Today, MANS called on the Special State Prosecutor’s Office (SSPO) to fully prosecute the President of the Parliament, Ivan Brajović, without delay, stating that any further stalling in this investigation is not in the interest of Montenegrin citizens and contributes to further deterioration of trust in state institutions.
SSPO has in its possession the evidence necessary for the current President of the Parliament, Ivan Brajović, to be fully prosecuted on suspicion of having committed several serious criminal offences, while transparent and efficient investigation, bearing in mind Brajović’s office, represents an indisputable public interest.
Back in November last year, MANS Investigative Centre submitted to SSPO complete documentation obtained by investigating the case of the sale of Brajović’s land. As a reminder, the documentation showed that the President of the Parliament tried to justify the acquisition of as much as €150 thousand by which he covered loan debts to banks by selling the land at a much higher price than the real one.
We believe that in the past six months, the State Prosecutor’s Office has had more than enough time to gather additional evidence, in addition to that already provided by MANS, not only because the prosecutorial organization has all the mechanisms needed to do so, but also because it is very open and now a well-documented attempt by Brajović, with the help of the company to which he sold the land, to cover up the acquisition of income whose source is still unknown to Montenegrin public.
However, the lack of evidence so far has not been a key reason why Montenegrin State Prosecutor’s Office has not achieved results in the fight against illicit enrichment and related crimes, especially Montenegrin public officials who, like Brajović, hold top positions in the state.
It is also known that the prosecution of high-level corruption cases in Montenegro does not depend only on the mere application of the Criminal Code and that “equality before the law” in many cases has not been the guiding principle in the work of Montenegrin State Prosecutor’s Office.
“Brajović” case is also another chance for the State Prosecutor’s Office to send a message that illicit enrichment of Montenegrin public officials will not be tolerated and that political or state office must not have any influence on its work or the course of certain investigations.
Dejan Milovac
MANS Investigative Centre
