Suggested amendments to the Law on Bankruptcy established by the Government of Montenegro, contain a number of problematic solutions by which are made nonsensical and are relativized some of the basic questions of bankruptcy, which will in practice further allow destruction of businesses and sell of their valuable property almost for nothing, and all that with the release of criminal responsibility of bankruptcy trustees, and in that sense the most from it can have bankruptcy mafia in Montenegro.
Therefore MANS considers that the Government must allow to the interested public to be involved in this important issue in order to decide about the best quality solutions, which is why the public debate should be extended and organize a series of debates primarily in northern Montenegro, where are the most of companies that have been ruined through bankruptcy, and where the workers would primarily be able to talk about their opinions and possible proposals.
With the new legal solutions the Government bankruptcy trustees releases from criminal liability, by proposing deletion of existing provision that “the bankruptcy trustee has the status of an official within the meaning of Criminal Code” under harsh stance by explaining that in this way it is delved into the matter of the other law.
It is clearly indicative that the same legal situation did not bothered the Government in 2010 when the last time changes were made to the Law on bankruptcy, while at the same time some examples in the region show that it was the Law on bankruptcy that clearly defined that trustees have the status of officials in terms of criminal responsibility.
The new solution is particularly worrying when in comes to the current role of bankruptcy trustees, who only in the past decade ruined hundreds of once successful companies, by selling their property without any criteria, and often without of elementary knowledge, because thousands of workers ended up on the street and who now survive mostly thanks to social assistance.
At the same time, by the new provisions significantly are increased authorities of bankruptcy trustees, and in the future they will decide independently on taking out loans or purchase of equipment of greater value, they will not need anymore the consent of the creditors of the bankruptcy sale of property, and will not be required to submit information on the financial condition of the companies, and the results of their work in the previous bankruptcy proceeding. This much concentration of discretionary powers in the hands of bankruptcy trustee opens a huge space for corruption bearing in mind the current results of the country’s struggle against bankruptcy mafia, new legal solutions will only have a stimulating effect on the corrupt behavior.
Also, particularly are problematic and new solutions on sale of bankruptcy assets, that now allow the trustee the ability first to try to sell assets at their estimated fair value, and then in each subsequent round can lower the price for one-fifth, and at the end the property can sell on a “highest offered price”.
In this way, to the bankruptcy trustees are formally given free hands to donate bankruptcy assets, which is particularly harmful in the case of businesses of a greater value. In this regard, it is sufficient to recall the example of AP in Podgorica, which assets through bankruptcy literally was given to a controversial businessman Veselin Pejovic, who still has not paid the purchase price, although he already manages the factory.
In addition, it is almost unbelievable a solution which says that to the decision of the bankruptcy Judge on the sale of assets is not allowed the right to appeal. In fact, under applicable law, the Bankruptcy Judge issues a decision that the sale is made, which can be appealed, and according to the new idea of the Government on the future conclusion it will not be allowed that right to appeal, which is indisputably contrary to the legal order.
Changes to the law have not been used neither to precisely limit the number of cases in which one person can appear as bankruptcy trustee, and in particular to regulate the precise criteria that they must meet in order to become managers, which would avoid the possibility that the fate of the company is decided by unskilled people .
A public hearing on the Law on bankruptcy, the Government announced in December and it is in progress, but the whole procedure was carried out in extremely non-transparent manner, because not only it breached a legal obligation to incorporate interested public in the development of new solutions, but escaped to conduct remotely serious discussion on this topic, especially in the north of the country where the economy through bankruptcy is practically completely destroyed.
The fact that the new solutions are developed by the working group, composed of representatives of the Ministries of Economy, Finance and Justice, as well as Podgorica’s Commercial Court, which since last year is led by the judge Blazo Jovanic, known as close to the first family, speaks enough by itself about transparency of the process.
MANS yesterday invited the Parliamentary Committee on Anti-Corruption to urgently consider the initiative in connection with the execution of work and financing of bankruptcy trustee in Montenegro, by which is requested a hearing of Ministers of Economy and Justice Vladimir Kavaric and Dusko Markovic, and the President of Commercial Courts in Podgorica and Bijelo Polje, Blazo Jovic and Muzafer Hadzajlic.
MANS
