February 20, 2019 - The Center for Civic Education (CCE) today announced that the Anti-Corruption Agency (ASK) should check where the President of Montenegro Milo Djukanovic has money to cover the debt to Atlas Bank.
This NGO reported that they have today sent ASK the Initiative to launch the Inspection Process from the Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic's Revenue and Property Report.
"The Montenegrin public is acquainted by Dusko Knezevic, a businessman claimed by Montenegrin investigative organs, that President Djukanovic had a debt on a card at Atlas Bank. In Djukanovic's announcement, which he issued as President of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) on 23 January 2019 among other things, states: 'I am already in contact with a bank where I check the credibility of the debt information and ask for instructions on how to make this commitment if it stands.' After that, the public is informed by the Atlas Group that Djukanovic returned the debt of EUR 16,358.00 on 30 January 2019, which he confirmed in the issue of 'Ukrstene Rijeci' broadcast on the TV Prva on 14 February 2019," the CCE said.
The statement adds that the Anti-Corruption Law prescribes ASK's obligation to review data from public service reports by comparing this data with the collected information on the assets and revenues of the public official from the authorities and legal entities that have access to such data.
"By comparing data from the last three reports submitted by Milo Djukanovic to ASK, these publicly available data reveal contradictions, namely that Djukanovic did not report any debts or savings as well. Also, it is not possible to ascertain from the reported revenues of Djukanovic and his wife that they had at one time 16,358.86 euros to pay the debt to Atlas Bank because their official income was limited. From this, we conclude that Milo Djukanovic's reports do not contain accurate and complete information in this section, according to the Anti-Corruption Law, and it is necessary that ASK verifies these reports and determined by this and any other irregularities in the same and consequently undertaking the acts prescribed by law," said the CCE.
This NGO stated that he wanted to believe that in the annual plan of ASK, to review the data from the income statement and public officials' assets, Djukanovic's report was also planned. They want to believe that the Agency will, ex officio, and not only by this or other initiatives, initiate a misdemeanor procedure for failure to report accurate and complete data in the revenue and property records of the officials.
"The CCE hopes that ASK will urgently process this Initiative, bearing in mind the function that Djukanovic is doing and the public's interest for ASK to make its stand on the allegations," the statement concludes.
