At today's session, the Government of Montenegro, at the proposal of the National Anti-Corruption Council, decided that the state, as the injured party, should undertake the prosecution of the perpetrators of criminal offenses in the case of the privatization of Telekom Crne Gore, as a subsidiary prosecutor, based on Article 59 of the Criminal Procedure Code, announced today the Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of Montenegro for the Political System, Judiciary and Anti-Corruption, Momo Koprivica.
Koprivica said that, in this regard, the Protector of Property and Legal Interests of Montenegro, as the legal representative of the State of Montenegro, is responsible for taking action in terms of prosecution.
"Justice must not expire, and the state must not give up. Telekom is not just a case, but a fight for the future, for a clean system, based on the rule of law and trusted by the domestic and international public. The state, as a subsidiary prosecutor, stands on the side of the truth, and the truth does not expire. The truth will also be established about how the offer that deviates from the tender conditions was accepted, how minority shareholders, or the accused fund owners, were partly paid from the proceeds from the sale of state shares, and their shares ended up in the account of the buyer of state share capital, how and under what conditions consulting contracts were concluded, whether consulting services and activities under those contracts were provided at all, and which were paid for with fabulous sums of money, and what is the truth and what irrefutable facts arise from the Agreement on Postponement of Prosecution against the defendants Straub, Balog and Morvai, concluded in New York, in the United States of America," Koprivica emphasized in a statement submitted by the Government of Montenegro.
He added that this move by the Government is reliable proof that the state is not a passive observer, but an active fighter for justice and the rule of law, which, along with European integration and economic progress, is one of the basic pillars of the policy of the Government of Montenegro.
"Regardless of the obstacles, obstructions and targeted abuses from the past, responsibility for undermining the state's interests must be established, and the perpetrators of criminal acts that have damaged the state and its property must be brought to justice. With this approach, the state not only recognizes the abuses from the past, but also shows that it is determined to eliminate them and lead the process to the end, establishing the rule of law," said Koprivica.
He pointed out that the state, or rather the Government, as the injured party, is using the legal opportunity to seek justice and fight for it.
"... and we welcome the proposal of the Chief Special Prosecutor to initiate proceedings to determine disciplinary liability against the previous handler of this case, expressing full support for the current VDT and GST, or SDT, in the fight against organized crime and corruption," concluded Koprivica.
The National Anti-Corruption Council yesterday proposed that the Government adopt a conclusion tasking the Protector of Property and Legal Interests of Montenegro to, in accordance with his powers, protect the interests of the state as the injured party in the "Telekom" case and continue the prosecution in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code, as a subsidiary prosecutor, before the competent court.
Bonus video:
