According to the decisions of the current and two former ministers of defense of Montenegro, more than 3,2 million euros were illegally distributed to the employees of the Ministry, the budget inspection of the Ministry of Finance found.
"With the payment of funds in December 2021, 2022 and 2023... inappropriate and illegal consumption was carried out in the total amount of 3.219.220 euros," the inspection concluded.
According to the ongoing tender, the construction of a bridge over the Tara River in the north of Montenegro should cost the state that much.
The Budget Inspection forwarded the findings to the Special State Prosecutor's Office, special prosecutor Vukas Radonjić confirmed for Radio Free Europe (RSE).
"According to which a criminal case was established in order to establish the existence of grounds for suspicion that a criminal offense was committed under its jurisdiction".
Ministers also distributed to themselves
The last four ministers came under the scrutiny of the budget inspection, after the Ministry of Finance "observed certain illogicalities" in payments to employees of the Ministry of Defense.
The role of the budget inspection is to examine whether state funds are used legally and in accordance with their intended purpose.
It took almost three months to "comb" the documentation.
They found that the then minister and current mayor of Podgorica, Olivera Injac, started with the inappropriate and illegal allocation of funds at the end of 2021.
She decided to reward herself and all employees in the Ministry with 60 euros each. The rationale was that they "worked in conditions that often required extraordinary engagement, showed a high level of professionalism and maximum dedication to completing tasks."
Thus, a little over 135.000 euros 'went' on prizes.
Eleven times more - over 1,5 million euros - was spent a year later by Filip Adžić, who managed the defense department after the dismissal of Minister Raško Konjević in October 2022.
In December 2022, Adžić made a decision to reward all employees in the Ministry and the Army with 700 each because "they carried out their work tasks in an efficient manner, in difficult conditions, such as the reduced number of employees compared to the forecast".
The practice was continued by his successor as minister, Dragan Krapović, who in December 2023 distributed more than 1,5 million euros using the same arguments.
Although he was in office for only a month and a half, the minister also rewarded himself with 700 euros.
The Ministry did not respond to RSE's inquiry as to why he awarded himself the 'award'.
None of the three officials - Krapović, Adžić and Injac - answered questions about how they interpret the findings of the budget inspection.
Regulations, for example, enable public sector employees to be rewarded for exceptional results with a variable part of their earnings, depending on available funds.
That part of the salary can be up to 50 percent of the average salary in Montenegro.
Nevertheless, the ministerial 'rewards' of 700 euros each were more than half of the average salary.
Namely, the average salary in December 2022 was 727 euros, and in December 2023 it was 814 euros, according to the data of the Administration for Statistics.
The budget inspectors, however, found that the disputed decisions do not represent decisions about wages, the variable part of wages, or compensation. It was established that they were paid without a legal basis.
The budget inspection rejected all objections of the Ministry of Defense to the inspection findings.
In the course of audits by the Ministry
The Agency for the Prevention of Corruption has also been informed of the findings of the budget inspection, which will consider whether there are grounds for initiating proceedings under their jurisdiction.
"We are vigilantly monitoring all information related to this case... If elements are identified that would indicate potential violations of anti-corruption regulations, we will take appropriate measures," the institution told RSE.
And the State Audit Institution (DRI) deals with the Ministry of Defense.
As DRI Senator Branislav Radulović confirmed for RSE, the audit of the financial report and regularity of the Ministry's operations for 2023 is underway, and he expects the collegium of this institution to soon adopt the final report.
The last audit of finances and business methods was carried out for 2020, when the Department of Defense received mostly positive evaluations.
State court until refund
What generally happens to the funds that the budget inspection finds to have been illegally spent?
As State Secretary in the Ministry of Finance Jovana Nišavić explained, "at this moment the state can only recover these funds in a court proceeding".
Namely, in Montenegro there is no Law on Budget Inspection that regulates these issues, but it is done according to the Law on Inspection Affairs.
The first law on budget inspection is currently being considered in the Montenegrin parliament.
It was proposed by the Government at the end of August and requested by the Assembly to adopt it by urgent procedure.
If the Law receives the support of deputies, budget inspectors will be able to order the return of illegally spent budget funds.
In the latest report on Montenegro, the European Commission welcomed the activities aimed at strengthening the function of centralized budget inspection in the Ministry of Finance.
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