Criminal complaint against Milo Djukanović

He filed a criminal complaint regarding the awarding of the concession for the MHE Bistrica to BB Hidro.

According to the SDT's letter, Vice President Koprivica submitted the documentation in the original, and the minutes of the Government sessions and its conclusions in the form of a certified copy - the Cabinet of Koprivica announced.

They add that the Deputy Prime Minister, along with the evidence, in the criminal report stated, among other things, that Djukanović, by his actions and enabling his son Blažo Djukanović to conclude a concession agreement with the Government he led, seriously violated the provisions of Art. 14 of the Law on Prevention of Corruption, which, among other things, prescribes the following:

"A government body in which a public official performs a public function cannot conclude a contract with a business company or other legal entity in which the public official and a person related to him have a private interest".

"The indisputable conclusion emerges from the aforementioned norm that the Government of Montenegro, as an executive body headed by former President Milo Djukanović, could not conclude the controversial concession contract with the legal entity 'BB Hidro' from Podgorica, in which his direct relative has a private interest. Through a legal assessment of the allegations of the highlighted legal norm, it can be comprehensively and completely determined to what extent the former prime minister, aware of his act, the execution of which he wanted and agreed to, acted contrary to the provisions of the Law on prevention of corruption, which refer to restrictions in the exercise of public functions and thus abused his official position in relation to the general public interest," the statement reads.

On the basis of that illegal and void contract, as they state, with numerous privileges, MHE Bistrica Lipovska produced electricity at the level of 8,933,070 kWh until January 2025 and received 964,339 euros from the state based on monthly invoices without VAT, which indicates the motive of the abuse, which is an enormous financial benefit, reports RTCG.

"This case is an opportunity to end the decades-long practice of impunity of the elites who privatized the state, its resources and institutions. No one is and must not be above the law, not even those who for years decided on behalf of all of us. Citizens have the right to know how, under the auspices of the government, lucrative state contracts ended up in the hands of the closest relatives of those who signed those contracts. That model of managing the state, as private property, must be exposed and sanctioned until the end", the announcement states.

Prosecution of the untouchables

As they claim, it is not just one contract that is disputable.

"It is a symbol of an entire era of abuse of power, in which the family businesses of individuals at the top of the government were more important than the interests of the state and citizens. This case can be a historic step towards the dismantling of a system in which the state existed because of the government, and not the government because of the state and citizens. The fight against corruption at a high level is not a declaration, it is a willingness to prosecute those who were once untouchable," the statement said.

In addition to the SDT, in connection with this case, Vice President Koprivica also submitted a report to the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption, with the aim of establishing a violation of the provisions of the Law on the Prevention of Corruption, as well as the Protector of Property and Legal Interests and the Prosecutor's Office, with the aim of establishing the nullity of the contract, because the Law on the Prevention of Corruption stipulates that the provisions of the Law on Obligations on Contract Nullity shall be applied accordingly to contracts concluded contrary to Article 14 of that law.