The amount of evidence that has been piling for years against a long-time state official Branimir Gvozdenović is becoming worrying, but not nearly as much as the absence of an adequate reaction by the competent state authorities when it comes to him.
Over the past years, MANS has submitted hundreds of pages of written evidence that testify to the brutal violation of the law by Gvozdenović, whether in a privatization process, energy sector or spatial planning. There is almost no area in which Gvozdenović was engaged that did not result in serious suspicions of corruption.
The information that have been leaked to the public since the beginning of this year once again testifies to numerous suspicious businesses for which Gvozdenović has not yet been prosecuted.
One of them also refers to buildings mentioned by the President of Atlas Group, Duško Knežević, in one of his latest addressing, built by Gvozdenović’s godfather, Radenko Radojičić.
An investigation conducted by MANS in 2012 showed that Gvozdenović, as the Minister of Urbanism, allowed his godfather to build two residential buildings contrary to the law and planning documents, with close to 100 housing units.
In the criminal complaint filed at the time, it is stated that Gvozdenović had abused the office of the Minister of Urbanism and issued building permits to the companies of his godfather (“RR Inženjering” and “Kapacity”) in 2010 that allowed the construction of more floors than was possible according to the then plan for the settlement Momišići in Podgorica.
Although we warned at the time that in this way Gvozdenović avoided criminal liability, in 2012, the Parliament of the Capital City adopted the amendments of the plan and thus legalized this agreement between the godfathers. The then Mayor Miomir Mugoša, who was also included in criminal charges as an accomplice, initiated amendments to the plan.
Unfortunately, the then Prosecutor’s Office headed by the Prosecutor Ranka Čarapić rejected this criminal complaint by failing to fully examine the relations between Gvozdenović and Radojičić, but also their interest in violating the law in this way.
This is just one of the many criminal reports that MANS filed over the last decade against a long-time state official. Let us remind that MANS reported Gvozdenović for participating in legalization of villas on Zavala, privatization of Sveti Stefan, affair “Snimak”, for enabling the investors, such as Brano Mićunović and companies of Darko Šarić, to build contrary to the law, as well as for legalization of numerous buildings in Podgorica and on the seaside through modification of planning documents when he enabled privileged investors not only to acquire extra profit, but also to avoid criminal liability.
While it is very well known in whose favour Gvozdenović has been violating the law for years, Montenegro’s State Prosecutor’s Office is yet to examine what was the price of his “services”.
Dejan Milovac
MANS Investigative Centre
