Governor of the Central Bank (CBCG) Radoje Žugić the six-year mandate expires in mid-October, and the state institution has not yet sent a letter to the president Milo Đukanović in which they inform him about it so that he, to the Assembly, can propose a new candidate.
"The Council of the Central Bank of Montenegro will inform the President of Montenegro about the expiration of the governor's mandate within the deadline provided by law," the supreme monetary institution officially told "News".
According to the Law on CBCG, the Council informs the President of Montenegro about the expiration of the governor's mandate no later than 60 days before the expiration of his mandate. The Governor is appointed by the Assembly, on the proposal of the President of Montenegro. The governor is appointed for a period of six years and can be appointed for a maximum of two consecutive terms.
The Assembly was held on September 30, 2016 at the proposal of the then President of the State Filip Vujanović elected Žugić as governor, and his predecessor Milojica Dakić the mandate officially expired on October 14 of that year.
The return of Žugić to the post he held from October 14, 2010 to the end of 2012, when he was elected as Minister of Finance, was supported in September 2016 by 42 MPs (DPS, Positive, Liberal Party and minority parties). The opposition did not attend the vote.
Vujanović, contrary to Article 51 of the Law on CBCG, proposed Žugić for governor, even though at that moment he was a member of the main board of the DPS and an adviser to Đukanović, who was then in the position of prime minister. Vujanović then claimed that Žugić had resigned from the DPS membership two days before his appointment, so that was not an obstacle for him to be voted for. The current prime minister Dritan Abazovic asked Vujanović from the parliamentary benches if he had the written resignation of Žugić as a member of the DPS and if he would show it to the deputies, but he did not receive an answer.
Žugić first came to the CBCG in October 2010 (as a person close to Đukanović) after the DPS removed him from that position Ljubiša Krgović.
Previously, as director of the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund, he signed the 44 million euro aid that Prva banka received from the state. He claimed that he did it as a representative of the state. That loan to Prva is remembered for the way it was returned under suspicious circumstances, when the same million was rotated 11 times, through the Treasury, whose keys were held by the then Minister of Finance Igor Luksic. The majority owner of Prva banka is Aco Djukanovic, the natural brother of the current president of the country.
Žugić stayed in the CBCG for the first time until the end of 2012, when Đukanović asked him to become the Minister of Finance, which he covered until the election of the transitional government in the first half of 2016.
From the position of Minister of Finance, he increased the general VAT rate to 21 percent. In addition, while he was in that position, money from the Abu Dhabi Development Fund to help Montenegrin agriculture entered the country, bypassing the state treasury account and going to a special account in the First Bank. Former Minister of Agriculture Aleksandar Stijović he disclosed that the money entered the state treasury. Stijović documented that Žugić, as Minister of Finance, was a signatory to part of this documentation. Žugić denied having anything to do with this contract, while the documentation contains information that he informed the Government in February 2015 that at the moment it is not possible to find more favorable conditions for crediting agriculture compared to ADF. The state guarantee of 50 million dollars for this loan was given during the time when Žugić was a minister. This case is being investigated by the Special State Prosecutor's Office.
At Žugić's request, the Assembly dismissed him Irena Radović from the position of vice-governor in July 2018, which is why the current director of the Investment and Development Fund led a court case, and the verdict of the Basic Court was in her favor.
NGO MANS, investigating the case of Prva banka in 2012, pointed out that Žugić had close business ties with one of the companies from Podgorica that owns shares in Prva banka, but in which it also took out loans. It is about the company "Stadion", which at that time had 1,4 percent of the shares in this bank, and its founder and executive director, according to the data of the Central Registry of the Commercial Court, Vojin Žugić.
According to MANS's writing, Radoj Žugić and the company "Stadion" are connected by a joint construction project on the construction of a tourist villa in Krašići on the very coast. Namely, Vojin and Radoje Žugić jointly bought a plot of nearly 2008 m200 at the beginning of March 2 for the sum of 70.000 euros. After the purchase, the company 'Stadion' and Radoje Žugić were registered in the Tivat cadastre as equal owners of the plot, each with a 50 percent share.
"The plot that the Žugićs bought at the time was managed as a pasture, so that by the decision of the Government of Montenegro from December 2009, headed by Milo Đukanović, that land was predefined in the plan as a very valuable construction land for the construction of tourist facilities along the sea line. . This was done despite the fact that there is still a burden of "marine property" on the entire plot, and the fact that Montenegro is a signatory to the Barcelona Declaration, which, among other things, prescribes a special regime for the protection of the coast from construction in a zone of 100 meters from the coast. The already built facility is located just a few meters from the shore," MANS explained.
For two and a half years, the Assembly did not initiate an election for one seat in the Council of the CBCG
One seat has been vacant in the CBCG Council since December 2019, when Zorica Kalezić was elected vice-governor instead of Irene Radović from that position.
This is a position that was supposed to be filled on the proposal of the parliamentary committee for economy, finance and budget.
"The CBCG indicated in a letter dated February 11, 2, to the Assembly that the appointment of a member of the Council as vice-governor left vacant the position of one member of the Council who is not employed by the CBCG," the supreme monetary institution told "News".
"News" did not receive an official answer from the parliament as to why the procedure for filling this vacant position was not initiated.
The Assembly elects four members of the CBCG Council, and on its proposal, it now includes Milorad Jovović, Ruždija Tuzović and Nikola Milović, who were elected in July 2018.
The CBCG Council also includes Žugić, Kalezić and two other vice governors, Nikola Fabris and Miodrag Radonjić. Fabris was elected to a new term in March 2017, and Jovović at the end of that year.
Bonus video:
