A six-member delegation from the Anti-Corruption Agency (AKP) reported no irregularities or inconveniences after they returned from an eight-day official trip to Egypt in December 2021.
This is what ASK responded to "Vijesti" when asked about the allegations made by the former head of that institution. Nina Paović, accused of two ongoing criminal offenses - abuse of official position and forgery of an official document, and who recently presented her defense before a judge of the Podgorica Higher Court Simo Rašović.
Paović then, when asked questions related to the engagement Nikola Lekic which, according to the indictment, she and the former director of ASK Jelena Perović obtained material gain by illegally exploiting his official position, explaining how he came to be in charge of official trips.
"...After we barely escaped alive on our trip to Egypt due to how inadequate the hotel was, which was chosen by the Department for International Cooperation, the director decided that Lekić, in addition to sorting the documentation, would also be involved in organizing the trip," Paović said last week.
According to documentation available on the ASK website, the six-member delegation "barely escaped alive" from the five-star hotel in Sharm el-Sheikh - "Pyramisa resort".
In December 2021, the ASK delegation participated in the session of the Conference of States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), and consisted of the then President of the Agency's Council Momcilo Radulović, Perović, Paović, former assistant director Boris Vukašinović, employed in the International Cooperation Department of the Agency NS, as well as contractor Lekić.
According to information available on the ASK website, this official trip cost at least 10.000 euros, of which almost 7.000 related to accommodation and food at a five-star hotel in Sharm el-Sheikh.
OFFICIALLY CLAIMED THAT THE HOTEL IS SAFE
"Upon reviewing the minutes of the ninth session of the Conference of States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption, held from 13 to 17 December 2021 in Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt), it was determined that the Agency's delegation consisted of the then President of the ASK Council, the ASK Director, two Assistant Directors and an Agency employee, as well as one person who was not employed by the Agency, and was presented as an independent officer at the Agency," the Agency responded to "Vijesti" when asked about the official trip to Sharm el-Sheikh.
They emphasize that "the available documentation about that trip does not contain any information about irregularities or inconveniences that members of the ASK delegation may have experienced."
They also referred the journalist to the Agency's official statement about that visit from December 2021.
The statement, among other things, states that "the Agency delegation adheres to all epidemiological and safety measures for the prevention and control of the infectious disease COVID-19 prescribed by the host country."
“...Including the choice of accommodation from a list of safe hotels provided by the conference organizers,” according to a press release dated December 14, 2021.
"Vijesti" did not receive official answers to questions sent to the tourist organization from Podgorica through which the delegation traveled.
Unofficially, however, the editorial team was informed that they could not find anyone from the Agency regarding the problematic accommodation. In the documentation on the Agency's website regarding that official trip, there is also a contract, which clearly states that the travel agency "is not responsible for the quality of the hotel service."
DID THEM GET SCARED BY THE HIGH SECURITY MEASURES?
Perović and Paović did not respond to calls from the editorial staff, while Radulović reminded them in a brief conversation that he "has not given statements to the media for over a year."
"Vijesti" also contacted other members of the delegation, but they did not want to speak officially. They recalled that "the hotel was dirty, the food was bad", but also "strict precautionary measures that they had never encountered before".
According to data from the website of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the session of the Conference of States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) that year brought together delegations from 140 countries.
UNODC did not respond to the editorial team's questions regarding possible security measures, given that the Conference brought together anti-corruption authorities from so many countries...
A document on the UN office's website, which was published two months before the conference to familiarize delegates with all the details, emphasized that "security measures will be at a high level."
“...As part of the high-level security measures, all participants are required to present their invitations or official announcements identifying them as delegates, along with their passports or other official photo IDs, upon entering the registration room located at the main entrance, in order to register and receive their conference passes for the session. Passes must be worn visibly at all times in the Center during the session. All persons and their bags and briefcases will be searched at the entrance to the Center,” reads, among other things, the detailed information for delegates.
A room with a sea view cost 1.176 euros for Perović, Paović, Radulović and Lekić, while Vukašinović and the NS employee were slightly cheaper, being charged 1.105 euros for an eight-day stay.
SEA VIEW, MEALS INCLUDED, DAILY STAY...
Among other things, the organizers emphasized at the time that each delegation organizes accommodation, but they also provided a list of hotel recommendations near the meeting venue, which had adequate protocols in place during the Covid pandemic.
According to the documentation, the Montenegrin delegation checked into the Pyramisa Resort on December 10th and checked out of the hotel eight days later.
They were billed for six standard rooms with a sea view. Radulović, Perović, Paović and Lekić stayed in the rooms at a price of 1.176 euros for eight days, while the accommodation for Vukašinović and NS was slightly cheaper - 1.105 euros. This price also included all meals.
According to the documentation, only Lekić was not paid his daily allowance in the amount of 253 euros, while the other members of the delegation were.
From these files, it cannot be concluded when and by which route Perović and Radulović traveled, while the others were paid return tickets totaling 2.212 euros from Podgorica to Sharm el-Sheikh via Istanbul...
In April, the High Court in Podgorica confirmed the indictment of the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) against the former director of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption and her former assistant Nina Paović for the criminal offenses of abuse of official position and the extended criminal offense of forgery of an official document.
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