The Agency for the Prevention of Corruption has filed a criminal complaint with the Podgorica Basic State Prosecutor's Office against former director Jelena Perović and lawyer Nikola Martinović due to the existence of grounds for suspicion that they entered the premises of the ASK without authorization and forcibly demanded the return of the former official to the position of director.
The report also refers to Perović's former assistant Boris Vukašinović, now employed at the Agency.
“…Due to the existence of grounds for suspicion that on 2. 6. 2025, 3. 6. 2025 and 4. 6. 2025, aware of their act and its prohibition, the execution of which they wanted, they arbitrarily acquired a right that did not belong to them, by unauthorized access to the premises of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption of Montenegro, with a request that Jelena Perović return to work and perform the duties of the Director of the Agency, on which occasion they addressed the employees in an inappropriate and threatening tone and by force demanded that Jelena Perović have the powers of the Executive Director, which they are aware that they no longer have. In doing so, they, as co-perpetrators, committed the criminal offense of arbitrariness under Article 384 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro…”, the report states.
It is alleged that Perović and Martinović came to the Agency for three days in a row with a request to return the former director to that position, citing the ruling of the Administrative Court of Montenegro from May 16, which annulled the decision to dismiss her from August last year.
The Agency specifies in the criminal complaint that the verdict annulled the decision to dismiss Perović because last year she "was not allowed to state her position regarding the reasons why she was dismissed from the Agency's directorship by the disputed decision."
"In addition, in the administrative dispute in question, the competent court assessed the legality of the contested decision on dismissal, more precisely whether the contested decision was made in accordance with the law, prescribed procedures and the competences of the acting authorities. The subject of the administrative dispute in this case is not reinstatement to work, or rather to the position of director, from which Jelena Perović was dismissed," the application specified.
THREATS, DISREGARDS…
The report claims that on June 2, shortly before nine o'clock, the dismissed director, accompanied by lawyer Martinović, "in her capacity as a party, approached the Agency's archives in order to submit certain documents for filing."
"However, after handing them over, she refused to leave the Agency's premises - she remained in the Agency's hallway until noon, when she left the premises only after the arrival and intervention of police officers," the report states.
It is emphasized that while in the Agency's hallway, Perović repeatedly attempted to access the executive director's office "by asking an employee for the keys, claiming that she was 'the director again' and that 'nothing must be forwarded'".
"...Then she knocked on the office door and pulled the door handle, trying to gain access to those rooms. During her stay at the Agency, she addressed the acting director Dušan Drakić in an inappropriate and threatening tone, telling him the following words: 'In two months, everything will change in Montenegro, you will see it, we will release everyone and there will be no room for many, you will go to prison, these people will be fired and there is no place for them in the Agency, I have information on how everyone works'," the report states.
Perović, it is alleged, then turned to employee Bulat Bulatović, telling him that she would “quickly and easily reach an agreement” with him, only if he “renounced his Chetnik mentors and the Serbian world.” She also told him that his “father was turning in his grave.”
"Attorney Nikola Martinović persistently asked the acting director whether he would allow Jelena Perović to be the director of the Agency or not, during which he recorded the conversation on the phone, after which he addressed employee Bulat Bulatović with the words: 'You will pay me separately and I will deal with you separately.'" Martinović and Perović also addressed the employees with the words: 'We will clean you all up,'" the report specified.
It is added that a day later, on June 3, Perović came again accompanied by a lawyer, but did not enter the Agency's premises, and that "her mere presence repeatedly caused anxiety among the employees, especially due to her earlier arrival and behavior."
VUKAŠINOVIĆ TRYING TO BREAK DOWN THE DOOR?
The report specified that on June 4, employee Bulat Bulatović, upon a call from a colleague, found Vukašinović "using physical force to try to break down the Agency's electric sliding door, causing visible damage."
"From that moment on, the door could not be fully closed, which compromised the security of the building and the functionality of the entrance... By acting in this way, Boris Vukašinović tried to allow Jelena Perović to enter the Agency's premises. In addition, he was on sick leave until Jelena Perović arrived, which he ended on June 2," the report specified.
Vukašinović is, by the way, a close relative of Agency Council member Aleksandra Vukašinović.
On the same day, the report adds, Martinović briefly entered the Agency's premises without prior notice, but it could not be concluded that his visit was of an official nature.
"Especially considering the fact that he tried to use force - pushing, to enter the Agency's premises, but was stopped at the entrance by employee Bulat Bulatović, after which Martinović left the premises. Considering the above, and the fact that Jelena Perović, before being appointed as the Director of the Agency, had been a judge for many years, which is why she knew and had to know what the legal effect of the court decision was, that is, what its legal consequences were and how it was implemented, and that the first-instance body was not ordered to reinstate her, but rather a decision was made regarding the legality of the contested decision. However, despite this knowledge, with the help of her lawyer Nikola Martinović and Boris Vukašinović, she took action on her own initiative to return to her position as Director, claiming that the Administrative Court of Montenegro's judgment recognized her that right," the complaint states, along with the Administrative Court's judgment and several official notes, and a hearing was proposed, in addition to Perović, Martinović and Vukašinović, and several employees of the Agency.
The Agency Council is expected to decide on Perović's status at today's session after the Administrative Court's ruling.
Last week, there were no conditions for decision-making, given that two members - Slavica Mirković and Dragana Šuković - were absent.
Although she voted to dismiss Perović last year, Vukašinović stressed that she understood the Administrative Court's decision as the Council's obligation to reinstate the former director.
"My opinion is that Jelena Perović is the director of the Agency as of May 16, 2025 - for the simple reason that you know that when a court annuls a decision, it no longer exists in legal terms, and that we have an acting officer who holds that position, which means that he was not appointed for a full term," said Vukašinović.
Council member Mladen Tomović emphasized that the court did not make such a decision, that is, it did not order Perović's return to office.
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