PODGORICA – An investigating judge from the Basic Court in Nikšić ordered today the detention of Montenegrin businessman Aco Đukanović, a brother of former President of the country, Milo Đukanović, for up to 30 days, it was reported by RTCG. According to the judge, “there are circumstances that indicate that the suspect, if he were at large, could be put on the run and be unavailable to the state authorities of Montenegro in the further course of the proceedings”.
Aco Đukanović was arrested on 28 February. After a search of his properties in Podgorica and Nikšić, several firearms, ammunition and other items were found, Vijesti reported.
“At the proposal of the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office in Nikšić, detention was ordered to A.Đ, due to reasonable suspicion that he committed a criminal offense of illicit possession and carrying of weapons and explosive materials. The detention was ordered because of the danger of escape. It is suspected that A.Đ illegally kept weapons and ammunition in his house in Nikšić”, the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office stated on 2 March.
The raids were carried out based on orders from local prosecutors and courts in Podgorica and Nikšić, and several lawyers participated in them. During the search in Podgorica, certain documentation was seized, which was reported to the competent prosecutor’s office, and a case was opened for further action.
“Officers of the Police Directorate, both in this case and in all previous cases, are taking measures and actions within their jurisdiction in a non-selective, professional and legal manner, and are continuing the uncompromising fight against crime, citizens’ trust in the work of institutions and the establishment of the rule of law and legal security,” the Police Directorate stated.
Đukanović’s lawyer Nikola Martinović said that part of the weapon found in the businessman’s house belongs to his brother, while the ammunition and bulletproof vests were forgotten by members of the police and secret service who had been protecting the long-serving former Prime Minister and President Milo Đukanović.
He said the same about the bulletproof vests found in the house.
On 27 February, the building in the centre of Podgorica where Aco Đukanović lives was placed under police siege. In the same building, there is also a branch of Prva Banka, owned by him.
Aco Đukanović is the largest shareholder of Prva Banka (around 41,5 percent). The bank has been in the public spotlight for years due to state aid in 2008, subsequent doubts about how that money was returned, as well as supervisory measures and business indicators in recent years, the Montenegrin media reported.
In a separate case, Vesna Medenica, Former President of the Supreme Court of Montenegro, was arrested in Kolašin on 28 February. She was arrested after the Court of Appeals upheld the appeal of the Special State Prosecutor’s Office (SDT), as reported by Vijesti.
The Criminal Pre-Trial Chamber of the Higher Court issued a decision adopting the SDT’s proposal and ordering Medenica’s detention due to the risk of escape.
On 28 January, the High Court in Podgorica delivered a first-instance verdict against Vesna Medenica. She was sentenced to ten years of imprisonment for protecting a criminal network led by her son and forabusing her position to exert unlawful influence over the judiciary.
In addition, the verdict addressed the actions of Medenica’s son, Miloš, who was sentenced to ten years and two months in prison for creating a criminal organization and smuggling. Miloš Medenica is currently on the run.
