Today, MANS called on the Council of the Agency for Prevention of Corruption (APC) to immediately initiate the procedure for dismissal of Director Jelena Perović due to the results that continuously discredit anti-corruption reforms, and still enable individuals from the previous government to avoid responsibility for breaking the law.
In the period from September last year to February this year, the Administrative Court annulled several decisions of the APC by which this institution refused to deal with cases of illicit enrichment of high public officials. The judgements ordered APC to issue new, legal solutions, within 30 days at the latest, which did not happen.
Thus, in September and December last year, the Administrative Court passed two judgements that referred to the trip of President Milo Đukanović and MP Branimir Gvozdenović to Dubai, and the fact that neither of them reported a very expensive trip as a gift from Duško Knezević.
In January this year, the Administrative Court ruled that APC had to deal with Milo Đukanović’s property in the village Kočani, the Municipality of Nikšić, and in February passed a judgement annulling APC’s decision in the case of Branimir Gvozdenovic’s unreported vacation expenses in Saint Tropez.
In the cases of exotic trips of Đukanović and Gvozdenović, APC assessed that it was not competent to act because they happened before 2016, i.e. before the establishment of that institution. APC, headed by Sreten Radonjić, has made such decisions for years, despite the fact that there are several verdicts that definitely confirm that APC is the legal successor of the previous Commission for Prevention of Conflicts of Interest. In the case of Đukanović’s property in Kočani, the Administrative Court found that APC’s decision was “vague and arbitrary” and did not contain an explanation of how the Agency found that Đukanović did not violate the law.
Although the disputed decisions were made by the previous director, the obligation of the new director Perović was to act according to the judgments of the Administrative Court and reopen the proceedings in these cases.
Unfortunately, Perović’s months-long silence on the judgements indicates that only the director at the head of APC changed, while the practices have remained the same and that this institution continues to exist as one of the obstacles to a successful fight against corruption in Montenegro.
Catastrophic results of APC in the fight against corruption have been addressed in official reports of the European Union for years, with special emphasis on selectivity in acting and insufficiently prosecuted high-ranking public officials. By refusing to reopen proceedings against Đukanović and Gvozdenović after court decisions, Perović is directly abusing the position she holds to the detriment of the public interest for the Law on Prevention of Corruption to be equal for all.
Therefore, MANS today asked the APC Council to, in accordance with its powers under the Law on Prevention of Corruption, initiate the procedure of dismissal of Jelena Perović from the position of Director of the Agency for Prevention of Corruption without delay.
MANS
