Sector (MANS).
MANS reminded that they have repeatedly requested that data on all divided apartments and loans be published, because citizens have the right to know how their money is spent.
"Abazović finally did it just before the local elections, thereby continuing to politicize the fight against corruption," said the non-governmental organization.
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