Signing the agreement on the voluntary plea agreement with a high official of DPS Svetozar Marovic may be justified and effective only if Marovic gave evidence on his boss, and the Special Prosecutor’s Office no longer considers him to be the leader of an organized criminal group.
According to what has been made public so far, Marovic until today by the Special Prosecutor’s Office in the investigation has been recognized as the leader of an organized crime group from Budva, and it is at least strange that the prosecution intends to make the agreement with him on the voluntary admission of guilt for no apparent reason other than the obvious political.
From the Special Prosecutor’s Office for a long time try to convince the public that against “Budva group” is formed more than a solid case, and that the previous witness-collaborators, including those that has already negotiated a plea agreement, provided sufficient evidence to indict those “at higher levels of government”.
First cooperating witness from Budva, Rajko Kuljaca marked Svetozar Marovic as the leader of a crime organization responsible for embezzling of tens of millions of euros through different jobs, and in order to obtain additional evidence, agreements were made and with the former president of Budva, Lazar Radjenovic and Svetozar’s son, Milos Marovic.
If the prosecution has enough evidence to indict Svetozar Marovic, there is a real question what is the public interest to make with him plea agreement. What Marovic has to agree with if he has been accused through the current investigation, many evidence and the statements of the first associates that target him that in Budva “approved” filthy jobs.
Even more so because the prosecution has for long time recognizes Marovic as a leader of an organized crime group and the majority of previous concessions to those who were involved in Budva affairs made precisely in order to reach the so-called “big fish”.
It is almost incomprehensible that the Special Prosecutor’s Office is negotiating the terms of the agreement on the voluntary admission of guilt with Svetozar Marovic, whose name is also mentioned in the case of Mujovic who is accused of trying to bribe prosecutors in the criminal investigation in order to provide better position for Marovic and his family members. Thus, the prosecution is trying to make a deal with someone who allegedly through an intermediary and with corruption involved tried to influence the prosecution.
What the prosecution now has to answer is why it decided to take this step, whether the “Budva pyramid” ends with Marovic, or above it, when it comes to Budva affairs there is a bigger “boss” who is now the new target of special prosecution. Thus, the agreement with Marovic can only be meaningful if the prosecution decides to extend the investigation on the Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, Marovic’s direct superior in political terms, with the suspicion that he had a role in the affairs of Budva.
Otherwise, Stankovic and Katnic have to provide answers whether the largest corruption investigation conducted by their prosecution will be finished by making agreements with everyone, and that no one will spend even one day before the Montenegrin courts.
The former course of the investigation and negotiation with individuals who were covered by it was conducted extremely in non-transparent way and far away from the public eyes, while the prosecution continues to conceal the conditions and reasons for making agreements with public officials and their relatives about who they were able to prove that they are in the heart of the corruption affairs in Budva.
MANS therefore invites SSP leader Ivica Stankovic and Special Prosecutor Milivoj Katnic to explain what stands behind the motives that Svetozar Marovic is also offered the possibility of making an agreement, and to publish details of all so far made agreements concerning the group from Budva and their activities.
Dejan Milovac
Director of the Research Center
