The Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) is once again determining whether the former Minister of Transport Ivan Brajović violated the regulations in the case of contracting and building a forgotten interchange on the highway. They do this according to the guidelines of the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office.
From the institution he manages Vladimir Novović they reminded them that the head of the prosecution Milorad Marković already in April informed that the decision by which they rejected the criminal complaint against Brajović and several unknown persons, suspected of abuse of official position, should be revised.
Marković, SDT replied to "Vijesti" yesterday, pointed out what should be done additionally.
"In April of this year, the Supreme State Prosecutor notified the Special State Prosecutor's Office in writing that the decision made in the criminal case against IB, the former Minister of Transport and unknown persons, for the criminal offense of abuse of official position, regarding the contracting and construction of the highway, should be revised. and pointed out what evidentiary and other actions should be taken in order to make a correct and legal decision", the special prosecutor and SDT spokesman told the editorial office. Vukas Radonjic.
The criminal case, he points out, was then assigned to a special prosecutor who was also his former handler.
"An investigation is in progress, in which we act in accordance with the act of the Supreme State Prosecutor", said Radonjić.
At the end of 2022, the Special Prosecutor's Office rejected the application of the Network for the Affirmation of the Non-Governmental Sector (MANS) and assessed that there was no criminal offense of abuse of official position. MANS filed a complaint in 2019 against former high-ranking state official Ivan Brajović and NGOs, who participated in the preparation and contracting of the construction of the highway section from Podgorica to Mateševo due to suspicion of abuse of official position and damage to the budget of around 134 million.
The state - the institution of the Protector of Property and Legal Interests - filed a complaint against this decision of the SDT, claiming that the total damage to the state coffers was around 300 million euros, but at the beginning of last year, the prosecutor in the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office Veljko Rutović replied that "the Special Prosecutor's Office acted in accordance with its legal powers and made the correct decision to dismiss the criminal complaint".
In a complaint about the work of special prosecutors, the institution of the Protector of Property and Legal Interests pointed out that it was a case of damage of as much as 300 million euros.
"Brajović and other officials of the executive authority did not foresee a number of additional works, so the section of the highway cost 300 million euros more than announced, and this amount represents the calculation of the basic price of the works, additional and 'forgotten' ones, interest and exchange rate. differences," the complaint states.
Brajović previously denied the accusations on several occasions, claiming that there was a loophole in the project terms of reference and the offer for the construction of the priority section.
"...It is about the amount that represents the calculation of the basic price of works, added and 'forgotten' works, interest and exchange rate differences. It was further stated that the construction contract did not specify all the works, such as the Smokovac interchange, the electrical and water supply network and all the access roads on the other interchanges, as well as that it is disputed because the loan was contracted in dollars, which was done without providing protection against exchange rates. difference", reads the complaint, which was previously sent by the protector Bojana Cirovic.
According to her assessment, it is hardly acceptable that on the largest and most important project of the state so far, such "failures" occur, but "and how it creates suspicion that the works were intentionally omitted, so that possible material benefit could be realized through the realization of new works for the NN individual, and to the detriment of the state of Montenegro".
"...For the reason that it was necessary to conduct an expert opinion by an expert in the construction profession who will answer the question of what constitutes a conceptual project (Article 77 of the Law on Spatial Planning and Building Construction), whether a conceptual project of this type had to be revised, what are the follow-up works, is it according to the profession that the conceptual design of the highway does not include a loop, nor electrical or water infrastructure, and most importantly, why is the Smokovac loop not included in the conceptual design. "Given that the plaintiff only dealt with electrical installation, it is not clear at the end how, with whom and in what way the construction of the interchange and other omitted works was contracted," the complaint states.
Ćirović warned the VDT that "the focus of the prosecutor's office, when assessing whether a criminal offense has been committed, had to be the procedure for preparing the tender and preparing the conceptual project."
She emphasized that the offer of the Chinese company "China road and bridge corporation" (CRBC) was given on the basis of the conceptual design, which, she states, is not disputed.
"However, it is also disputed why that conceptual project does not include the Smokovac interchange, nor does it include electrical and water infrastructure, given that it is not a highway. This is precisely the question for Ivan Brajović, and especially why he is revising the project after submitting an offer from a Chinese company, at which moment it should have been clear to the prosecutor that there was an intention that the conceptual project did not include the Smokovac loop, nor the electrical and water infrastructure," she warned. is she.
MANS previously welcomed the efforts of the Supreme State Prosecutor, stressing that the report contained enough evidence to start determining responsibility for the multi-million dollar amount of additional work that we incurred in order to complete the project of the priority section of the highway in 2019.
"We believe that there are more than enough grounds to open cases concerning the construction of the highway itself, but also the devastation of the Tara River, for which no one has yet been held accountable," said the non-governmental organization, stressing that "the prosecution must, without postponement, examine responsibility and within your organization for making decisions that are now undergoing review”.
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