Former member of the Cabinet of the then Deputy Prime Minister Filip Adzic He had to refuse a trip to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in December 2021, the decision was made by the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption.
The institution found that Adžić had violated the Law on the Prevention of Corruption. Although he was invited to make a statement during the proceedings, the decision states, Adžić did not do so. The Agency emphasizes that "his refusal to explain the payment of expenses - airfare, accommodation and travel expenses that he had during his visit to the UAE, indicates that it cannot be considered that he did not deny the trip, but that he was unable to explain and justify the expenses."
"It is established that public official Filip Adžić violated Article 18, paragraph 1 and Article 19, paragraph 1 of the Law on the Prevention of Corruption because, in connection with the performance of his public office, he received a gift that was neither protocol nor appropriate, which related to the payment of travel expenses on a working visit to Dubai and Abu Dhabi (UAE) in December 2021, and he was obliged to refuse it or inform the donor that he could not accept the gift," the ASK decision, signed by the acting director, emphasized. Dušan Drakić.
This institution was deciding on this case for the second time, after the Administrative Court, following a lawsuit filed by the Network for the Affirmation of the Non-Governmental Sector, determined that the previous management of ASK, headed by Jelena Perović, did not correctly determine the condition.
MANS initiated proceedings before the Agency in April 2022, emphasizing that the then Deputy Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic and Adžić stayed in the United Arab Emirates at their own expense Mohammed Al Shaibani, who heads the Royal Court and is the CEO of the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), the company that owns Porto Montenegro in Tivat.
In the decision that was challenged before the Administrative Court, Perović stated that Adžić did not violate the regulations because the trip was not related to the performance of a public function, but was exclusively a private organization, and that it was “unclear to him that, in addition to performing a public function, he cannot have his privacy…” She then made an almost identical decision for Abazović.
In the new decision, however, the Agency emphasizes that based on available data and documentation, it was determined that Adžić traveled to Dubai and Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) in December 2021, as he stated in his 2022 statement.
"Namely, the public official pointed out that his trip was not part of a business trip, which was confirmed by the letter of the General Secretariat of the Government of Montenegro dated 17.01.2025. In this specific case, this calls into question the type and amount of expenses incurred from the aforementioned trip. The public official, in his statement, but also in relation to the request-letter sent to him by the Agency dated 25 December 2024, did not submit a single piece of evidence that would indicate that he had expenses and that he paid them, thereby confirming his argument from the statement of 2022, for which reason the Agency did not accept the claims of the appointee as true and accurate, bearing in mind that they were not supported by evidence, and considering that the activities from the visit were originally announced as part of a working visit, and which statement was also taken as evidence in the proceedings," the decision states.
It was emphasized that the General Secretariat of the Government of Montenegro sent a letter to the Agency stating that there were no travel orders, or data according to business records that Adžić was on an official visit to the UAE.
The Agency believes that this statement does not correspond to the material evidence in the case files. They also recall that a statement was published on the Government's website regarding the visit, as well as the members of the delegation, including Adžić.
This, they specify, is an official statement authored by the Office of the Vice President, which was published on December 12, 2021 at 15.49:2020 p.m. under the title "Abazović visited EXPO XNUMX in Dubai: Let's leave the past behind and keep up with the modern world."
"The aforementioned fact could also be established by examining the photograph that is an integral part of the aforementioned official statement of the Government of Montenegro, which indisputably proves that the visit of the named person was part of a working visit to EXPO 2020, as well as that the costs related to the visit, which arose before and during the aforementioned visit, were not paid by either the public official or the government body in which he holds office, and that they represent a gift in connection with the performance of a public function as defined in Article 8, paragraph 1, item 3 of the Law on the Prevention of Corruption in the part where it is prescribed that a gift is a thing, right or service acquired, or performed without compensation, and any other benefit given to a public official or a person associated with a public official, in connection with the performance of a public function," the Agency explains.
They also emphasize that they appreciated the statement from 2022, when Adžić said that he was traveling privately.
"However, since the named person did not submit evidence to support his allegations in support of his claims, the Agency believes that they did not influence a different decision in this administrative matter, because his refusal to explain the payment of expenses: airline tickets, accommodation and travel in December 2021, which he had during his visit to the UAE, indicates that it cannot be considered that he did not deny the trip, but that he could not explain and justify the travel expenses. His refusal to provide evidence only confirms that the public official acted contrary to Article 18, paragraph 1 and Article 19, paragraph 1 of the Law on the Prevention of Corruption," the decision emphasized, adding that there is no request from Adžić to provide an opinion regarding the disputed trip in the Agency's database.
They remind that the Law stipulates that a public official, in connection with the performance of a public function, may not accept gifts, except for protocol and occasional gifts, of a value less than 50 euros.
“…While Article 19 prescribes the restriction that a public official who is offered a gift that he or she may not accept is obliged to refuse the offer, or to inform the donor that he or she cannot accept the gift,” the decision concludes.
URA: We will file a lawsuit against ASK
The civic movement URA announced that it would file a lawsuit against ASK, saying that the agency had succumbed to political pressure and used falsehoods.
"The persecution, spreading of lies and abuse of institutions for the purpose of dealing with political dissenters continues. It is our obligation to draw attention to the untrue and malicious claims of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (ASK), which, due to its lack of courage to deal with officials who have caused multi-million damage to the state, is cheaply constructing a story about the accommodation, food and drinks of the vice president of the Civic Movement URA, Filip Adžić," the statement from the GP URA states.
The URA GP said that "in the case files with the ASK there are two letters from the General Secretariat of the Government of Montenegro stating that Adžić did not travel to Dubai as a public official in the performance of his public duties, regardless of the fact that he used his time to visit the Montenegrin pavilion at EXPO2020 and to informally meet for lunch with the head of the Royal Court in Dubai, Mr. Muhammad Al Shaibani."
"All of the above is clearly documented in the case files, and the aforementioned meetings and visit to the Montenegrin pavilion were presented to the public by Mr. Adžić himself. The entire content of the text is contaminated with blanket and extremely arbitrary allegations, without a single document or invoice confirming ASK's claims, which is why we will file a lawsuit against ASK, which succumbed to political pressure and violated its right to privacy by publishing untruths. Since Mr. Adžić traveled privately, there is no question of any obligation to report to ASK who he spent time with, what he drank, ate, and which tourist attractions he visited. For the sake of the public, we must inform malicious individuals that, in terms of the provisions of the Law on the Prevention of Corruption, a gift is considered exclusively a gift related to the performance of a public function, while in this specific case, this cannot be said, as is clearly seen from the letter from the General Secretariat of the Government of Montenegro," said the GP URA.
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