Kristina Radović/Antonija Janevska
"My main motivation for going to study abroad was the desire for change, in the sense that I wanted to experience living somewhere abroad in my twenties," says one of the Montenegrin students currently studying in Slovenia.
The emigration of young people is not just a problem for a society in Montenegro, but also elsewhere in the region. There are many students from other Balkan countries with a similar story.
Kristijan is from North Macedonia and he is studying mechanical engineering in Ljubljana. His decision to study abroad was based on the fact that the mechanical engineering university in Ljubljana is among the best in the field in Eastern Europe, but also the most cost-efficient one.
He lives with a few roommates because he cannot get a place in student dormitories. “A typical day for me starts with going to classes,” Kristijan explains. “In between, we usually have two breaks. Afterward, we have auditory exercises or laboratory exercises. The auditory ones are really similar to the classes we attend, but they focus on tasks and math and physics problems. The laboratory exercises are different depending on the subject, but we are always divided into smaller groups of people, usually four to eight. This is when we work on projects, receive grades, and gain practical knowledge of the theoretical concepts we've studied. At the end of the day, I revise in the library and participate in sports programs offered by the university.”
Most of the young Balkan citizens decide to leave their countries due to poor social, living, and economic standards and conditions. In Montenegro, one fifth of the youth expressed desire to leave, shows the 2024 Youth Study from Southeast Europe by the "Friedrich Ebert" Foundation.
"Young people are continuously leaving Montenegro. The causes of such phenomena should be sought in the unstable economic and political environment, which provides fertile ground for the continuation of non-European practices, such as party-based and nepotistic employment, corruption, lawlessness, captured media, and insufficient support for youth, or merely declarative support that does not reflect the genuine attitude of decision-makers," says David Vukićević, president of the Network for Youth Activism of Montenegro (MOACG).
For young people from the Western Balkans, the United States (US) are one of the most desirable destinations to move to. But many of their visa applications are being rejected. In 2024, more than third of the American visa applications in Kosovo, Montenegro and Albania were unsuccessful. In Macedonia, the rejection rate was 28 percent.
Some decide to stay in Europe like
Josif is a 21-year-old Macedonian studying Computer Science at the University of Bristol. His typical day consists of attending classes and consultations with professors about grades and innovative projects. The classes are taught through presentations and practical work, and his study materials are in electronic form or can be found in the library.
“Even though I enjoy being here, I feel a deeper connection to my home country and the people there. Even here, I hang out with Macedonians,” says Josif. He got the opportunity to study abroad due to a scholarship offered by the Ministry of Education.
The scholarship requires the student to be accepted at one of the top 100 ranked universities on the Shanghai List, the Academic Ranking of World Universities evaluated by the number of scientific papers published in international journals and the number of Nobel Prize winners. Although none of the North Macedonia’s universities have been included in the Shanghai List in the past few years, the country’s Ministry provides the scholarships for those on the Shanghai List that covers most of the students’ expenses. After graduating, a student must return and work in their home country for a few years.
Josif says the only reason he would return to North Macedonia is because of his family and friends; career-wise, he says that the opportunities abroad are much more appealing. Since he will return to North Macedonia after learning everything he can at the University of Bristol, he hopes that the knowledge and experience he gains in the UK will be awarded with a sufficient salary at home.
In the past decade, an increasing number of Macedonian students have sought educational opportunities beyond the country’s borders. Faced with challenges in meeting their academic aspirations, many are drawn to institutions abroad, where they anticipate more advanced curricula, cutting-edge facilities, and greater professional prospects. This trend, however, reflects deeper, systemic issues within North Macedonia’s higher education system, and as the number of students leaving continues to rise, it raises profound questions about the capacity of the country’s academic institutions to retain young talent and foster an environment conducive to innovation and progress.
According to a Westminster Foundation for Democracy study, North Macedonia invests between 116 and 433 million euros annually in educating and training young people who then leave the country. In the past 30 years, there has been a 10% reduction in the nation’s population as a result ofbecause of the significant emigration of highly skilled students. And it seems unlikely that this number will stop growing.
No jobs for young people
Although there is no official statistic on how many Montenegrins live abroad, data from the Society of Statisticians and Demographers show that on the census date in 2023, around a third of Montenegrin citizens, or 213,478 people, were living abroad.
"Although data was collected for 44,017 people in the census, this accounts for only 20 percent of the estimated diaspora, while 80 percent, or 169,461 people, were not included because at the time of the census, they did not have a household member present in Montenegro who could
provide information on their behalf," says Gordana Radojević from the DSDCG.
The population census currently represents the only source of data on young people studying abroad. According to the latest census, 8,230 citizens of Montenegro reside abroad for educational purposes, of which 43 percent, or 3,607 people, are studying in Serbia.
David Vukićević from MOACG thinks that the data clearly indicates that Montenegro lacks an adequate pro-natalist policy, but also that “young people continue to seek their happiness beyond the borders of their homeland. "
The conditions and quality of upbringing and life, success during the educational process and the prerequisites for achieving it, opportunities for improvement, employment, advancement, and economic independence are key determinants that shape the attitudes of young people, explains Vukićević.
"Entering the labor market is somewhat easier for young people due to the deficit of the appropriate workforce and the rise in minimum net wages. However, as a consequence of the daily increase in prices, this effect is fading, although still present,, since adequate job performance needs to be provided in line with current wages, for which the educational process has not prepared those who are just entering the labor market. I acknowledge the continuous efforts of the Ministry of Education, Science, and Innovation and the Ministry of Sports and Youth in improving the position of young people, but without adequate support from the Ministry of Finance and the Government of Montenegro, it is difficult to achieve tangible results," he says.
However, Ddata from the World Bank shows that in the last decade alone, more than 2.5 million people have left the Western Balkans in search of better living conditions in Western Europe, indicating that this is a regional trend rather than an issue present in just one country.
IT and engineering studies amongst the most desired
One of the key issues of migration in the region is the departure of highly educated young people, experts in fields such as IT, engineering, medicine, and other crucial sectors commonly known as STEM (science, technology, engineering and medicine).
While North Macedonia has a deep cultural history that is reflected in its art, music, and literature, the arts programs in the country are struggling to offer students appealing opportunities, and students eager to pursue a career in such a field have gone looking for their education abroad. While the STEM programs are often viewed as more profitable and more important, the arts and studying such a program are often seen as a luxury rather than a necessity.
She says that the nature of the job she is studying for often requires international cooperation and experience, and in the USA, there are many more options for networking, film festivals, productions, publications, and opportunities. However, she wants to do the same at home.
“I have always wanted to contribute in one way or another to the development of Macedonian culture and art and its promotion around the world,” she explains. “I would still like to be active in North Macedonia and the Balkans through certain engagements in the field of film and photography.”
Digitalized universities
The students studying abroad and interviewed for this article shared different experiences compared to students getting degrees in North Macedonia, where necessities such as digital books are still a foreign concept at the universities.
In 2023 a study by the Forum for Educational Change and European Endowment for Democracy found that the digitalization in the public universities is severely underdeveloped.
„Despite the increasing use of technology in education worldwide, many public universities in North Macedonia still rely on traditional teaching and learning methods. This includes the use of physical textbooks and lectures, the use of paper indexes (despite the fact that there is an online grading system), in-person semester registration and physical consultations, rather than using online resources.“
The research findings show that there is a significant digitalization gap in state universities and that significant efforts are needed to improve the infrastructure, resources, and training needed to support digitalization in these institutions. It also points out the percentage of the budget allocated to digitalization in state universities in North Macedonia remains relatively low.
The Macedonian Statistics Office does not keep numbers on how many of the citizens study abroad. The only thing they can tell us is that there are currently 400 students under their scholarсhip studying at the top 100 universities in the world.
Not only young people are leaving their homeland. In Montenegro, unlike in the second half of the last century, when the country was mainly leaving lower-skilled labor, in recent decades, many of those leaving are highly educated.
"Unfortunately, the Ministry of Internal Affairs does not have accurate data on the number of emigrated citizens or the reasons for their departure, as those leaving Montenegro do not deregister their residence in order to retain certain rights in Montenegro, which makes it difficult to assess the overall scope of migration. Therefore, systematic monitoring of migration is the first and most important step, especially considering that, according to research on youth, we have a stable 50 percent of young people who wish to leave Montenegro," says demographer Miroslav Doderović.
The continuous emigration from Montenegro, mostly of younger residents, is also confirmed by the official data from the State Statistics Bureau (Monstat), according to which Montenegro had 615,035 inhabitants in the 1991 census, and 32 years later, in 2023, only a few thousand more – 623,633, including over 90,000 foreign nationals.
One of the top immigration destinations is Germany where officially there are 10,413 citizens of Montenegro.
Why leave
Key measures that can influence the factors driving and pulling migration include increasing the efficiency of active labor market programs, with an emphasis on integrating long-term unemployed individuals and young people.
"Long-term unemployment is one of the key challenges in Montenegro. Despite positive trends in the labor market, long-term unemployment represents a high percentage of 72 percent in 2023, compared to total unemployment. The long-term unemployment rate was almost 12 percent in 2019. The largest group among the long-term unemployed are those seeking employment for the first time, mostly recent graduates," explains Doderović.
As the main reason for leaving Montenegro, the majority cited the economy, while half of the surveyed Montenegrin citizens says they moved abroad for family reasons, and some for educational purposes.
"The largest number of registered Montenegrin citizens are working, studying, or residing in Germany, with a total of 10,413. The largest number of registered individuals working or studying abroad comes from Podgorica, with 6,384 people," says Monstat.
"For a more comprehensive understanding of the migration issue, particularly the structure of the population leaving Montenegro, detailed research is needed so that policymakers and decision- makers can more clearly target key problems and propose programs to retain and attract the
population," says Doderović.
The emigration of young people from the Balkans, especially from Montenegro and North Macedonia, poses a serious challenge to the future of these countries. While young people are leaving in search of better education, job opportunities, and a higher quality of life, this trend has long-term consequences on the development of the region. Although there are numerous initiatives aimed at halting this trend, such as improving the education system, better working conditions, and creating new opportunities for young people, it is clear that only through joint efforts at the regional and international levels can we create conditions in which young people can stay and contribute to the further development of their countries..
Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG) along with the partners in Reporting Diversity Network have opened the call for project proposals aiming to counter hate speech and improve representation of diversity.
The call was opened as part of the Reporting Diversity Network, which was established with the objective of effectively influencing media representation of ethnicity, religion, and gender in the Western Balkans. RDN aims to activate the role of civil society in countering the narratives of division and replacing them with much-needed positive discourse contributing to the value of good neighbouring relations and respect for social diversity.
The Call for Proposals will be publicised with the overall objective of increasing the influence of CSOs on media reporting shaping perceptions of ethnicity, religion and gender in the Western Balkans.
The specific objectives of the Call will be to:
- strengthen the position of local CSOs in safeguarding their beneficiaries’ rights in media
- provide opportunities for local CSOs to influence public perceptions and respond to hateful and harmful narratives contributing to polarisation.
- increase the number and quality of messages conveyed to the audience to diminish the effect of polarising narratives
- improve visibility and media representation of women and minority rights’ issues
- contribute to positive perceptions of the others and tolerance and inclusion in the region
Types of actions that are eligible for funding (list is open and might include other project ativities as long as they contribute to the above-mentioned objectives):
a) Advocacy and awareness-raising campaigns;
b) Production of media content;
c) Creation of campaigns countering hateful narratives in the public sphere;
e) Consultations, roundtables and meetings with local stakeholders;
f) Facilitating policy dialogue with stakeholders (e.g. political parties, local officials, expert community, media).
All activities must take place in the country where the organisation is registered.
Project timeframe is maximum of nine month.
The overall budget for the programme is 30.000 EUR per country. Five projects per country will be supported, while the envisaged size of grants is minimum 5,000 EUR and maximum 7,000 EUR.
CSOs responding to this call must meet the following criteria:
• that they are registered and that they have settled all legal obligations;
• have experience in the field of representation of diversity and/or hate speech;
• be directly responsible for project preparation and management;
• that their bank account is not blocked;
• that the organisations are not beneficiaries of the funds of the EU Civil Society Facility and Media Programme in favour of the Western Balkans and Turkey for 2021-2023 (IPA III), budget line: 15.020101.01
• Organisations can submit only one project proposal under this Program as an applicant or as a partner
We welcome applications from diverse type of civil society organisations: grassroot organisations, memebrs of the larger-scale networks acting nationaly or regionaly, media established as CSOs.
Partnership with local media will be considered as an advantage and will ensure additional points.
A one-day training regarding the rules and procedures for the implementation of EU grants will be organised for selected grant recipients. The training will cover topics such as: project management, visibility rules, financial reporting, etc.
In addition, selected CSOs will be provided with mentoring support to assist them in conducting creative media campaigns to raise public awareness as well as in managing project activities.
We invite all interested organisations to fill in the application forms (attached).
The deadline to submit the application is May 31.
Please submit your question at assistantcincg@gmail.com and redakcijacincg@gmail.com by May 9.
Please submit your proposal at assistantcincg@gmail.com and redakcijacincg@gmail.com by May 31.
The evaluation criteria:
1) Relevance of the proposal to the objectives of the Call for Proposals and relevance of the proposal to meet the needs of the target groups; (30 points)
2) Effectiveness and feasibility of the action - clear links and consistency between objectives, estimated results, proposed activities and strategy; (20 points)
3) Financial and operational capacity to autonomously undertake the proposed activities - an elementary level of organisational and managerial capacity will need to be demonstrated; (20 points)
4) Impact and stakeholders’ involvement - proposals must be feasible and indicators objectively verifiable (number of citizens that will be involved in the action); (10 points)
5) Involvement of vulnerable groups and gender-related issues - proposals need to take into consideration the needs of vulnerable groups; (5 points)
6) Follow-up - proposals clearly stating how this project will align with their organisations' plans and future activities. (5 points)
7) Budget and cost effectiveness of the action – ratio between estimated cost and expected results must be satisfactory (10 points)
The Evaluation Committee will pay attention to geographic and thematic diversity of the grants, while respecting the principals of equal opportunities and inclusiveness.
Note: The Center for Investigative Journalism (CIN-CG) may request additional documentation no later than eight days after the deadline for submission.
Applications will be reviewed by an independent Evaluation Committee.
Vedat, a Roma boy from Gjakova, Kosovo, was born in 1994 and was just five years old when the war erupted in his homeland. He was born with a severe infection in his leg, and due to the immense pain he was experiencing, his father, Fadil Behluli, decided to take him to the hospital one day. A few hours post-surgery, as he rested in his father’s lap, he witnessed three uniformed individuals dragging his dad away and shooting him in the hospital's backyard. He recalls the moment with great clarity even now. That was the final moment he shared with his father. Unbeknownst to Fadil, sending his son, who was suffering immensely, to the hospital would lead to a heartbreaking, tragic outcome—he would never return to his wife Hatem and their other children.
“The thing that I remember during the war in Kosovo is this: I was four and a half years old, five perhaps. It’s very vivid, I remember people being tense, and I know that I was sick because of my leg, I had it swollen or something like that, so my dad took me to the hospital, my mom wanted [to come] too, but my dad decided that she shouldn’t, so my dad took me to the hospital, and they fixed my leg. And after that, after the surgery was done and stuff, he put me to his lap. And he was trying to make me feel better even though I’m in pain. And there’s two or three guys walking down the hallway of the hospital with masks on. The views are vivid when I think about it sometimes, even when I see dreams everything is vivid. I can see a full picture, but when I talk about it it’s blurry. So, yeah, they walk into the hospital, they accidentally bump into my leg, I start crying, my dad tried to calm me down, but you know he got aggravated and he wants to be the hero, he gets up and says to them “hey watch where you’re going and bla bla bla”. So, they grab my dad, take us behind the hospital, and they shoot him. And are about to shoot me as well but one of the nurses comes into my rescue, she grabs me from them and the on this way she got a scratch on her arm, she puts me into her car and drives all the way to our house and takes me home and tells my mom what happened,” says Vedat who now is 30, for Center for Investigative Journalism in Crna Gora (CIN CG).
Shortly after, five years old Vedat and his mom Hatem who was five months pregnant with her fourth child at the time, left Kosovo to come to Montenegro and seek refugee and they haven’t gone back to live in Gjakova since. When asked how his life has been in Montenegro as a person with special needs he responded as follow:
“My life in Montenegro hasn’t been that great as a child because I got bullied, mistreated and all this stuff not only from friends and kids from school but…”, Vedat stops for a moment.
“Not so comfortable to say it but not only from friends or school [did I get bullied] but also from family side, trying to turn me down and make fun of me and whatnot”, told Vedat.
Beginning teenage years, Vedat got to go to the US through an international program that facilitated him by providing help with a very delicate process, which is getting a passport, in order for him to leave Montenegro and go to the United State for a few years.
“I didn’t live my teenage years here in Montenegro, I lived in the United States, so yeah. And the reason why I went to the United States is back in 2005 my aunt in United Kingdom she found some missionaries that work anywhere in United States and other countries. There’s this missionary, his name was Bob Hitchen, bless his soul he passed away a few months ago, I just found out. He came to my country, in Montenegro in 2005, they took pictures of me, they were asking questions, they were explaining to my mom and they stayed with me about a year to get the documents, because I had no documents. I didn’t have any Kosovo documents, I didn’t have any Montenegro documents, they did help me. And then in 2006 I got my Serbian passport and then I was able to go to the United States in March of 2006”, ended by saying Vedat.
Countless stories of horror, pain, and loss are behind thousands of Roma people who came to Montenegro from Kosovo’s war. What distinguishes the sufferings of this community from others? The emphasis they (did not) get. Indeed, every year and anniversary, along with numerous conferences and diplomatic visits overseas, we acknowledge and strive for justice for the Albanian civilians slain and massacred. However, this justice does not extend to the victims from minority communities, who, despite their existence, still bear the sorrow of their loss in their hearts. People rarely, if at all, remember them, nor do they construct stone memorials for them as there are for Albanian victims. In one instance, the Serb regime threw a grenade into Mitrovica's Green Market, killing civilians. That day, the grenade claimed the lives of seven people. The victims included six Albanians and a five-year-old Roma girl. The municipality raised a memorial in which they wrote the names of the victims after the war ended, but it only consisted of six names. Guess whose name was missing? Yes, that of the Roma child. Without this picture, which was taken on the exact day of the child's death, we wouldn't have found out of the child's existence in the first place.
People in Kosovo, especially the majority community there persecute and discriminate against this community, accusing some of them of siding with the occupier, specifically the Serbian forces, during the war. In Montenegro, the same community encounters various challenges, which we will explore further in this article.
The CIN CG managed to contact Siniša Nadaždin (a picture of him on top of the article), a pastor at a local Protestant evangelical church who is one of the most renowned people who has worked, especially with the Roma community who have come to Montenegro after the war in Kosovo that took place in 1999. Nadaždin shared with us not only his experience in the past and how things progressed in the meanwhile but also how he regards the situation to be these days concerning this community in Montenegro.
“We need to talk about the way things were at the beginning, the way things were in the middle, and the way things are now. There was a process of 20 years. When they first arrived, they were definitely not welcomed. In the first couple of years, a lot of them migrated to Italy, going on these rafts. There was a catastrophe at some point. A lot of people died. I know people who personally went across the Adriatic that way. So, after a couple of years, thousand remained in Montenegro. I would say probably half of them, were here in Podgorica, in these two refugee camps, and around the refugee camps. How were they treated? They were treated awfully”.
Nadaždin claimed that once these refugees arrived on their new lands, no one wanted to assume responsibility for their well-being. He told us that everyone was more than happy to see them leave as soon as possible, which, to quite some degree, never happened.
“There were a lot of these legal loopholes. For example, the Camp Konik II that I mentioned, at some point ended up on no man's land. It didn't belong to UNHCR. The local government didn't want to accept it as their responsibility. So, there was some electricity over there, but then people started stealing electricity. So that whole place was out of any sort of norms, out of any sort of regulations. There was a community of 300 plus people where they were just left on their own. They had a landfill right across the wall. The Konik II camp was leaning against the wall of the landfill, so they were going to the landfill. The whole families dig overnight to get scrap metals. It is a very complicated story. But after it was obvious they were not welcomed, they were not embraced. And I want to say, probably nobody has ever said it out loud, but everybody was waiting for them just to go back home or move further, and they didn't. Several thousand stayed,” told Nadaždin for CIN CG.
Obtaining residency permits
Nadaždin told us about the help that the church staff gave to the Roma people who came from Kosovo while also mentioning how difficult the process of registering and applying for permanent or temporary residency permit was for them as well as how back then they tried to facilitate in this aspect too, other than in the “essential needs” such as food, clothing and medications. He told us that other than the process being too costly, too complicated and the procedures being too bureaucratic these people could apply for the residency only if they were in the refugee database, after bringing their Kosovar or Serbian documents, which they had to go and take in both respective countries.
This community lived in tents for almost a year
While looking towards their current situation and living conditions is important, it is as much important to remember that no other refugee from any country or any other ethnicity was put to live in the conditions that these Roma people were faced with upon arrival.
Nadaždin recalls his memories by noting “They lived in tents for almost a year. Nobody else. No other refugees were placed in, living conditions where they had no toilet facilities. They had to share all these toilets. They had to share water taps”.
He also remembers how for the conditions of the area in which they were put no one wanted to take responsibility, that at that point that land belonged to nobody, it was a nobody’s land. And Kosovo didn’t bother much and continues to be reluctant and avoidant about its once citizens, and the government of Montenegro including the local governance didn’t bother much, those Romani at that point were treated as nobody’s people.
The housing provided:
In 2019, two housing units were provided for the Roma and Egyptian population funded by the Regional Housing Program, but the apartment’s state seems not to be a success story. For this Nadaždin blames the lack of the law enforcement by institutional bodies of the state.
“But now, after obtaining their permanent residency, things have changed. Since 2015, 2016, 2017, they gave them these new apartments. There's almost like 250 apartments over there in that complex. I'm not sure how many people, at least 1,500 people live there. And they got these apartments cheap, almost for free. They were supposed to pay some tiny bit of rent, well, sort of a rent to the government, they don't do that. They don't pay a lot of other things, so the condition of these apartments is deteriorating”, described Nadaždin.
When asked what the government should do, the pastor said that there isn’t much affirmative action that the government can do. Instead, he said that the law enforcement can be an effective solution upon those who case the deteriorating state of these buildings and the damage of the lives of the other members of the community who are responsible citizens.
The inner dynamics
While commonly it is not stated, dynamics between the Roma community member who came from Kosovo during and after the war and those who were already here did arouse. Most of which, according to members of both parts, because that the latter felt that all the funds as well as the attention went to the first, making the domicile Roma citizens feel neglected and overshadowed.
The language barrier
When asked whether the situation is better with the Roma community in Kosovo or that in Montenegro, the pastor said that due to the language barrier being one of the factors, he sees the case of Kosovo as more promising compared to the situation or the Roma from Kosovo in Montenegro.
Here, there's always a language barrier. For some of them, Serbian is, like, their third language. For some of them, it's their second. So, some speak better, some speak worse. There's always going to be a wall between them and the rest of the population. So, because they came from where they came from, they also tend to self-isolate. When I think of Romani in Kosovo, there's probably less of that, that at some point, the chances for real integration are going to be greater. Here, it's going to be harder”, Siniša said while expressing his opinion.
People on these apartments not paying their fees
Vllaznim Batusha, an Egyptian who migrated from Kosovo after the war and currently resides in these apartments, expressed how challenging it is for these individuals to meet their financial obligations and support their families. He attributed this difficulty to the low employment rate, which results in a single member supporting a whole family, and the relatively low wages these individuals receive. However, he also asserts that maintaining one's space is a matter of personal responsibility. According to him, some families maintain their apartments in a responsible manner, while others cause significant harm to their neighbors by damaging mutual facilities.
CIN CG was there and witnessed very poor maintenance of these buildings.
Nadaždin describes the situation thoroughly while restating that law enforcement and order would’ve prevented this from being the case.
“You know, you see how people get wire from the wall, and then they plug in somehow to get their electricity. I mean, let's go down to the basement and see what happens there. There are frequent wildfires over there. So, when I say law enforcement, that's what I mean. There have to be some law and some order. Were they have to feel it. But now it's just survival. Now it's just getting electricity. To get electricity for their Internet. So, what I'm saying, people choose to pay for their Internet. They will not pay for their water”, said Siniša.
Although many things have progressed since the first days that the Roma community from Kosovo that came after the war was first placed in Montenegro cities, and their story, rather than a black-and-white one, is grey, by no means should it be seen as a success story. And the outside looks of their living areas now—once one digs deeper—are seemingly deceiving of what actually is the case. To this day, this part of the Roma community that lives in Podgorica, especially, is not integrated but rather lives in a ghetto, separated from the rest of the society. And when describing it as a ghetto, one could go further and put the adjective “modern” next to the noun. “Modern” because it looks nice from the outside, “modern” because it doesn’t look even close to the tents in which this community was first placed. And, yet, their living standards, on average, because even there one family differs from the other, are far from being compared to that of an average native Montenegrin family.
Why does this remain the case, and is the government supposed to do anything about it? According to Siniša, it is part of human’s nature to try and find the easiest, cheapest way out; however, it is the government that should not allow people to continue to live in these conditions.
“So, there are these situations where there's also poor management, poor culture of using things. You can't improvise forever. It works for a period of time, but then, people try to hook up this wire with this wire and that wire with that other wire. I've seen some houses over there where they try to save money on everything. So, they get windows from the garbage or they find pieces of wire that they connect together, and those pieces of wire that are poorly connected there, they're inside of the walls. First of all, people shouldn't be allowed to live like that. There has to be government incentive, but also there has to be government regulation. You can't just let people do whatever they want. And people will always try to find easy way out. In this case, cheaper way out”.
The political representation
Shortly put: there isn’t one. The Roma community does not currently hold seats in the Montenegrin parliament. For years now, a quota has guaranteed political representation for most other non-majority communities but not to the Roma and Egyptian communities.
Writes: Hanmie Lohaj
"This article has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of CIN CG and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union."
Brendon Berisha was only three years old when he came to Montenegro in 1999. He was born in Kosovo, and since then has had the citizenship of Kosovo. The same applies to the woman with whom they gave birth to their daughter, Elemedina, who was born in 2014 in Montenegro. Shortly after her birth, her parents separate and her mother moves to France. Since both of her parents are Kosovar citizens, Brendon attempts to register his daughter in Kosovo since this is the first requirement before applying for his daughter's documentation in Montenegro, but his efforts are unsuccessful as the court in Kosovo does not permit it without her mother's presence. Brendon must initiate legal proceedings to secure the girl's legal representation, and while this case remains unresolved, time passes. In May 2024, he successfully obtained Montenegrin citizenship for himself. In order for his daughter to obtain the residence permit of the country in which she was born and raised, i.e., Montenegro, she must first obtain the citizenship of Kosovo, and because of the complications of obtaining that of Kosovo after the separation of her parents and the stipulation by the state of Montenegro that the girl first have the citizenship of her parents, today, 10 years old Elemedina has no passport, therefore no citizenship. Elemedina, with all the rights and accesses denied as a citizen born and raised in the state of Montenegro, finds it impossible to have full access to the health services she needs due to the health problems she is currently suffering from for a while.
Some context
In September 1999, Tatjana Perić, affiliated with the European Roma Rights Center, reported from a field mission that approximately 10,000 Roma from Kosovo had been relocated to Montenegro since the onset of the Kosovo war, detailing the harrowing experiences that compelled these individuals to abandon their homes. Conflicting reports emerged, with some sources claiming that Montenegro had taken in 12,000 individuals at that time, while others suggested that even greater numbers of Roma refugees from Kosovo had been welcomed. Nonetheless, in light of the significant transformations these figures have experienced, considering the migration patterns of many individuals to neighboring countries, both within and beyond the region, it is evident that, more than 25 years later, the population of Roma individuals originating from Kosovo has drastically lessened. However, the status of civil documentation for these individuals and their descendants has remained unchanged since the initial crossing of the border. A considerable number have succeeded in acquiring a residence permit; however, the overwhelming majority, if not all, remain without any form of documentation, whether it be a Montenegrin ID card or passport.
Furthermore, the children and later generations of these Roma have neither been able to nor have some even sought to acquire documentation from the state of Kosovo. One contributing factor is that they have not lived in or returned to their birthplaces in Kosovo for over twenty years. Center for Investigative Journalism in Montenegro (CN CG) has come to understand that over the course of more than twenty years, in Podgorica and other cities across Montenegro, there are individuals facing the risk of statelessness, which deprives them of several essential human rights. While pursuing citizenship in their country of residence, where their children were born, remains outside the target's trajectory, it is noteworthy that even 25 years later, there are Roma residents in Montenegro who directly arrived during the war whose children, nieces, and nephews were born and live to this day in Montenegro and who still lack a residence permit, let alone claiming more. The legal, circumstantial, and civil factors surrounding this situation are abundant, yet the more pressing issues lie in the challenges, difficulties, and obstacles these individuals face in meeting the essential conditions and requirements to apply for a residence permit in the first place.
What does it take for an individual to obtain the residence permit as a Roma from Kosovo who fled during the last war there?
Imagine being a citizen who fled Kosovo during the war and has not returned for numerous reasons. You have a legitimate desire to obtain a residence permit, ensuring your continued presence in the country where you have lived and worked for over twenty years, and where your children were born, in this case Montenegro. The chance to transition from refugee status to acquiring a residence permit was provided after the initial decade of living here, specifically between 2010 and 2014. If you have met all the conditions, your residence permit has been granted. What occurred in the instances where the absence of prior documents presents the greatest variety? Being part of a minority community in Kosovo, facing a challenging standard of living and even harsher living conditions, you have often found yourself without documents, whether they were lost or destroyed during the war, leaving you without any identification whatsoever since that time. To obtain a residence permit from the Montenegrin state, you must travel to either Kosovo or Serbia and possess the necessary documents from one of these two countries. Let’s say you choose Kosovo. To accomplish this, you must return there in person; however, crossing the border to return to Kosovo presents a significant challenge as you lack a passport. However, the Kosovo embassy in Montenegro allows you to cross the border with a special letter, which you manage to get with considerable difficulty. Nevertheless, you cannot use this letter to return to Montenegro. Therefore, you must stay in Kosovo until you obtain a Kosovo passport, document all your return activities, and continue to reside there until the passport procedure is completed. Meanwhile, you face the challenges of living in a country where you may or may not have any distant family members, let alone finding a place to stay and a job that can financially support you during that period, during those months. If you haven't returned to Kosovo since the war, and your children were born in Montenegro, which is certainly the case, you should register them in Kosovo by taking them there. Only once they receive their documents in Kosovo, they will be eligible to apply for a residence permit in Montenegro.
Within a matter of weeks CIN CG has successfully identified additional cases, each with its own specifics yet sharing a common thread: a range of challenges, obstacles, and difficulties in the pursuit of the residence permit. A significant obstacle lies in the realms of information and language, which has rendered the application process for obtaining a residence permit either impossible or delayed, even if only momentarily. The lack of cooperation from the embassies, whether of Kosovo or Serbia, is notably sufficient, hindering the provision of necessary assistance for these citizens to obtain relevant documents.
Credits of the photo: CIN CG
According to Elvis Berisha, the founder and director of the non-governmental organization "Phiren amenca," which has been addressing issues related to civil documentation since 2019, approximately 540 Roma individuals who came from Kosovo in Podgorica have yet to have their civil status regularized, all of which do not have residence permits.
“As for the data, we have the information from Montenegro’s government so far that there are 420 people at risk of statelessness and 120 people in the procedure, or in the process to obtain their residence permit to stay in Montenegro”, Berisha stated for CIN CG.
What or who is complicating the procedure of obtaining documents for these citizens?
Berisha said that although as an organization they have managed to help some people, there are many cases in which, considering their own specific complications, it is very difficult for them to reach the equipment with documentation, for which he also blames the laws in Montenegro and the bilateral relations between Kosovo and Serbia. He added that even though they have managed to help some, the total number does not go down because every day new children are born, i.e. new citizens of these citizens who already do not possess documentation and if as an organization they help solve some cases, new cases will be added with the birth of other children who encounter the same problem, or put otherwise, to which the issue is inherited even prior to birth.
“So far, as an NGO we have identified and worked out with 62 people, out of which a few of those cases are already sorted out, we have helped them get their Kosovo passports and IDs, and have registered three children which have not been registered nowhere since birth. We have helped them registered in Montenegro and we have registered two children through Kosovo’s embassy in Podgorica. Meaning, so far, we have solutions for some cases, but for some not really. For some cases there are significant complications, and it goes back to the laws, but also to the bilateral relations in between Kosovo and Serbia. Three years ago, in 2021 we have registered them only in Podgorica, and haven’t been in every single house. We have found 416 people, 216 children and 200 adults only in Podgorica, who have not had their documents, or only very scarce documents. After three years the number is almost the same, because even though we have helped some fix the issue, the new generations are coming or new cases which we haven’t identified before.”, said Elvis.
“They do not have any document of Montenegro and who also cannot have any document of Montenegro because they came from Kosovo. For them to be able to get even the permit of residence in Montenegro they are required to have the citizenship either of Kosovo or of Serbia, the passport or the ID of Serbia or Kosovo. And these people have not been registered, ever, neither in Kosovo or in Serbia. And this adds up to the problems. For instance, we have one person, we have many in fact, but I’ll mention this one; this person is born in Kosovo, during the war there he was 10 years old. He has not been registered in Kosovo. When they came to seek refuge in Montenegro his mother and father were Kosovars, but their status was of refugees until 2010 and since 2010 till the end of 2014 was the deadline for them to apply for the status of obtaining the residence permit here. Some have applied, most have, but some haven’t. For instance, this person who has been 10 when he came here from Kosovo, he could not apply for the residence permit because he didn’t have the passport, or the citizenship of Kosovo. His mother and father have not registered him when they came here during the war, nor after the war, and that person has reached the age of 18 while still being without documentation. Once he reached that age, he could not register in Kosovo anymore, because according to the law in Kosovo, until the age of 18 you can register, but once you turn 18 and more one cannot. That person now has his own family, his own children, but in Montenegro that person can’t have neither the passport nor the residence permit, because the same person has never had Kosovo’s documents. Now we are struggling to help him in any way or form, because his dad has died, but even if he were alive, we wouldn’t have been able to do anything because that the law makes it hard for him after he reached the age of 18”, told Elvis.
The case of Besim’s and Valbona’s family
At 51 years old, Valbona Tatari has raised six children and is now a grandma to three. She and her family have been residents of Konik, a predominantly Roma neighborhood of Podgorica, for the past twenty years. She in early 2000 came to Montenegro from Kosovo and to this day nor her nor any other member of her family that is made by 12 other members have ever been issued a residence permit or any form of official Montenegrin documents. She opens out about the difficulties she and her husband went through attempting to get their permits, saying that nobody paid attention to them and that they were ignored and neglected.
“No one has helped us to get the papers, we’ve gone everywhere. They didn’t even care, to be frank. So, they’ve left us like this”, said Valbona.
She herself has tried multiple times to send her four sons to Kosovo to get their documents there, because even though she gave birth to all of them in Montenegro, she herself has Kosovan citizenship, and for them to pass the border, they were required to have a paper that is given from the Kosovo Embassy in Podgorica, which she claims the Embassy hasn’t provided her with.
“I have the papers in Kosovo, I have gone and made them there because I used to have none. I am from Vushtrri, but they said to me we don’t have you in our system here, so no papers for you, then I went to Mitrovica and there I was in the system and I got the papers within two weeks there. A woman helped me there. I also got the certificates for my two daughters because they were very young back then. I registered my daughters in my name. They said that I should bring my four sons in order for them to get the papers too. To get the papers for them I had to get them pass the border, meaning I had to take them to Kosovo. How can I pass the border for them without any paper? And this is how my children are left with no papers”.
Valbona claims that having no papers is keeping her and her family from having any access to any service possible and that she herself, having various chronic health problems, has no way to get treatment in the state she is living in for more than two decades now, in the same state that she has given birth to five of her children.
How do these "paperless children" enroll at any level of education?
Besim, Valbona’s husband, confesses that none of his children ever enrolled in school because of not having any documentation.
“We truly find ourselves in a dire situation. We have been living without any official documents for the past 18 years. Every illness, including the flu and cold, requires us to seek medical care from the private sector. All my daughters and sons are proficient in writing and reading, despite not attending even a single day of school”, said Besim.
According to Elvis, children with a residence permit are eligible to enroll in elementary and high school. However, for children without a birth certificate, the situation becomes more challenging. Some of these children enroll in elementary school but are unable to graduate, which means they cannot continue to high school or any higher education level.
“If they have no birth certificate, they cannot enroll in any education level, but we have some exceptions in primary schools, in which some kids are enrolled, but at the end of the school, in order to have their diploma, they have to provide their birth certificates because of the personal number that is on them,” said Elvis, director of Phiren Amenca for CIN CG.
The case of Besim and Valbona’s children is not the only one where, due to the difficulties parents have faced obtaining their children’s certificates, they have been deprived of any kind of formal education.
What is the direct impact of the lack of documentation on these citizens and the community?
Obtaining public services for these individuals is nearly impossible. When it comes to receiving health services, those who have problems receiving them in Montenegro would not be able to receive them in Kosovo, even if they went there, as they do not have the documentation for this from the state. Even if they were citizens of the Republic of Kosovo, none of Kosovo’s citizens have health insurance in Kosovo either. So, this community, caught between two fires in the middle, feels as it doesn't belong anywhere. The vast majority of this community have residence permits, but these do not guarantee full access to all health services provided in Montenegro’s public healthcare system. However, the lack of citizenship in the country where they live and work causes restrictions and limited access not only in the health sector but also in other sectors. The vast majority of this community, who have a legal residence permit and are not here "illegally," do not have the right to vote, which means they have no influence on public political life and therefore do not have decision-making opportunities. They also cannot run for official state positions, as they are not official citizens of Montenegro, or be part of the army. When they are denied these rights, there is automatically discrimination against them, making them referred and treated as second-class citizens. We note that obtaining Montenegrin citizenship is not an easy process for anyone applying; however, this community includes thousands of children who have been born and raised here, and to whom Montenegro is the only homeland they know and can think of.
Embassy of Kosovo in Montenegro:
Given that these Roma citizens originate from Kosovo and a significant portion of them hold Kosovo citizenship and/or have been born there, it is expected that the relevant Kosovo embassy in Podgorica possesses at least basic information about their situation in this country. But the reality cannot be more different. Despite the numerous complaints of these citizens that the services they seek to receive from this embassy are very slow and often non-existent, when we addressed the same with a few basic questions about the state of this community in Montenegro, including the question of what is an approximate number of Roma citizens who from Kosovo according to this year’s data, or how of can someone apply to get the citizenship of Kosovo after reaching the age of 18, the same is answered with the following sentence: “Unfortunately, we do not have the exact information you are looking for. However, we can direct you to the NGO "Koracajte sa nama - Phiren Amenca," who could potentially provide further assistance”. Yes, you read it correctly, they advised us to consult a non-governmental organization here for basic information such as the number of Roma citizens from Kosovo in Montenegro or on the application procedure for Kosovar citizenship after the age of 18 in Kosovo.
Writes: Hanmie Lohaj
"This article has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of CIN CG and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union."
In just six months, the Nikšić businessman earned over a million euros from the sale of the administration building and land of the former mining giant, which was almost handed over to him as a gift by the bankruptcy trustee. Workers filed a criminal complaint, but there is no money to pay the outstanding salaries
By Biljana Matijašević
The Nikšić-based company Roaming Montenegro, which purchased the administration building and land of bauxite mining company Boksiti from bankruptcy for 872,000 euros, sold that property to the German retail chain Lidl for around two million euros just a few months later, CIN-CG has learned.
Roaming Montenegro, owned by businessman Dalibor Milović, bought the Boksiti administration building covering an area of 1,652 square metres and the yard and building plots totalling about 5.9 thousand square metres at the end of 2021. Along with its plots nearby (around 2.7 thousand square metres), Milović sold the Boksiti property to Lidl in July 2022 for a total of 2.4 million euros, or at a price of 278.42 euros per square metre, according to the sales contract seen by CIN-CG.
This would mean that, excluding Milović’s plots, the Nikšić-based businessman received around two million euros for the Boksiti property, nearly two and a half times more than what he had paid. In other words, he earned over a million in just six months with this transaction.
The contract also states that the total price was reduced for costs related to meeting the requirements for the handover of the property.
Roaming Montenegro is registered as a company engaged in non-specialized wholesale trade, but it has expanded its business to include construction projects. In 2019, the company won a contract for the reconstruction of the Municipality building in Nikšić. A year earlier, it was awarded a contract for the construction of a building for employees of the Podgorica Waterworks on Stanko Radonjić Boulevard.
The company gained public attention in 2018 when around 1.6 million euros were fraudulently withdrawn from its business account by an organized group based on falsified documentation.
Milović signed a contract worth nearly 1.8 million euros with representatives of the former government in October last year for the renovation of five healthcare facilities in Montenegro.
At the time of the sale of the administrative building, Blažo Jovanić was at the helm of the Commercial Court. Jovanić is currently on trial on charges brought by the Special State Prosecutor’s Office for criminal association and malpractice in bankruptcy proceedings.
The Commercial Court initiated bankruptcy proceedings against the Nikšić-based Boksiti at the end of 2013, at the request of the CKB bank, due to a debt totalling 1.59 million euros. Prior to that, the bauxite mining company was managed by the Central European Aluminium Company (CEAC), owned by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. Part of the Bauxite Mines’ assets from bankruptcy was acquired in 2015 by Uniprom, owned by Veselin Pejović, following his takeover of the Podgorica Aluminium Plant (KAP).
Boksiti assets sold below market value
The remaining assets of Boksiti, including the building and land, were sold at an auction in December 2021 to a company owned by businessman Milović upon the tenth attempt, as there had been no interested buyers in previous advertisements.
In the first advertisement in May 2019, the price of this property was listed at 1.55 million euros. In accordance with the Law on Bankruptcy, the bankruptcy trustee has the discretion to conduct each subsequent public sale with a reduction in the minimum sale price. The bankruptcy trustee of Boksiti at the time was Mladen Marković, while the bankruptcy judge was Blažo Jovanić.
In the initial advertisement, the Boksiti land was offered at 77.4 euros per square meter, and the commercial building at a slightly higher price of 662 euros per square metre. After nine unsuccessful attempts, the assets were sold below market value.
According to data from Monstat, the average price per square metre of land in the central region, where Nikšić is located, stood at 42 euros in 2021, coinciding with the time when the property was sold to Milović for 870 thousand euros. This suggests that the Boksiti land was valued at approximately 250 thousand euros on the market. Meanwhile, the administrative building held a minimum value of one million euros, considering that the average price per square metre of an apartment in that period was around 620 euros (Monstat), and even higher within the city centre.
Milović managed to profit well from the Boksiti property sold to Lidl and achieved what the bankruptcy administration of the company could not. He managed to secure the market price for both the administration building and the Boksiti land, resulting in an outstanding profit.
The Hungarian creditor Vagonimpex also submitted an offer on the tenth advertisement. However, the bankruptcy trustee deemed it invalid, explaining that it lacked evidence of a deposit payment, proof of the legal entity’s registration with a certified translation into Montenegrin and a legally certified power of attorney for submitting the offer. Vagonimpex had proposed 800,000 euros.
“The statements in the offer that the evidence of deposit payment actually represents a claim that the bidder has against the bankrupt debtor in the amount of 800,281.54 euros cannot be accepted as valid evidence of deposit payment because such offsetting of claims in the sale process of the assets of the bankrupt debtor is not permitted and is not prescribed by the Bankruptcy Law,” wrote Marković in the explanation.
“The statements within the offer suggesting that the evidence of deposit payment equates to a claim of 800,281.54 euros against the bankrupt debtor cannot be deemed valid. This is because offsetting claims during the asset sale process of the bankrupt debtor is not permitted nor prescribed by the Law on Bankruptcy”, he added.
From the third to the first priority group and back
Former employees have been demanding payment for outstanding claims (wages and other allowances) totalling 2.1 million euros since the introduction of bankruptcy. This includes 15 earned monthly salaries before bankruptcy for about 240 employees, or the difference between the minimum monthly salary of 190 euros they were paid at the time and their full salary.
They were included in the first priority group in March 2021, when Jovanić was at the helm of the Commercial Court. Nonetheless, they did not receive any money because they were returned to the third priority group in another court proceeding.
The Commercial Court, under the leadership of its new president, Mladen Grdinić, who assumed office in April of the previous year, provided clarification on this matter when speaking to CIN-CG.
“The funds deposited by Roaming Montenegro, pursuant to the agreement on the purchase of the business building, were used to settle the claim of the bankruptcy creditor Vagonimpex KFT from Budapest, as stipulated by the final judgment of the Commercial Court of Montenegro dated 20 July 2018”, stated in the response.
As explained, after Roaming Montenegro deposited the money, bankruptcy trustee Mladen Marković made a decision on 21 January 21 2022 to deposit the money into the account of the Commercial Court, pending a decision of the Constitutional Court on his appeal from 2019 against the judgment in favour of the Hungarian company.
In response to the bankruptcy administrator’s decision, Vagonimpex lodged an objection, which was subsequently dismissed. Following this, the Hungarian company appealed to the Court of Appeals. On 13 April 2022, the Court of Appeals annulled the ruling of the Commercial Court and remanded the case for reconsideration.
“In the subsequent proceedings, the Commercial Court on 21 January 21 2022 upheld Vagonimpex’s objection and ordered the bankruptcy trustee to fully settle the claim of this creditor. Accordingly, the bankruptcy trustee made a decision on 20 April 2022 to settle the claim of the bankruptcy creditor Vagonimpex,” the court explained.
Subsequently, on 15 June 2023, the Commercial Court issued a decision to correct the final list of recognized and disputed claims by reclassifying the claims of all bankruptcy creditors, including workers whose claims were based on unpaid net wages, from the previously assigned third payment priority back to the first payment priority. However, by the time this decision was made, the funds had already been disbursed to the Hungarian company.
“So, at the time of disbursing the funds obtained from the sale of the administrative building, the employees, as bankruptcy creditors, were in the third payment priority.”
A representative of the former workers, Rašo Čivović, filed a criminal complaint with the Special State Prosecutor’s Office regarding the sale of the administrative building.
“We are waiting for a call and a meeting with the new prosecutor Nataša Bošković, who has taken over the case,” Čivović told CIN-CG.
Former Boksiti workers expected to collect their overdue wages and other benefits from the sale of the administrative building, which was the only remaining property of the company that had filed for bankruptcy ten years ago.
Čivović believes that everything regarding the sale of the administrative building was “staged” to “pay out the Hungarians.”
The Hungarian company sued Boksiti, seeking compensation for lost profits of 891,000 euros with interest due to the unilateral termination of the ore purchase agreement. The ore purchase agreement was signed several months before the introduction of bankruptcy in Boksiti in 2013 and terminated after bankruptcy was introduced.
Vagonimpex was registered in Hungary in 2006 as a company for the sale of various goods. It has one employee, director Andras Raczko, as stated in Hungarian registries.
Čivović says that the Commercial Court should have paid the workers in 2021 when it issued decisions to return them to the first payment queue. According to him, the problem is that the decisions do not bear the seal confirming their finality (res judicata clause), which, he claims, proves that everything was a game to ensure that the money went to “certain Hungarians.”
Blažo Jovanić, the former president of the Commercial Court, was released from custody earlier this year by a decision of the Court of Appeals, allowing him to defend himself at liberty. He had been held in custody since May 2022.
On 29 December last year, the court approved the proposal put forth by his lawyer, Predrag Đolević, and upheld the decision of the High Court in Podgorica to accept bail totaling 768,000 euros in real estate provided by his family.
Jovanić is charged, among other things, with creating a criminal organization in 2015 that operated in Montenegro until April 2022. The organization included other accused individuals and legal entities, as well as several other unknown individuals whose goal was “to commit criminal acts of abuse of office for illicit gain, with the operation of the criminal organization planned for an unlimited period of time and based on the application of certain rules of internal control and discipline of its members.”
Jovanić and the other defendants are being tried before the High Court in Podgorica based on this indictment. The trial began in June 2023.
As the president of the Commercial Court, Jovanić simultaneously served as the bankruptcy judge for the largest companies in Montenegro – Podgorica Aluminium Plant, Boksiti Nikšić, Radoje Dakić, Vektra Boka, Brodogradilište Bijela, Onogošt, Bjelasica Rada and others.
The Special State Prosecutor’s Office suspects Jovanić of illegally inflating the costs of bankruptcy proceedings using his position as the president of the Commercial Court, as well as his judicial role, with the assistance of certain bankruptcy trustees.
“Illicit financial gain was obtained by directing certain funds, at Jovanić’s order, from the account of the Commercial Court to the account of the bankruptcy debtor, ostensibly for the purpose of conducting the bankruptcy proceedings. Subsequently, this money was transferred to the accounts of members of this criminal group before the conclusion of the bankruptcy proceedings,” reads the decision to remand a part of this group into custody.
Lidl: We always comply with applicable laws
Lidl headquarters in Germany declined to comment on the situation with former employees of Boksiti, stating that they always adhere to applicable laws in all business activities.
They did not respond to inquiries regarding the opening of stores in Montenegro either.
“Montenegro is a retail market where Lidl’s concept of offering high-quality goods at the best prices resonates well with consumers. Therefore, Lidl is investing in potential store locations and warehouses in Montenegro. We kindly ask for your understanding, as at this moment we cannot comment on the extent of our activities, potential locations or possible opening dates,” Lidl told CIN-CG.
Lidl, they added, values transparent and reliable communication and will duly inform employees and stakeholders about the next steps.
The contract signed between Roaming Montenegro and Lidl states that the seller has committed not to construct, operate or manage any grocery stores, supermarkets, self-service stores or similar retail establishments with a sales area exceeding 500 m2 on its properties in Nikšić located within a radius of 1 km from the specified property, within three years from the conclusion of the contract. Furthermore, the seller will not permit third parties to construct, operate or manage such establishments on the mentioned properties.
“In case of breach of this obligation, the seller undertakes to pay the buyer a contractual penalty of 100,000 euros for each individual violation, without excluding the buyer’s right to claim damages, including lost profits,” states the contract obtained by CIN-CG under the Law on Free Access to Information through the MANS platform.
Where did Deripaska’s 17 million euros end up?
Rašo Čivović has been trying for years to determine the whereabouts of the alleged 17 million euros from Deripaska that were reportedly loaned to Boksiti a decade ago and which the Russian oligarch is now seeking in legal proceedings.
Čivović told CIN-CG that if this money had entered Rudnici boksita, the company would not have gone bankrupt because there would have been funds to repay the debt to CKB.
He requested this information from the new governor of the Central Bank of Montenegro (CBCG), Irena Radović, at the end of the year. However, the CBCG declined his request, stating that this information is confidential business information.
The court handling the trials of Medenica, Jovanović, Čađenović, Lazović, heads of drug cartels and other defendants accused of high-level corruption and organized crime is not functioning and rarely renders decisions
By Maja Boričić
The Special Division of the High Court in Podgorica, responsible for adjudicating of corruption, organized crime and war crimes, has rendered only 19 judgments over the course of nearly four years.
These figures were disclosed to the Centre for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG) following a freedom of information request submitted to the High Court in Podgorica.
Out of the 19 judgments rendered between January 2020 to October of this year, within the division handling cases initiated by the Special Prosecutor’s Office, 11 resulted in convictions, five in acquittals and three in dismissals.
According to the report’s findings, the annual caseload ranged from 109 in 2020 to 150 cases last year. Last year saw only eight judgments being issued.
In addition to the alarmingly low number of judgments for the gravest criminal offences, the problem lies in the lengthy duration of trials, whereas the number of defendants is increasing each year.
The number of old cases is also on the rise. All of this could lead to breaches of the right to a trial within a reasonable timeframe, and in some cases, even to statutes of limitations.
As of 12 October of the current year, the Special Division of the High Court had as many as 44 cases older than three years, as per statements from spokespersons of the Judicial Council who spoke to CIN-CG.
According to the report from the Judicial Council, at the beginning of last year, the High Court in Podgorica had 1,967 pending cases, of which 661 had lingered than three years. By the end of the year, that number had increased to 3,185 cases, with the number of older cases almost doubling to 1,008.
In addition to the inefficient handling of the most sensitive cases, the High Court in Podgorica was further compromised by a recent break-in at the evidence storage facility housing evidence for the most serious criminal offenses. The extent of the missing evidence and how much this situation will further complicate the handling of cases in that court remains to be seen.
The duration of proceedings is one of the main indicators of the efficiency of the judiciary in cases of organized crime and high-level corruption, emphasizes Valentina Pavličić, Montenegro’s representative before the European Court of Human Rights, speaking to CIN-CG.
Judicial authorities must make efforts to ensure trials are conducted within a reasonable timeframe, and excuses relating to case overload cannot be accepted. “It is reasonable to expect that applications will be lodged if someone has spent three years in detention without a first-instance judgment, provided that there is no contribution on their part to delaying the proceedings,” Pavličić underscores.
The representative before the Strasbourg court notes that the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has reiterated in numerous decisions that “states are required to ensure the administration of justice promptly, as delays could jeopardize its effectiveness and credibility.”
Trials against officials either have not yet begun or are in their very early stages
The efficiency of the judiciary is exemplified by ongoing trials against leaders of the judiciary, prosecution and police, as well as other high-ranking officials, many of which either have not yet commenced or are in their initial stages.
The trial of Vesna Medenica, the former president of the Supreme Court and longtime Supreme State Prosecutor, has not yet begun at the High Court in Podgorica, despite the indictment being filed a year ago. The Pre-Trial Chamber of the High Court confirmed the indictment only in February of this year. The trial was supposed to start in May, but has been postponed several times. Subsequently, the proceedings against Medenica and her colleague from the Commercial Court, judge Milica Vlahović Milosavljević, have been separated from those of the other defendants. They are being tried by the panel presided over by judge Nada Rabrenović.
The Special Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against Medenica in October last year, accusing her of being part of a criminal organization created by her son, Miloš Medenica.
The former “first lady of the judiciary” is accused of facilitating court cases to end in favour of private companies and receiving bribes for doing so.
The criminal group allegedly formed by her son is also accused of cigarette smuggling, unauthorized production, possession and trafficking of narcotics, as well as exerting unlawful influence.
Medenica was released from custody in November last year after spending just under seven months in detention.
Her colleague, former head of the Commercial Court, Blažo Jovanić, began his trial only at the end of June this year, despite the indictment being filed in November last year. He is accused of leading a criminal organization that engaged in malpractice in bankruptcy proceedings at the court. He is being tried by a panel presided over by judge Zoran Radović.
Special State Prosecutor Saša Čađenović was arrested in December last year on suspicion of collaborating with the ‘Kavac Clan’. The indictment was filed with the High Court in June this year and was confirmed a few days ago. He is charged with the criminal offence of forming a criminal organization and four offences of abuse of office. The trial in this case is yet to commence.
The Special State Prosecutor's Office filed an indictment in early January this year against former national security officer Petar Lazović, Radoje Zvicer, police officer Ljubo Milović, and several other individuals. Lazović has been in custody since July last year, and the indictment in this case has not yet been confirmed. He has offered multimillion-dollar bail several times in exchange for freedom, but the court rejected it.
In March this year, the Special State Prosecutor’s Office filed an indictment with the High Court against six former executives of the Plantaže company, who are charged with the criminal offence of abuse of office in economic activity. The indictment has not yet been confirmed in this case either.
In the case involving the Abu Dhabi Fund, in which former high-ranking Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) official Petar Ivanović is among the suspects, the prosecution has encountered setbacks. The indictment for abuse of office was announced multiple times, but it turned out that the investigation was remanded for reconsideration due to procedural errors by the prosecutors. The investigation was initiated in early 2021. Ivanović is accused of entering into several loan agreements with domestic companies from the Abu Dhabi Fund that failed meet loan eligibility requirements, resulting in a budgetary loss amounting to eight million dollars.
The Criminal Procedure Code provides that the prosecutor must immediately inform their immediate superior prosecutor (in this case, the Supreme Prosecutor) of the reasons why an investigation has not been completed if it is not concluded within six months. The immediate superior prosecutor will take necessary measures to conclude the investigation.
Although the inquiry in this case was initiated in 2019 and the investigation began only in early 2021, significantly exceeding the deadlines, the Supreme State Prosecutor was only recently informed about it, and the Prosecutorial Council requested a report on this case only in September of this year.
Judges refuse to go to High Court
The Special Division of the High Court currently operates with only six judges, which allows for the formation of just two panels. This further complicates the situation because, among other things, a judge who participated in the decision to confirm the indictment may not participate in the trial of the accused.
Several legal experts interviewed by CIN-CG have noted that the responsibility for the situation in the High Court lies with the president of the court, who bears the responsibility for scheduling judges, as well as with the Judicial Council, which allowed judges to be appointed to multiple courts, leaving unfinished cases for the most serious criminal offences.
In October, acting president of the Supreme Court of Montenegro Vesna Vučković sent a letter to the president of the Court of Appeal of Montenegro, Mušika Dujović, and judges of the Criminal Division of the Supreme Court, Seka Piletić, Milenka Seka Žižić and Zoran Šćepanović, asking them to consider the possibility of sending judges from these two courts to assist in the Special Division of the High Court in Podgorica: “The president of the Court of Appeal responded that none of the judges of this court were able to be sent to assist, and the same stance was taken by the judges of the Supreme Court,” sources from the Supreme Court told CIN-CG.
The Judicial Council has clarified that at present, judges from High Courts can only be temporarily reassigned to the High Court for a maximum period of one year, with their consent being necessary for this.
Pavličić, who is also a former judge of the High Court, explains that the organization and scheduling of work in the court are certainly defined by the court’s president.
Boris Savić, the president of the High Court, declined to respond to CIN-CG’s question about whether he considers himself responsible for the inefficient operation of the Special Division, and also refrained from addressing other questions concerning the functioning of the court.
“Practice shows that the current number of active judges is not sufficient, so preventive action should certainly have been taken to prevent this situation. We are talking about the most sensitive and perhaps the most urgent category of proceedings that require more than a formal approach,” says Pavličić.
She notes that it is precisely through the handling of cases of organized crime and corruption where the strength of the court’s authority, professional knowledge and procedural capabilities is demonstrated, ultimately leading to the resolution of such cases within a reasonable timeframe.
According to reports from the Judicial Council, the Special Division of the High Court each year resolves about 20 to 30 percent of cases from January 2020 to December 2022, with the fewest being resolved through judgments.
The Judicial Council’s report cites the insufficient efficiency due to factors such as the small number of judges, the pandemic and the large number of defendants and defence counsels in most cases, which requires additional time. It is also noted that last yea “three experienced judges” left the division.
The report failed to address any potential omissions made by judges
Additionally, statistics indicate that last year, the High Court sentenced individuals to imprisonment in only 45 percent of cases where penalties were imposed.
In 2021, the Special Division of the High Court had 138 ongoing cases, with 95 remaining unresolved, representing just under 69 percent. Likewise, within the High Court, only approximately 40 percent of resolved cases resulted in imprisonment.
In 2020, there were 109 cases in progress, with 81 remaining unresolved, or just over 74 percent. Once again, only about 44 percent of cases in the High Court resulted in imprisonment.
Court efficiency has deteriorated
In its Analysis of the Application of the Law on the Protection of the Right to a Trial within a Reasonable Time 2017-2022, Human Rights Action (HRA) concludes that the efficiency of the courts has significantly deteriorated in the period from 2017 to 2022.
The judiciary has failed to achieve the goal of reducing the number of backlog cases, as envisaged by the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Judiciary Reform Strategy. Instead of decreasing, the number of such cases surged by as much as 49.5 percent compared to the target.
They say that this deterioration was particularly evident in 2022, exacerbated by a vacancy rate of approximately 21 percent during 2021 and 2022.
“A careful analysis should explore whether other indicators may also suggest that the decline in efficiency is due to poor management of human resources and cases in the courts, compared to what was previously the case.”
HRA notes that compared to the population size, Montenegro still ranks second in Europe in terms of the number of judges, with even twice as many as the European average.
Although there are significantly more judges, it is evident that they are not well-distributed, nor efficient, especially in key cases.
No more hearings for the confirmation of indictments?
The amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code, currently under consideration in the Parliament, envisage that there will no longer be hearings for the confirmation of indictments, so as to prevent unnecessary delays in the proceedings.
According to the amended provisions, it is the obligation of the court to deliver the indictment to the accused and their defence counsel, who may provide written responses.
“The court shall render a decision on the confirmation of the indictment provided that the legally prescribed conditions are met. The accused and their defence counsel retain the right to appeal the decision on the confirmation of the indictment. Once the decision on confirmation is final, the indictment becomes legally binding.”
EU also warns of the lack of judgments
The so-called non-paper by the European Commission from June this year highlights that there is a need to improve the public perception of impunity for high-level corruption and organized crime, and that it is necessary to implement a more deterring, consistent and efficient sanctioning policy for the most serious criminal offences.
They emphasize that the track record of investigations and criminal prosecutions in high-profile cases have improved, but they are not accompanied by effective trials, and that there are almost no outcomes or convictions in these cases.
The 2022 report on Montenegro adds that data on the duration of proceedings are still not available, and that statistical information on the performance of the judicial system is not systematically analysed or used for management and policy-making purposes.
Following the change of government three years ago, deposits held in the bank of the younger Đukanović began to ‘melt away’. The bank has survived thanks to substantial backing from the government, as well as deposits from state-owned enterprises, institutions, local governments and close businessmen. Auditors warned about the company’s uncertain future, while the Central Bank insists that everything is fine but withholds audit findings.
By Biljana Matijašević
As Prva Banka (First Bank) grapples with a new crisis stemming from its history of risky operations and the loss of its privileged market position after 30 August 30 2020, its major owner, Aco Đukanović, resides outside Montenegro following the collapse of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) and is seeking to sell this company. For years, the Prva Banka has survived thanks to substantial backing from the government, as well as deposits from state-owned enterprises, institutions, local governments and and businessmen close to the Đukanović family.
Multiple sources confirmed to the Centre for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG) that the brother of the former multiple prime minister and president of the country, Milo Đukanović, moved to Luxembourg shortly after the 2020 elections and has already embarked on new projects there.
The long-standing regime of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) enabled Aco Đukanović and a certain number of affiliated businessmen to amass enormous wealth, often bypassing legal regulations, despite the fact that laws were written precisely for them. The wealth of the younger Đukanović has been estimated at several hundred million euros. Prva Banka is just one of the former state-owned companies that have fallen into Aco’s hands during years of dubious and partner privatizations led by the elder Đukanović.
Following the change of government three years ago, deposits placed in the Prva Banka began to dwindle, and the 2022 audit report highlighted significant uncertainties regarding the bank’s future operations.
“The potential cumulative effects of the issues raised in sections of our report entitled ‘Basis for a qualified opinion and emphasis of matter’ may directly impact the reduction of capital adequacy below prescribed minimums, as well as worsen other indicators and limits prescribed by the Central Bank, indicating the existence of material uncertainty that raises significant doubt about the bank’s ability to continue operating in accordance with the principle of going concern,” states the report from BDO, an independent auditing firm.
How deposits were dwindling
The new management of the Electric Power Company (EPCG), which is a significant shareholder in Prva Banka (around 20 percent), withdrew around 11 million euros in deposits from the bank immediately after the establishment of the new management and change of government. According to EPCG officials, the current balance in the deposit account at Prva Banka is around 1.6 million euros.
In 2019, the energy company had a total of 24 million euros in deposits (fixed-term and on-demand) in Prva Banka, which decreased to around 20 million euros in 2020. According to audit reports, EPCG reduced its deposits in Aco Đukanović's bank to 14.5 million euros in 2021, and further to 8.8 million euros in the previous year, leaving only 1.6 million euros in the account now.
In 2010, the state-owned energy company granted Prva Banka a subordinated loan of 10 million euros to overcome liquidity problems. The loan was reduced to six million euros through several annexes, with the last annex signed by the former management of EPCG in 2020, postponing the repayment until 1 April 2028.
EPCG recalls that last year they requested approval from the Central Bank of Montenegro (CBCG) to withdraw the subordinated loan, but the regulator did not allow it. The CBCG previously explained that such action would jeopardize the bank’s operations.
“The total income of EPCG from accrued and paid interest on the subordinated debt, as of 31 March 2023, amounts to approximately 6.5 million euros,” EPCG officials told CIN-CG.
At the end of 2019, Prva Banka had deposits of around 340.8 million euros. By the end of 2020, following the fall of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), customer deposits decreased to 301.7 million. In 2021, they further dropped to 258.4 million euros. However, by the end of last year, deposits at Prva Banka had increased to approximately 285.3 million euros, but this still represents a significant outflow compared to the time of the elder Đukanović’s rule.
Significant amounts of deposits in Prva Banka were also held by EPCG’s subsidiaries – the Montenegrin Electric Distribution System (CEDIS), as well as the companies majority-owned by EPCG – the Coal Mine and Zeta Energy. Deposits were also held by Pivara Trebjesa, Sports Facilities LLC, the Student Dormitory and Student Centre in Nikšić and the Municipality of Nikšić.
Of those, significantly reduced deposits were held only by EPCG, CEDIS, Zeta Energy and Coal Mine in the last year. For example, in 2019, CEDIS had a total deposit of 20 million euros, while by the end of last year, it was reduced to only 3.5 million euros.
The deposits of Coal Mine amounted to 3.2 million euros in 2019, falling to 675 thousand euros last year. Zeta Energy reduced its deposits from 953 thousand euros in 2019 to a symbolic one thousand euros last year.
CBCG witholds audit findings
The Central Bank of Montenegro (CBCG) conducted an audit of Prva Banka last year, but the institution, still managed by Radoje Žugić, a trusted figure of the former regime and former director of Aco Đukanović’s bank, refuses to disclose the findings. Žugić’s term of office has expired, but due to political disagreements, a new governor has not yet been appointed, so he continues to lead this institution, which he took over in 2016. He also headed the institution between 2010 and 2012.
“The information regarding the findings of the bank audit, as well as any potential measures to be implemented, is confidential,” the CBCG told CIN-CG.
Goran Knežević, a banking expert and former deputy director-general of the CBCG, says that, to his knowledge, the CBCG conducted an audit of the bank at the end of last year and the beginning of this year, and allegedly found nothing irregular.
According to him, the audit findings by the CBCG regarding Prva Banka reportedly indicate that the bank’s operations are compliant with the law, based on good practices and stable. He mentioned that the cut-off date for an assessment was the end of November, rather than the end of the year.
“In line with the new Law on Credit Institutions, CBCG is required to disclose any disciplinary measures imposed on banks, if any. If none are imposed, it should mean that everything is in order,” he explains.
The CBCG says that Prva Banka is operating within the regular regime. It is liquid and there are no outstanding orders.
In response to CIN-CG’s inquiry about whether EPCG will continue to support Prva Banka as in the previous period, the energy company said that Prva Banka, in its semi-annual report, indicates that there are no operational issues and that liquidity is at a satisfactory level, enabling uninterrupted operation, adding that the bank operates without any restrictions regarding loan approvals.
An analysis by CIN-CG has revealed that Prva Banka has not received a positive report from independent auditors for over a decade, which should have been a warning signal for the regulator, the Central Bank, to take stricter measures.
In their reports of auditing firms over the past 12 years (earlier reports are not available on the Central Bank’s website), audit companies generally highlight the same issues – a high level of non-performing loans, non-compliance with regulatory requirements and international auditing standards, underestimated or overestimated balance sheet items, leading to a misrepresentation of the true financial performance.
A source familiar with the situation at Prva Banka (name known to the editors) stated that the bank had previously warranted a negative opinion from auditors, “but no one dared to write it,” given that it is owned by the brother of Milo Đukanović, who himself once held shares in the bank. It is known that he earned his first legal million by selling those shares.
The source indicated that the bank did not adjust to banking regulations in Montenegro; instead, the regulations were “adjusted to it”. In other words, the Central Bank relaxed regulations to tailor them to Prva Banka.
Goran Knežević told CIN-CG that analysing the performance of this bank, one can conclude that it would be desirable for Prva Banka to change its business model, risk management system and corporate culture.
“Those who build one culture rarely change it, unless they themselves undergo intensive change. Typically, a new culture needs to be introduced by someone else, or an inadequate business culture ultimately results in the system’s demise,” Knežević notes.
He confirmed that after 2008, when Prva Banka faced its first major crisis, bank controls were ‘relaxed’.
Measures and performance data also remain under the veil of secrecy
Asked about why stricter measures were not taken against Prva Banka, given the fact that it has not received a positive auditor’s opinion for over a decade, the CBCG told CIN-CG that information regarding the findings of bank business controls, as well as the implementation of measures, is confidential and can only be provided to the competent state authorities.
Ines Mrdović, director of the Action for Social Justice (ASP), told CIN-CG that actual control of the bank’ operations by the supreme monetary institution has never been undertaken, and those who attempted it previously were quickly removed.
“It was simply an ‘untouchable’ bank to which state interests were subordinated due to strong political and nepotistic connections, so there is a big question mark about whether auditors received truly relevant data from the bank’s management in such an environment, and how they were able to provide relevant assessments of the bank’s condition," she notes.
Mrdović believes that since the 2008 financial crisis, during which the bank was assisted with 44 million without consulting the public, and a year later, when tens of millions of euros were deposited into it from the sale of part of the government’s stake in EPCG to prevent bankruptcy, the true business figures of the bank are still largely shrouded in ‘a veil of secrecy’.
Prva Banka was founded by taking over the state-owned Nikšić Bank in 2006, and within a few months under the control of the Đukanović family, it grew by several dozen times. It immediately began to serve, as reported by the BBC, as an ATM machine for the ruling elite and their friends, some of whom received multimillion-dollar loans without proper collateral.
Before the crisis and state aid in 2008, the regulator had imposed measures on Prva Banka due to identified liquidity problems. At that time, the bank was required to cease granting loans that did not comply with regulations. However, according to audit reports, the bank did not adhere to the measures imposed by the Central Bank of Montenegro (CBCG), under which it was effectively operating only nominally for two and a half years.
In 2008, Prva Banka managed to avoid collapse with the help of the state following the enactment of special legislation, allegedly due to the global crisis, and by approving a loan of 44 million euros from the state budget. The bank repaid the loan in instalments, but doubts arose in some quarters about the authenticity of the repayment. The first instalment was repaid by transferring 11 million euros in 11 consecutive transactions on 13 March 2010, following the inflow of deposits from the state-owned Regional Waterworks, also in 11 transactions of one million euros each. This was confirmed by the auditor.
Due to suspicions regarding the regularity of the loan repayment to the state, several criminal complaints were filed against Prva Banka and some former members of the government. The complaints were filed by MANS, the CBCG and the Movement for Changes. Prva Banka at the time denied allegations that they had unlawfully repaid a portion of the loan to the government.
The Special State Prosecutor’s Office did not respond to CIN-CG’s questions regarding the criminal complaint filed in 2020 by the Democratic Montenegro, the Pensioners’ Party and the Pensioners’ Union. The previous criminal complaint filed in 2012 was dismissed by the Supreme State Prosecutor’s Office, led by Ranka Čarapić. That complaint was filed by the CBCG due to suspicions of irregularities in business operations when Ljubiša Krgović was at its helm. He was dismissed from that position after opposing the Đukanović family.
It will be difficult for someone to buy a bank burdened with problems
During the era of the DPS, the bank was effectively supported by the Montenegrin Electric Power Company (EPCG) through deposits, recapitalization, approval of subordinated loans and through million-dollar transactions during the sale of a part of the EPCG to the Italian company A2A. The sale of Montenegro’s most valuable company was negotiated by the elder Đukanović.
Thanks to the EPCG, Prva Bank managed to maintain the legally prescribed level of capital. Following the latest auditor’s report for 2022 and the expressed qualified opinion, there have been discussions about selling the bank.
Media outlets from Serbia and Montenegro reported in July that the Postal Savings Bank of Serbia was interested in acquiring Prva Banka, but this news was quickly denied. The Central Bank says they have not received any formal notification regarding the intention to purchase the shares of Prva Banka, claiming that the EPCG is also not aware of such information.
In the 2022 report on Prva Banka, the auditor stated that there is interest in acquiring a majority stake in the bank “by strategic investors from Europe and the region.”
“According to the bank’s management, some of the offers could be implemented in the short term, creating the necessary conditions for the survival and further development of the bank,” the report states.
CIN-CG has reached out to several banks in Europe and the region, all of which said they were not considering the purchase of Prva Banka. Prva Banka did not respond to CIN-CG’s inquiries regarding whether they are conducting negotiations for selling the bank and with whom.
An insider familiar with the matter points out that the talks about the sale of the bank have been ongoing for more than a decade, so it will be challenging for anyone to acquire it due to liquidity issues.
As early as in 2011, according to media reports, negotiations were underway for the sale of Prva Banka to Russian banker Vladimir Antonov, who was suspected of embezzlement in Lithuania’s Snoras and Latvian Krajbanka, as well as financial irregularities involving the HSBC bank.
Prva Banka was in negotiations for sale with the royal family of Al Nahyan from the UAE in 2008 and 2013, but those attempts were also unsuccessful.
At the end of last year, the bank had 280 shareholders, with the largest being Aco Đukanović, holding 41.46 percent and EPCG holding 19.76 percent. However, the owners of a total of 11 percent of shares are concealed behind aggregate custody accounts at Hipotekarna Bank (4.48 percent), Prva Banka (3.44 percent), and CKB (3.1 percent).
Aco is now increasing his deposits
NGO Action for Social Justice (ASP) announced in late August that Aco Đukanović withdrew his deposits when seeking state assistance in 2008.
According to ASP data, Aco Đukanović’s fixed-term deposits fell from 18.1 million euros at the end of 2008 to 4.3 million euros. His deposits continued to decrease, so by 2019, according to the auditors’ report, he had not held any deposits at Prva Banka under his name.
Since leaving the country, however, the younger Đukanović has been injecting deposits into his bank over the past three years, while others were withdrawing, as shown by the audit reports. In 2020, he had a deposit in the bank amounting to 956,000 euros, and by 2021, this sum had grown to 1,127,000 euros. In the same year, a microcredit company owned by Prva Banka, Montenegro Investment Credit, deposited 806,000 euros in Prva Banka. The 2022 audit report states that Aco Đukanović’s deposit amounted to 1.8 million euros, while Montenegro Investment Credit reduced its deposit to 514,000 euros.
Since the state no longer injects money into the bank that has been privileged for years, it is evident that the younger Đukanović now has to inject his own money to save the bank’s liquidity and prepare it for sale. Considering how much money they have taken from the state, these deposits are only symbolic amounts for the family.
CIN-CG requested copies of the 2008 and 2009 control reports on Prva Banka from the Central Bank, but the request was denied on the grounds that they constitute business secrets.
Through the freedom-of-information platform developed by MANS, CIN-CG also requested a separate 2009 audit report by the PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), ordered by the Central Bank. However, the Central Bank also declined this request, stating that they do not have it. The PwC did not complete the audit, which remained in a draft form. This, as Krgović stated in his statement to the prosecution service in 2014, is one of the most severe qualifications for a bank.
Asked by CIN-CG whether the Central Bank destroyed documentation on the operations of Prva Banka for 2008 and 2009, they said that they “do not destroy documentation on bank operations, and it is available for inspection by third parties in accordance with the law.”
“When it comes to archiving and storing documentation, the Central Bank acts in accordance with the Law on Archival Activities and the List of Categories of Central Bank Registry Material approved by the State Archives of Montenegro,” they said.
Parts of the draft audit report by PWC were published in 2012 by the regional network of investigative journalists, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). The report revealed that Prva Banka approved nearly two-thirds of loans to related parties, where it not only violated its internal rules but also laws and other regulations, causing harm to itself in favour of providing special treatment to VIP firms and individuals.
One example involves foreign companies associated with businessman Zoran Bećirović, a friend of Milo Đukanović. Central Bank inspectors established in 2007 that the bank, without obtaining all the necessary information and documentation, opened accounts for Beppler and Partners, registered in the British Virgin Islands, as well as Caldero Trading, Beppler Property and Development and Beppler Investments, registered in Cyprus.
In 2014, the OCCRP also reported that Prva Banka conducted business with the convicted drug lord Darko Šarić and his associates, allowing them to take out loans under favourable conditions through accounts at the bank, which raised justified suspicions of money laundering.
“In its dealings with Šarić and Rodoljub Radulović, or their companies, Prva Banka violated the law and internal regulations, granting them loans in violation of prescribed procedures and without adequate collateral to ensure repayment. For instance, when opening accounts for Lafino Trade LLC in the US state of Delaware and for Camarilla Corporation in Seychelles, Prva Banka failed to obtain valid registry extracts or copies of personal documents for individuals with access to the accounts. In this way, Prva Banka breached the Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing,” the OCCRP reported.
Jegdić has been on trial for six years already, and yet there is still no first-instance decision. How much longer will the trials of Medenica and Jovanić last? Judging by the initial hearings, the wheels of justice will move slowly, if at all.
By Maja Boričić
The Judicial Council dismissed two judges over 10 years ago for committing criminal offences. In 2017, the Judicial Council dismissed another judge, but that decision was overturned and the judges were reinstated. Five judges were dismissed for negligent and incompetent conduct, but even those dismissals occurred a long time ago, with the last one taking place 12 years ago.
According to data obtained by the Centre for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG), it is common for judges to evade disciplinary proceedings by resigning. As CIN-CG previously reported, the same practice was observed in the prosecution service.
A number of dismissed judges continued to work in the judicial system, most often as attorneys.
By reviewing disciplinary proceedings published on the website, the Council has had a practice of imposing symbolic salary cuts for a few months as punishments for judges for consistent delays in rendering judgments; unjustified absence from hearings for up to a month; failure to act within legal deadlines in multiple cases. It has often happened that judges only received warnings for breaches of duty.
The system for establishing the accountability of judges and state prosecutors, unfortunately, is still ineffective, says Marija Vesković, legal advisor at the Human Rights Action (HRA), speaking to CIN-CG.
“Numerous criminal proceedings initiated in the past 15 months indicate that there has been unlawful influence within the judiciary and the prosecution service, while on the other hand, the practice of establishing disciplinary and ethical accountability remains at a minimal level,” Vesković stresses.
Former judge of the Basic Court in Kolašin, Branislav Grujić, was dismissed by the Judicial Council in 2009 because he was sentenced by a final judgement to one year in prison for abuse of office and negligent performance of duty.
He was convicted for allowing the limitation period for criminal prosecution to expire in several cases, and in one case, he enabled a convicted individual to avoid serving the sentence.
He was charged with abuse of office, which carries a sentence of imprisonment ranging from one to eight years, and for two offences of negligent performance of duty, for which the penalty is either a fine or imprisonment for up to three years.
However, the Basic Court in Bijelo Polje sentenced him to ten months in prison for the lesser offence of abuse of office and three months for only one offence of negligent performance of duty, imposing a total sentence of one year. In the same case, the court clerk responsible for criminal cases received a prison sentence twice as long as judge Grujić, totalling two years.
The most serious consequences for violating ethics and professional principles were faced by Arif Spahić, a former judge of the High Court in Bijelo Polje. In 2010, he was sentenced to seven years in prison for two offences of bribery. The Judicial Council dismissed him in 2011. The crime for which he was convicted carries a penalty of three to 15 years in prison.
He was convicted after it was proven that he had accepted bribes totalling around 20,500 euros to impose a lighter sentence in a case involving a serious criminal offence in the field of public transport resulting in death. Additionally, the judge allowed the defendant to have their detention revoked and facilitated their escape.
In another case, Spahić accepted a bribe of 18,500 euros to impose a lighter prison sentence and revoke the detention of the accused for unauthorized production, possession and trafficking of narcotics.
In 2017, the Judicial Council dismissed Goran Vrbica, the then president of the Basic Court in Cetinje, but reinstated him in 2021. Vrbica was accused of instructing judge Nebojša Marković on what decision to make, thereby causing €800,000 damage to one company to the benefit of another.
The one-year sentence was overturned by the Constitutional Court. In the retrial, the judge was acquitted on the grounds that there was no evidence of abuse of office. After being reinstated, Vrbica continued to work as a judge in the Basic Court in Kotor but soon resigned from his position.
Judge Nebojša Marković, who was also involved in the same case, was also acquitted of the charges. However, the Judicial Council did not address his case as he had already resigned and became a practising lawyer.
A judge buried a defendant
Due to incompetent and negligent work, the Judicial Council dismissed five judges, the last one being dismissed twelve years ago.
Former judge of the Basic Court in Pljevlja, Zorica Novaković, former judge of the Basic Court in Podgorica, Žarko Savković, former judge of the Basic Court in Kolašin, Ljiljana Simonović, former judge of the Basic Court in Cetinje, Duško Jovović, and former judge of the High Court in Bijelo Polje, Atif Adrović, were dismissed for incompetent and negligent performance of judicial duties in proceedings between 2008 and 2011.
Simonović was dismissed because in 2008 and 2009, over 50 percent of her decisions were overturned, and for years she failed to proceed in dozens of execution cases, although she was required to do so urgently. In one case, the judge even terminated the proceedings due to the death of a defendant, who was still alive.
Savković was dismissed because he did not proceed in many cases for several years, causing limitation periods to expire in some cases.
Similarly, Novaković failed to act in enforcement cases for years or proceeded incorrectly. She later continued to practise as an attorney. However, she was recently sentenced to three years in prison for the continuing criminal offence of fraud and the continuing criminal offence of forging a document. She is accused of collecting false costs totalling 160,000 euros in over 20 cases. This judgment is not yet final.
Former judge Jovović was fired because, in 2009, he delayed rendering over 150 judgments. According to the Criminal Procedure Code, a judgment must be drafted and delivered within one month, and within two months for complex cases. Former judge Jovović, now an attorney, took up to eight months for some judgments.
No one is held accountable for crimes, but some are for electricity theft
The case of judge Adrović vividly illustrates how a judge can be dismissed for much milder offences than those committed by many representatives of the judiciary over the years.
Adrović was dismissed because he imposed a suspended sentence on a person who stole electricity, but later paid the Electric Power Company (EPCG) even more money than he had consumed. However, this accused person had previously been sentenced to 45 days in prison for endangering traffic, so the Judicial Council referenced the provision of the Criminal Code that a suspended sentence cannot be imposed if someone commits a new offence within five years.
In all these proceedings, the president of the Judicial Council was Vesna Medenica, who is now facing trial for abuse of office. The Special State Prosecutor’s Office is prosecuting Medenica for her involvement in a criminal organization formed by her son, Miloš Medenica, and for inciting judges from various courts to make decisions in favour of certain parties, who in return provided bribes or had family ties with her.
Currently, criminal proceedings are underway against judges Danilo Jegdić and Blažo Jovanić, as well as judges Marija Bilafer and Milica Vlahović-Milosavljević.
Judge Bilafer of the Basic Court in Kotor is suspected of abuse of office, particularly for issuing unlawful court decisions cornering the registration of property in the maritime zone. The Special State Prosecutor’s Office has not responded to CIN-CG’s inquiries regarding the status of this case and whether charges have been brought against the judge.
Judge Milica Vlahović-Milosavljević of the Commercial Court is accused of abuse of office, specifically for imposing a temporary measure in favour of Vesna Medenica’s godfather, Rado Arsić, and his company, under pressure from the former president of the Supreme Court, Vesna Medenica. This action was contrary to the Law on Enforcement and Security, resulting in a serious violation of the rights of the other party.
Her suspended superior at the Commercial Court, Blažo Jovanić, is accused of creating a criminal organization that engaged in malpractices in bankruptcy proceedings in that court. This included fabricating fictitious expenses and false evaluations, resulting in eight companies being defrauded of hundreds of thousands of euros.
Since its establishment, the Judicial Council has issued 21 decisions to suspend judges, including Branislav Grujić, Snežana Dragojević, Željko Šupljeglav, Žarko Savković, Zorica Novaković, Zoran Lekić, Zoran Ašanin, Milorad Marotić, Ilijaz Krom, Isad Jašarović, Arif Spahić, Ljiljana Simonović, Nikola Tomić, Vidomir Bošković, Nedeljko Mrdak, Atif Adrović, Lazar Aković, Danilo Jegdić, Marija Bilafer, Milica Vlahović-Milosavljević and Blažo Jovanić.
The decision to suspend, effectively temporarily removing a judge or prosecutor from their duties, is taken if a criminal procedure has been initiated against them for an offence that disqualifies them from performing their function, if they are detained or if there is an ongoing disciplinary procedure leading to dismissal.
In addition to the already dismissed judges and the four against whom proceedings are still ongoing, almost all other suspended individuals have resigned, thereby preventing the continuation of disciplinary proceedings.
Even Vesna Medenica, who held top positions in the judiciary for almost three decades, avoided having her case reviewed by the Judicial Council by resigning before criminal proceedings were initiated against her.
Prolonged proceedings cast a shadow on truth
Speaking to CIN-CG, Ana Perović-Vojinović, a long-time judge and former member of the Judicial Council, says she is confident that criminal proceedings against judicial leaders and judges will end ingloriously.
“However, there is justified concern regarding the duration of the proceedings, as prolonged proceedings always cast a shadow on the truth established in the proceedings, diluting it and diminishing its strength,” she notes.
Perović-Vojinović suggests that there should be a consensus to prioritize these proceedings and ensure absolute dedication to them in order to reach a high-quality judgment that is professionally grounded and substantiated.
“This means shorter deadlines for scheduling hearings, thorough and swift processing of the evidence and proficient handling of entire case files,” says this judge from the Administrative Court.
She notes that the disciplinary responsibility of judges is undoubtedly one of the most important issues upon which the efficiency of the judiciary hinges.
“We have been witnessing many negative developments in the judiciary in recent years, especially the inability to adequately and promptly resolve situations where there is suspicion of major errors due to incompetence or suspicion of corruption,” she adds.
Perović-Vojinović was a member of the Judicial Council between July 2018 and July 2022. She emphasizes that during that period, the Judicial Council particularly struggled with the disciplinary responsibility of judges, as well as with an inefficient, outdated and inapplicable Law on the Judicial Council and Judges.
She explains that the law broadly defines disciplinary offences, which in practice often results in the dismissal of complaints.
Vesković of Human Rights Action further explains that the legal descriptions of some disciplinary offenses by officeholders, not only in the judiciary but also in the prosecution service, are too vague and subject to arbitrary interpretation, leading to avoidance of accountability. As a result, judges and prosecutors are sometimes treated unevenly.
According to the legal advisor from HRA, it is necessary to improve the legislative framework, especially regarding violations of the Code of Ethics and disciplinary offences.
“The difference is not insignificant because disciplinary offenses entail serious sanctions unlike ethical violations, which practically go unpunished.”
Resignation should not be allowed during disciplinary proceedings
Perović-Vojinović also points out the problematic issue of allowing judges to resign, especially in cases where there is suspicion that they have committed serious disciplinary offenses through their conduct.
“I believe that judges, as public officials, have a special responsibility to the public, and that the law should address the ‘legal power’ of resignation in a way that prioritizes disciplinary offences.”
Vesković also highlights the problematic nature of this practice, noting that Human Rights Action has proposed amendments to the law to stipulate that resignation should not be considered during disciplinary proceedings. However, the Ministry of Justice rejected this proposal, stating that according to the Constitution, the judicial function, among other things, ceases upon the judge’s request.
Vesković explains that in Serbia, there is a legal possibility allowing a resignation not to be accepted until the completion of disciplinary proceedings. In addition, their Constitution also states that the judge’s function ceases upon the judge’s request, so this was not a valid reason for not adopting this provision.
HRA’s legal advisor notes that there is also a problem with initiating proceedings to establish the responsibility because neither members of the Judicial and Prosecutorial Councils nor the disciplinary prosecutor have the authority to initiate proceedings to establish the responsibility of a judge or prosecutor. This should be changed. Every member of the Judicial and Prosecutorial Councils should have the authority to initiate disciplinary proceedings, she emphasizes.
The fact that certain cases have never been prosecuted, despite legal conditions allowing it, also shows that the problem lies not only in the legislative framework but also in the lack of proactivity or willingness of judicial officials to initiate proceedings against their colleagues, says the legal advisor from HRA.
Vesković cites the case of judge Milosav Zekić, who continued to hold judicial office for almost a year after being criminally convicted, despite being required to be immediately dismissed.
“At that time, Vesna Medenica was the president of the Supreme Court, aware that criminal proceedings were underway against Zekić, but did not initiate disciplinary proceedings against him even after he was convicted.”
Such conduct by the court president constitutes grounds for removal from the presidential position, concludes Vesković.
It is not known to us whether the legality of the decisions made by judge Zekić during the time when he could no longer be a judge was questioned. Only after a year of being convicted, he resigned.
Acting president of the Supreme Court Vesna Vučković, who is also a member of the Judicial Council, told CIN-CG that it is not within her responsibility to discuss the accountability of judges and referred us to the Disciplinary Council of the Judicial Council. However, even the Disciplinary Council of the Judicial Council remained silent to our questions, which speaks volumes about their readiness to change the system.
Judge Danilo Jegdić of the Basic Court in Podgorica has been on trial for six years, and a first-instance decision has not yet been rendered. He is accused of continuing forgery of an official document, which is liable to imprisonment for a term from three months to five years, with the possibility of a stricter sentence for continuing offences. In response to CIN-CG’s questions, the Basic Court in Nikšić, where this case is being tried, said the proceedings were still ongoing before judge Sava Mušikić.
How long will the trials of the former president of the Supreme Court and the suspended president of the Commercial Court last? Given the way the trials started, with frequent postponements of hearings, one might infer that the wheels of justice will turn slowly, if at all.
Reasons for missed limitation periods should be examined
The previous practices of both councils concerning complaints about the work of judges and prosecutors, as well as annual reports on their performance, have shown numerous cases of limitation periods being missed in criminal prosecutions, Vesković recalls.
“However, in practice, there has been a lack of checks and initiation of proceedings to determine their responsibility.”
Accordingly, Vesković emphasizes, it will be particularly important to ensure that the reasons for missed limitation periods in criminal prosecutions are investigated. If the responsibility of a judge or prosecutor is established, it should have implications for their evaluation, advancement, and dismissal.
There is no progress in establishing accountability in the judiciary
By Maja Boričić
Special Prosecutor Saša Čađenović received a disciplinary sanction 11 years ago for arbitrarily taking away a case assigned to another prosecutor while serving as a prosecutor at the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office in Podgorica. Čađenović is currently in prison on charges that he is part of a criminal gang.
In a 2012 decision by the Prosecutorial Council, seen by the Centre for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG), Čađenović had his salary cut by 15% for three months as punishment for failure to perform his prosecutorial duties properly.
On 24 October 2012, he requested from V. M., the technical secretary of the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office in Podgorica, to be handed over a case assigned to by the state prosecutor in Podgorica, LJ. K, to deputy prosecutor, I. P. Without the knowledge of the prosecutor and the case processor, he prevented the dispatch of the decision previously agreed upon by the state prosecutor, drafted another decision without authorization, signed it as the processor, and submitted it to the prosecutor for review.
Eleven years later, the Special State Prosecutor’s Office brought charges against Čađenović for the offence of forming a criminal organization and six offences of abuse of office.
Čađenović is accused of becoming a member of the criminal organization of ‘Kavac clan’ in mid-2020, with the task of not pursuing criminal prosecution and not initiating proceedings against the organizers and members of that criminal organization as a special prosecutor. As the indictment reads, Čađenović among other things hindered the identification of perpetrators of the most serious criminal offences, prevented their detention, removed reports provided by EUROPOL from case files as well as criminal complaints filed by the police against them.
No prosecutor has ever been dismissed since the establishment of the Prosecutorial Council in Montenegro. Only prosecutor Romina Vlahović was fired for incompetent and negligent work, but she was soon reinstated as the Prosecutorial Council’s decision on her dismissal was overturned.
In the last ten years, there have not even been any fines imposed in disciplinary proceedings conducted by the Prosecutorial Council, except for prosecutor Nikola Boričić from the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office in Podgorica, but even that decision was overturned, so the prosecutor was acquitted in a retrial.
Many prosecutors, however, have resigned before disciplinary proceedings were initiated, thereby preventing the conduct of disciplinary proceedings. Some who made serious mistakes were not even subject to any proceedings, and some have been promoted in the meantime.
Even if criminal proceedings are initiated against prosecutors and judges, they usually drag on for years and often end “ingloriously”. Disciplinary proceedings resulted in symbolic penalties at best –such as a salary deduction for a few months.
In the latest unofficial document, known as a non-paper, the European Commission emphasizes that there is virtually no progress when it comes to establishing the accountability of judges and prosecutors:
“The promotion and enforcement of ethics and standards of professional behaviour of judges and prosecutors remains a challenge. There is a limited track record and a lack of proactivity by both Councils.”
The Prosecutorial Council attributes this to legislative solutions, which, as they assert, are inadequate as they leave room for interpretation.
In recent times, proceedings have been initiated against some of the top figures in the judiciary, including former president of the Supreme Court Vesna Medenica, president of the Commercial Court Blažo Jovanić and Special Prosecutor Saša Čađenović, among others.
“The extent of disruption to the foundation of the judiciary and justice in Montenegro is best illustrated by arrests of those who were supposed to serve it. Still, there needs to be caution towards the propensity for selective justice, which unfortunately is not an exception but rather the rule for Montenegro,” emphasizes Marija Popović Kalezić, director of the Centre for Civic Freedoms (CEGAS).
She notes that for further reform, it is necessary to fill all positions in the judicial and prosecutorial system with higher-quality staff, but also to consider the introduction of vetting.
Kalezić also underscores that both the Prosecutorial and Judicial Councils should do much more to expedite key changes.
“The functionality of both councils, as well as transparency, must be increased and lead to concrete results,” she adds.
Vlahović dismissed and then reinstated to her position
The only decision by the Prosecutorial Council leading to the dismissal of Romina Vlahović was later overturned and she was reinstated.
Vlahović, a prosecutor at the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office in Podgorica, was dismissed in disciplinary proceedings in April 2013 due to incompetent and negligent performance of prosecutorial duties. The decision stated that the prosecutor made unlawful decisions in certain cases, failed to act in cases assigned to her, kept cases at home and refused to return them upon request. It was also noted that she did not consider cases with sufficient care and expertise, while delaying proceedings. Her actions led to the dismissal of criminal charges in some cases, as stated in the annulled decision of the Prosecutorial Council.
A few days before this decision was made, Vlahović submitted her resignation. However, the Prosecutorial Council deemed it ‘irrelevant’ back then.
Before facing disciplinary action, a criminal proceeding was initiated against Vlahović in January 2013 for stealing two creams from a ‘Cosmetics’ shop. She was found guilty in the first-instance judgment, but the High Court later overturned that decision. The case was remanded for retrial, which was then suspended due to a legislative change concerning the prosecution for thefts valued at less than 150 euros, which now requires a private lawsuit. The shop owner did not prosecute Vlahović.
In addition to being reinstated, she also received compensation totalling 21,000 euros for reduced or unpaid salaries from February 2013 to August 2014, as well as for unpaid rent during that period.
Prosecutor Nikola Boričić from the same prosecutor’s office faced disciplinary charges for failure to act, resulting in the limitation period expiring in 13 criminal cases. He received a symbolical punishment from the Prosecutorial Council in the form of a 20% salary deduction for three months. The Supreme Court overturned this decision, citing a lack of evidence that the prosecutor’s actions led to the expiration of the cases and consequently acquitting him of responsibility.
Boričić claimed that this procedure was retaliation from Lepa Medenica, head of the High State Prosecutor’s Office, and Dražen Burić, former Acting Head of the High State Prosecutor’s Office, because he refused to act on their unlawful orders, especially after refusing to engage in illegal actions regarding the case publicly known as Belivuk – Miljković. In particular, he refused to participate in lifting the entry ban for those individuals into Montenegro.
As a result of this case, disciplinary proceedings were recently initiated against Medenica, which also ended ingloriously. The Prosecutorial Council refused to discuss the proposal for Medenica’s dismissal because the indictment was poorly drafted. According to information obtained by CIN-CG, this decision will also be brought before the Supreme Court.
Deputy disciplinary prosecutor Tanja Nišavić lodged an appeal with the Supreme Court, seeking to annul the Prosecutorial Council’s decision and remand the case for reconsideration.
The prosecutor accused of usury awaits the High Court
In response to CIN-CG’s request to have access to all decisions regarding the dismissal and temporary removal of prosecutors, the Prosecutorial Council said that data from 2015, the year when the Secretariat of the Prosecutorial Council was established, are available on the website. They also mentioned that they currently do not have access to the archives of that institution as they have not yet been digitized.
The website only contains three decisions regarding the temporary removal of Saša Čađenović, Grujo Radonjić and Lidija Mitrović.
The Basic Court in Kotor told CIN-CG that the proceedings against Grujo Radonjić, the suspended prosecutor of the High State Prosecutor’s Office, have been before the High Court for a year now, pending an appeal against the first-instance judgment.
The proceedings against Radonjić were initiated back in 2018. In April last year, he was initially sentenced to the minimum term of one year imprisonment for usury and fined 1,000 euros. He was accused of ‘earning’ around 44,000 euros through usury. According to the Criminal Code (CC), usury is liable to a fine and imprisonment for a term ranging from one to eight years.
Prosecutor Lidija Mitrović of the Special Prosecutor’s Office has been accused of abusing her office in the ‘Klap’ case by enabling five defendants to avoid criminal prosecution.
In the ‘Klap’ case, the Special Prosecutor’s Office accused 19 individuals of tax evasion and non-payment of contributions, resulting in damage to the state budget amounting to 2.6 million euros.
CIN-CG previously reported that the majority of defendants, including individuals from the ‘Klap’ case, who were members of criminal groups involved in tax evasion amounting to millions of euros, were only imposed suspended sentences and fined a few thousand euros. All of these agreements were approved by judge Boris Savić, with most of the deals having been negotiated by prosecutor Mitrović.
Prosecutor Srđa Jovanović from Kotor resigned after the Special Prosecutor’s Office initiated proceedings against him, thereby avoiding disciplinary action. The Special Prosecutor’s Office began proceedings against Jovanović over a year ago on suspicion of committing the crime of abuse of office. The current status of this case, including whether charges have been filed against the former prosecutor, remains unclear as the Special Prosecutor’s Office has not provided further information.
The Basic State Prosecutor’s Office in Nikšić told CIN-CG that the proceedings against prosecutor Vukas Radonjić, on suspicion of domestic violence, are still in the preliminary investigation stage.
Radonjić's wife reported him for domestic violence back in May, but the Nikšić-based prosecutor’s office has not yet decided on whether to prosecute Radonjić, despite three months having passed since the complaint was filed.
No progress in holding judges and prosecutors accountable
European officials also stress the need for better supervision of the judiciary in Montenegro, including more thorough and unannounced inspections.
“The approach of Ethical Commissions of the Judicial and Prosecutorial Councils to handling cases is still not sufficiently effective and consistent.“
Marija Popović Kalezić, the director of CEGAS, also says that the lack of implementation and malfunctioning of both internal and external control systems are key reasons for the lack of prosecution of judges and prosecutors”
“For five consecutive years, the Special State Prosecutor’s Office has not undergone any control by the Supreme State Prosecutor’s Office, and delays in control by higher authorities over lower ones have also been common.”
She also underscores that during the seven years of operation of the Complaints Commission regarding the legality of the work of prosecutors and heads of state prosecutor’s offices, a total of 667 complaints were filed, of which only 39 were found to be justified.
“Over the past seven years, only 10 disciplinary offences (punished with the lowest sanctions) and six cases of violation of the principles of the Code of Ethics, which cannot directly impact work assessments, have been identified. It is clear how effective and successful the control system itself is.”
European officials also highlight the differing practices of the Judicial Council and the Prosecutorial Council regarding the inaccurate reporting of assets to the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption.
They explain that the disciplinary committee of the Judicial Council failed to impose sanctions on judges for this type of improper behaviour, while the Prosecutorial Council sanctioned prosecutors by reducing their salaries by 20 percent.
“The independence, accountability and professionalism of the judiciary must be enhanced”, concludes the European Commission.
Popović Kalezić emphasizes that the control is best illustrated by the fact that only one prosecutor in Montenegro has received a three, while all others have been rated with the highest grade, which allows them to advance further. She concludes that legislative changes regarding control and accountability in the judiciary are necessary.
Prosecutorial Council awaits legislative changes
Stevo Muk, a member of the Prosecutorial Council, says that the decision-making regarding disciplinary responsibility should be returned to all members of the Prosecutorial Council, as this currently mostly lies within the Disciplinary Board of the Prosecutorial Council. Muk emphasizes that this is a bad practice that needs to be overcome “with a little goodwill, which has been lacking in the leadership of the Council over the past year and a half.”
He also emphasizes that amendments to the Law on the State Prosecutor’s Office are necessary, both in terms of the procedure for establishing disciplinary responsibility and in the description of disciplinary offences.
“It may be necessary to expand the circle of initiators of disciplinary proceedings or possibly lay down that anyone may submit an initiative for establishing disciplinary responsibility. Ultimately, the decision to initiate disciplinary proceedings would remain with the disciplinary prosecutor,” Muk told CIN-CG.
He explains that it is a misconception that it is the Prosecutorial Council that takes decisions regarding disciplinary responsibility.
“The only such case was the initiative for the dismissal of the head of the High State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica, Lepe Medenica, which was suspended before the Prosecutorial Council had the chance to ascertain the facts and make a decision,” Muk said.
According to the Law on the State Prosecution, proposals for establishing disciplinary responsibility may be submitted by the head of the State Prosecutor’s Office, the head of the immediately superior state prosecutor's office, the Supreme State Prosecutor, the Minister of Justice and the Commission for Monitoring the Application of the Code of Ethics of State Prosecutors.
Incompetent and negligent performance of prosecutorial duties is deemed to have occurred when a state prosecutor: fails to achieve at least 50 percent of the workload results without justified reasons, unless they provide valid reasons for not achieving the results; starts performing parliamentary or other public functions or professionally engages in another activity; receives an unsatisfactory rating twice in a row; receives disciplinary sanctions twice for serious disciplinary offenses; commits a serious disciplinary offence causing significant damage to the reputation of the State Prosecutor’s Office.
Speaking to CIN-CG, acting Supreme State Prosecutor Tatjana Begović highlighted that work is underway on amendments to the Law on the State Prosecution: “Representatives of the State Prosecutor’s Office and the Prosecutorial Council, members of the working group, are striving to contribute with concrete proposals to further specify certain norms concerning disciplinary responsibility.”
Begović emphasizes that the State Prosecutor’s Office recognizes only perpetrators of criminal offences in its work, regardless of their position or profession: “If there is suspicion that someone has committed a criminal offence that is prosecuted ex officio, they are treated in the same manner, regardless of whether they are a state prosecutor, judge or representative of any other profession.”
Regarding state prosecutors against whom criminal proceedings have been initiated, Begović explains that the Prosecutorial Council, in the current stages of the proceedings, has made the only possible decisions, which are decisions on suspension: “The Law on the State Prosecution stipulates that if a state prosecutor is convicted of an offence that makes them unworthy of performing prosecutorial functions, this constitutes the most serious disciplinary offence.”
However, this is not the only way for a prosecutor to be dismissed. According to the law, this can also be done due to incompetence and negligent work. According to the decisions of the Prosecutorial Council, there have been no such cases in Montenegro.
Vesković: Katnić should have been given a disciplinary penalty
Legal advisor at the Human Rights Action Marija Vesković told CIN-CG that disciplinary prosecutors should be empowered to initiate disciplinary proceedings. Additionally, she emphasizes that the 2015 suggestion of the Venice Commission should be taken into consideration, as it proposes that a person outside the prosecutor’s office should be appointed as a disciplinary prosecutor, thereby increasing democratic legitimacy and credibility in determining accountability.
As an example, she mentions the case of former Chief Special Prosecutor Milivoje Katnić, who was never held accountable for releasing statements containing excerpts from transcripts obtained through surveillance measures, which constitutes a serious disciplinary offence. Katnić disclosed information he acquired in cases and used his position to further his private interests.
“Neither the then acting Supreme State Prosecutor Ivica Stanković nor Minister of Justice Vladimir Leposavić took any action, although they had the legal authority to initiate proceedings against Katnić.”
Competent institutions assert that the state will crack down on one of the most lucrative illegal businesses in Montenegro, while shifting the blame for failure onto one another
By Maja Boričić and Dražen Đurašković
Piles of gravel everywhere, machines operating right by the shore, the riverbed expanded, and landslides on both sides of the riverbed, disrupting biodiversity... This is how the riverbed of the Morača River has been devastated for years by uncontrolled and illegal gravel exploitation. But similar scenes can also be found on other rivers in Montenegro. Despite the fact that these constitute criminal offences, the judiciary has failed for years to respond adequately to this crime.
As revealed by the Centre for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG), out of 25 criminal proceedings initiated for illegal gravel exploitation over the last five years, only five have been completed. Two were dismissed, while three resulted in symbolic penalties – two fines of 1,700 and 800 euros respectively, as well as one suspended sentence.
The threatened penalty for the offences that the prosecution charged the defendants with is imprisonment ranging from three months to five years and a fine. Therefore, even those few valid judgments consistently fall below the legally prescribed minimum.
Although the Government banned gravel exploitation six years ago, it rendered the moratorium decision meaningless by leaving the possibility for exploitation to continue through the so-called riverbed regulation. Reckless exploitation has continued along the Morača River and other Montenegrin rivers, causing the state to suffer multi-million losses.
According to Irma Muhović of the Montenegrin Ecologists Society (CDE), a combination of state determination, strict law enforcement, institution strengthening, improved coordination and alignment with international standards are essential factors in overcoming the issue of illegal gravel exploitation.
Speaking to CIN-CG, she underscores that the lack of effective justice enforcement and punishment for those responsible for illegal gravel exploitation sends a negative signal and undermines efforts in combating this issue.
“Insufficiently harsh penalties or a low rate of convictions will not only fail to deter offenders, but may also encourage further unlawful activities,” she warns.
To address this problem, she concludes, it is crucial for the state to demonstrate determination and enforce strict sanctions. Strengthening institutions and ensuring adequate resources and capacities for the effective implementation of judicial processes are also necessary.
“Establishing an effective monitoring and control system for gravel exploitation, coupled with rigorous punishment for lawbreakers, can be of great assistance in combating illegal gravel exploitation,” she underscores.
Two deferred prosecutions and one suspended sentence
Two cases initiated before the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office ended with deferred prosecution. Predrag Maraš and his company PE Mar were fined 1,700 euros for the criminal offence of “unauthorized engagement in economic, banking, stock exchange and insurance activities.”
Milivoje Mugoša was fined 800 euros for two criminal offences. In addition to the offence charged to Maraš, Mugoša was also convicted of “unlawful occupation of land,” which, according to the law, is liable to a fine or imprisonment for up to one year.
In both cases, the prosecution was represented by the current prosecutor of the Special State Prosecutor’s Office, Vukas Radonjić, who used to be a prosecutor in the Basic Prosecutor’s Office back then. In the meantime, he transitioned to work as a special prosecutor.
Deferred prosecution may be applied to criminal offences liable to a fine or imprisonment for up to five years. Such a penalty is solely decided by the prosecutor handling the case.
The only prison sentence, namely a suspended three-month sentence, was imposed on Danilo Petrović, the owner of the Cijevna komerc company, for the same criminal offence for which Mugoša received a fine – “unlawful occupation of land.”
The court deemed Petrović’s lack of prior convictions, older age and being married with four children as mitigating circumstances.
The institution of the Protector of Property and Legal Interests of Montenegro joined the criminal prosecution against the defendant, but the court did not consider this as an aggravating circumstance.
Last July, he was given a suspended sentence, meaning he will not go to prison if he does not commit another offence within the next year. The trial was presided over by Judge Ivana Becić of the Basic Court in Podgorica.
The prosecution charged Petrović with the mildest form of that criminal offence, even though the verdict established that the cadastral parcel in question is a river. The more severe form of that criminal offense is “if the occupied land is part of a protected forest, national park or other land with a special purpose, the offender shall be liable to imprisonment for a term of three months to three years.” According to the Law on State Property, rivers fall under natural resources.
In addition to these five cases, the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office in Podgorica is currently conducting preliminary investigations in another 12 cases.
The Special State Prosecutor’s Office is considering charges in three cases involving gravel exploitation – two against the Podgorica-based company Montenegro Petrol, one of which was transferred to the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office, and one against Cijevna komerc, with preliminary investigations being underway. CIN-CG has not received a response regarding whether there has been progress in these two cases.
The Basic Prosecutor’s Office in Kolašin dismissed charges against CRBC, a Chinese company that constructed the motorway, as well as against Montenegro Petrol for the theft of a protected natural resource. The other two charges against the Chinese company ended up in court.
Proceedings are underway against CRBC and the chief executive officer of the Chinese company Hei Shiqiang. In one case, they are being tried for the criminal offence of unreported construction activity and incomplete construction documents in conjunction with environmental damage.
“In one indictment, the accused caused environmental damage to a greater extent and over a wider area by excavating gravel material from the bed of the Tara River without having established environmental protection measures beforehand,” one draft indictment reads.
In the second case, they are charged with the destruction and damage of a protected natural asset. The draft indictment reads: “By exploiting the riverbed sediment 100 metres upstream from the plot […], the accused caused destruction to the Tara River, a natural resource, whose basin is included in the biosphere reserve under the UNESCO programme and enjoys national protection.”
The Prosecutor’s Office blames inspection bodies and inspection bodies blame the judiciary
Regarding responsibility for the lack of an adequate response from the state, the authorities are unable to reach a consensus and instead shift the blame onto one another.
The Prosecutor’s Office asserts that the effective handling of criminal complaints concerning illegal gravel exploitation largely depends on the actions of inspectors, who need to identify the owners of the machinery found in the riverbeds and seek police assistance... It is also noted that upon reporting to the police, a relevant prosecutor should also be notified of each case. The Prosecutor’s Office stresses that this is important, because “it usually takes several months from the date of inspection to the date of filing a criminal complaint, which further complicates the process of proving.”
At the initiative of Stevo Muk, a member of the Prosecutorial Council from the non-governmental sector, the Prosecutorial Council recently requested and received information from the prosecutor’s offices about what has been done in cases initiated due to gravel exploitation. However, that is all the Prosecutorial Council has done so far in respect of that issue.
“The work of state prosecutor’s offices in these cases should be intensified. There needs to be better coordination among inspections and expedited delivery of field reports to the police or the prosecutor’s office,” Muk emphasized in a statement to CIN-CG.
He added that there are too many cases that have been underway for a long time, with few of them reaching a conclusion.
Muk underscores that the head of the prosecutor’s office in Kolašin, during a session of the Prosecutorial Council, highlighted the importance of timely action by relevant inspection bodies. Among other things, they need to urgently provide field reports to the police and the prosecutor’s office so that police-related and prosecutorial activities can be undertaken to identify individuals and gather evidence.
“Without this, effective action by the police and the Prosecutor’s Office is often impossible,” says Muk.
In response to questions from CIN-CG, the Administration for Inspection Affairs said they were surprised by the prosecutors’ stance. They claim that they have not received any feedback from the prosecutor’s offices indicating that they have not done something well or that they need to take additional measures. They attribute the problem in the penal policy of the courts and the quality of the investigative actions conducted by the Prosecutor’s Office.
“Quality investigation, clear instructions from prosecutors to the police and evidence collection are not the responsibility of inspectors, but their own,” says Ana Vujošević, the director of the Administration.
Inspector Radulović: Prosecutors and judges devalue our work
Her colleague, water inspector Miodrag Radulović, emphasizes that prosecutors and judges are unwilling to do their jobs. “The track record of prosecution is very poor and greatly devalues our work,” Radulović notes. He also points out that the lenient penal policy of the courts further undermines the efforts of inspectors.
Inspector Radulović gives an example of gravel exploitation in Berane. After establishing that 5,000 cubic meters of material worth around 100,000 euros were stockpiled, they forwarded the case to the competent prosecutor’s office, which found that no criminal offence had occurred.
He adds that they appealed to the High State Prosecutor’s Office, which remanded the case to the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office for reconsideration.
“This is economic crime, and they are angry with us for filing complaints, for having to do their own job,” says Radulović.
The second case is even more dramatic and speaks to the attitude of the Misdemeanour Court towards exploiters. Radulović says that he filed misdemeanour charges twice against the Chinese company CRBC. In the second report, he indicated that the company repeated the same criminal offence. The court merged these two cases into one and fined CRBC 800 euros.
Inspectors can impose a minimum fine of 1,200 euros on the spot. If they assess that the illegal economic gain is higher than that amount, they should initiate proceedings before the court.
Miodrag Radulović says that inspectors most often assess that the case should go to court, but the court imposes fines below 1,200 euros.
“In this way, our work is completely devalued. What’s even more important is that those involved in gravel extraction have no reason to stop when they see what punishment they could face,” explains this water inspector.
The director of the Administration for Inspection Affairs, Ana Vujošević, confirms the story of her colleague. She claims that the situation is not much better in the Misdemeanour Court, adding that predominantly suspended sentences are imposed.
“For those who pocket hundreds of thousands of euros, the least of their concerns is a mere six-month suspension of their activities,” Vujošević said. She emphasizes that inspectors always act urgently, that their phones are never switched off, adding that they are available at night, after working hours, during holidays...
“I have repeatedly told them to call me and I will make sure to dispatch an inspector within 20 minutes at any time, but they have never reached out to me,” Vujošević underscores.
She adds that over 1,000 inspections have been carried out in the course of two years, more than 50 criminal complaints have been filed, and over 100,000 euros in fines have been collected.
“The only tangible result has been achieved by the inspection authority,” Vujošević concludes.
While the authorities blame each other, there remains hope that the rivers are not irreversibly lost and that the judiciary will finally embark on the fight against this ‘scourge’. This is the only way to curb crime.
Still no environmental department in the State Prosecutor’s Office
Veselinka Zarubica, the Chief Environmental Inspector, points out that that the determination of the extent of devastation falls within the responsibility of an expert witness, not an inspector. “There need to be traces of theft of state property and significant environmental devastation,” she says.
She explains that prosecutors justify their inaction on environmental issues by asserting that it falls outside their area of expertise, and that there should be specialized departments dealing with environmental crime. “But we have been discussing this for 30 years already,” Zarubica concludes.
Miodrag Radulović, the Chief Water Inspector, says that his inspectorate conducted 174 checks on illegal riverbed exploitation since the beginning of the year until 24 May.
“Two criminal complaints and one supplement to the criminal complaint have been filed, three penalty charge notices of 1,600 euros have been issued, and four case files have been submitted for assessment of the existence of a criminal offence," explains Radulović.
He adds that in one case, a measure prohibiting the disposal of the material that has been exploited was imposed. In one case, the case files were submitted to the Protector of Property and Legal Interests of Montenegro, and in two cases to the agricultural and forestry inspectorate.
The Prosecutorial Council has not come forward with the reports it receives
Stevo Muk, a member of the Prosecutorial Council, told CIN-CG that the Prosecutorial Council has not made any conclusions or taken any other action after receiving reports about the handling of cases of ‘illegal gravel exploitation’ by the prosecutor’s offices.
He adds that he requested the Prosecutorial Council to adopt a conclusion requesting further information from relevant prosecutor’s offices regarding their handling of cases related to illegal gravel exploitation, starting from the date of the previous report on the same topic. He says that the Prosecutorial Council accepted his proposal.
“In this way, we will demonstrate a sustained interest in the actions of state prosecutor’s offices and ensure monitoring of progress in these cases. The Prosecutorial Council has not adopted a relevant conclusion, recommendation or anything similar concerning previous reports,” Muk notes.
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