The former head of state, Milo Djukanovic, utilized a VIP revolving card from Atlas Bank, spending a staggering quarter of a million euros over a nine-year period.

As per the recent decision by the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption, the card was active from January 2007 to December 2015. During this timeframe, cash inflows exceeding €10,000 were recorded a total of 11 times.

The agency revealed that Đukanović breached the law by failing to declare a debt of €16,741.24 related to the VIP revolving card at Atlas Bank in 2019, a debt supposedly cleared by his son, Blažo, that same year.

This revelation comes six years after the Network for the Affirmation of the Non-Governmental Sector (MANS) initiated the investigation, which had been consistently avoided by previous administrations.

The Agency gathered analytical data regarding the VIP revolving card from the Commercial Court’s case files.

“A review of the case files provided by the Commercial Court of Montenegro on November 21, 2024, confirmed the existence of the VIP revolving card in question, which was used from January 2007 through May 2015. During this period, the total revenue from the card amounted to €236,195.02, while expenditures reached €249,016.33 by December 2015. Analyses revealed cash transactions to credit card accounts exceeding €10,000, totaling €236,000 over 11 different instances: March 2007 – €20,000; September 2008 – €20,100; April 2009 – €15,000; January 2009 – €16,635; April 2009 – €12,760; October 2010 – €15,000; October 2010 – €18,149.17; November 2011 – €10,000; July 2012 – €10,000; July 2015 – €11,600; and May 2015 – €20,000,” the decision outlined.

The Prosecutor’s Office Urged to Act Promptly

The Vice President of the Agency Council, Mladen Tomović, emphasized that the Agency should promptly forward this case to the Special State Prosecutor’s Office (SDT) to determine if it contains elements of money laundering or other criminal offenses warranting prosecution.

“Beyond the specific legal violation noted in the decision, I find it particularly noteworthy that from 2007 to 2015, 11 cash transactions exceeding €10,000 were conducted with that card, totaling €236,000. To my recollection, these amounts were not included in the asset declarations, and given that they are cash payments, this could constitute a case of money laundering,” Tomović pointed out.

Tomović further remarked that this decision, occurring six years after the case was under the Agency’s review, signifies a strategic shift by the new management toward lawful decision-making.

“It is evident that previous administrations made efforts to shield high-ranking state officials, including in this instance,” he stated.

Director of MANS, Vanja Ćalović Marković, expressed confidence that “the €250,000 identified on one of Đukanović’s Atlas Bank cards, following MANS’s initiative six years ago, represents only a fraction of the immense wealth he has unlawfully amassed over decades.”

“This decision marks a turning point for Montenegrin institutions, as they have, for the first time, acknowledged evidence of Milo Đukanović’s illegally acquired assets,” emphasized Ćalović Marković.

She highlighted the significance of “at least one institution finally taking action and uncovering traces of that money as a result of our initiatives.”

“We anticipate an urgent inquiry by the prosecution into this case and expect that proceedings against Đukanović will finally commence, rather than being ignored as happened with prior cases uncovered by MANS, including the Pandora Papers,” stated Ćalović Marković.

A Life Defined by Salary, Indebted to No One

In a statement to the Agency, Đukanović acknowledged ownership of a VIP revolving card:

“In response to the Agency’s invitation dated July 15, 2021, I confirmed my usage of the card solely for personal expenses, similar to any citizen, and not for any official duties. I was unaware of a debt amounting to €16,741.24, which my son, B. Đ., cleared. Had I known of this debt, I would have reported it in my annual declaration,” claimed Đukanović during the Agency proceedings.

The obligation to report any debt or claim existed under the former Law on the Prevention of Conflict of Interest, active from 2009 until January 2016.

Official records on the Agency’s website show that Đukanović never reported any debts from January 2007 to December 2015.

Throughout this time, he held various positions, from MP to Prime Minister, and was out of government from 2010 to 2012, before resuming as Prime Minister until November 2016.

In 2007, the Đukanović family reported annual earnings of €12,720 from two salaries. The former president declared ownership stakes in multiple companies that year, without disclosing any income derived from them. Their son Blažo was reported to own two gifted business premises that year, earning €132,000 from their rental.

In 2008, Đukanović’s salary was €1,227 while Lidija Đukanović earned €1,436. Though he reported co-ownership in companies, including a quarter in “Univerzitats” and half in “Global Montenero,” he did not declare profits from these entities to the Commission for the Prevention of Conflict of Interest. Blažo Đukanović continued to receive rental income from the business premises, contributing €11,000 monthly to their household budget.

In 2009, when Blažo purchased an apartment in Žabljak, the Prime Minister’s asset declaration indicated that the property was acquired through rental income. This year, he reported his salary as €1,256 and his wife’s as €1,084.

In the following year, Blažo moved out, resulting in no rental income from the business premises, while the salaries of the elder Đukanovićs remained unchanged. This situation persisted in 2011, during which he was officially out of politics, continuing into 2012.

In 2013, Đukanović reported purchasing real estate in Kočani, financing it through installments. By the end of that year, he returned to the role of Prime Minister, with both he and his wife earning approximately €13,000.

Despite his ownership stakes in several companies, he consistently failed to report his earnings from them. Official records showed no income changes in 2014, during which Lidija Đukanović inherited various properties. In 2015, the final year of VIP card usage, the Đukanović family reported no debts and relied solely on their salaries, with the former Prime Minister earning €1,170 and his wife €972.

The media outlet “Vijesti,” alongside CIN-CG, reported in 2019 that the now-indicted banker Duško Knežević had covered debts from Đukanović’s VIP card via Atlas Bank, categorizing his debt as “risky loans.”

Knežević reportedly settled €16,741.24 debt, among others classified as risky loans, totaling approximately €14 million connected to other privileged individuals.

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