The person who is at the head of the key anti-corruption institution had to be an example to others, and not to illegally appropriate significant funds from the state budget. That's it Jelena Perović sent a clear message that she is ready to put her personal interest before the public one, and with her actions she completely destroyed the integrity of an institution that has significant powers when it comes to the property of public officials, as well as the financing of political parties and election campaigns, she told "Vijesti" yesterday. Director of the Network for the Affirmation of the Non-Governmental Sector (MANS) Vanja Ćalović Marković.
The director of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption, Jelena Perović, was remanded in custody for up to 72 hours yesterday, after the hearing at the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT), and her legal representative, lawyer Nikola Martinović, said that she denied guilt during the hearing.
SDT spokesman Vukas Radonjic said yesterday that the prosecutors are accusing Perović of abusing her official position and illegally obtaining material benefits for herself and others in the amount of more than 60.000 euros in the period from August 2020 to February 2024.
SDT received documentation on this from the Directorate for Budget Inspection of the Ministry of Finance, which established that Perović illegally paid fees and rewards to herself, employees of KAS, and former members of the Council.
Radonjić emphasized that the prosecutors in a separate criminal case are determining whether she also misused the official car.
"Certainly, in the last investigation procedure initiated against the suspect, the official documentation of the ASK, which the police temporarily confiscated during the search of the Agency's headquarters, but which the Agency submitted at the request of the SDT, will also be valued, in order to establish the grounds for suspicion as to whether the the extended criminal offense also includes other illegal actions of the suspect, apart from those for which the proceedings were initiated", said Radonjić.
IT DID NOT PROCESS ĐUKANOVIĆ, LAZOVĆ, KATNIĆ, VELJOVĆ...
Ćalović Marković warns that the head of the Agency should not have brought the institution into this situation.
"By selective action, Perović enabled numerous officials to hide their illegally acquired assets, and the largest political parties to be financed from criminal sources without hindrance. While persecuting critics of the previous regime, she simultaneously ignored numerous court rulings related to hiding the assets of top officials. Since non-compliance with court rulings constitutes a criminal offense, we expect the prosecution to prosecute her on that basis as well", said Ćalović Marković to "Vijesta".
According to her, it is important to emphasize that Perović "had previously acted according to the instructions of Vesna Medenica, while as a judge she had to work in accordance with the law".
"...So the question arises on whose orders did she violate the obligation to prosecute Milo Đukanović, Zoran Lazović, Milivoj Katnić, Veselin Veljović and numerous other officials who hid their assets", points out Ćalović Marković.
She is not surprised that "it was the representatives of those structures whose interests she protected by persistently breaking the laws who stood up to Perović's defense."
"That's why we expect the prosecution to extend the investigation to these cases as well, so that we can fully see the extent of the violation of the law by Jelena Perović", concluded Ćalović Marković.
President of the Trade Union Organization ASK Dušan Drakić also emphasizes that the Agency is an anti-corruption preventive body.
That is why, he says, he must urgently get rid of the doubts that accompany the use of public resources and selectivity in work.
"This can only be done by publishing the entire financial and supporting documentation of the Agency's work. All this can be confirmed by controlling financial operations and auditing the development of the Agency's information system. In this way, the Agency will free itself from suspicion and set a standard of behavior in the coming period, as well as comply with the recommendations of international partners in terms of transparency and responsibility in the institution's work," said Drakić.
THE STATE IS ALREADY ASKING FOR DAMAGES
The State's proceedings against Perović are being conducted before the Basic Court in Podgorica, in which the arrested director of ASK is being asked to compensate the market value of the apartment she received on favorable terms because she violated the contract she signed as a judge at the beginning of 2018 with the Basic Court of Cetinje.
According to the contract, which MANS then submitted to the institution of the Protector of Property and Legal Interests of the State, the director of KAS did not fulfill the obligation stipulated in the contract - she did not remain in the position of judge for five years, i.e. until 2023.
In the lawsuit, which is signed by the protector Bojana Cirovic, it is stated that Perović got the apartment based on the decision of the Judicial Council (Commission for solving the housing needs of judges), based on the advertisement of the Basic Court in Cetinje.
Ćirović stated that the director of ASK committed to remain in the position of judge for at least five years from the date of conclusion of the contract.
"...And in the event that she voluntarily terminates her position as a judge before the specified deadline, she undertook to return the apartment or compensate for its market value that was valid on the day of the conclusion... The defendant did not comply with the mentioned contractual obligation, considering that on 24. On 07, she terminated her judicial function of her own volition, and that on 2020. appointed director of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption. Therefore, the above points to the conclusion that the defendant in the specific case is obliged to return the apartment in question or compensate for its market value on the day of the conclusion of the sales contract", Ćirovićeva points out in the lawsuit.
She reminds that the director of ASK did not register as the owner of the apartment, but that she sold it.
"Circus, let it return the money, the Albanians will help"
Minister of Economic Development Nik Đeljošaj said yesterday after the Government session that the media coverage regarding the arrest of the director of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption, Jelena Perović, "due to fuel consumption and mileage was a circus."
He also said that Albanians "have great gratitude towards Perović because of the verdict she passed in 2016", but also assessed that "if she damaged the state budget, that people in Montenegro might be ready to help her return the money". .
"Vijesti" expects the Government's response as determined according to this statement, especially in light of the fact that data on the illegal spending of state money was discovered by the Budget Inspection of the Ministry of Finance, which, after finding illegalities, submitted the documentation to special prosecutors.
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