Mihailo Banjević, the former CEO of Atlas Bank, stated yesterday that he has no recollection of dealing with carbon credits and does not remember providing a statement to the Special State Prosecutor’s Office (SDT) regarding this issue.

In his testimony during the ongoing trial of Duško Knežević and other defendants related to the “carbon credits” case, he informed Judge Igor Đuričković, the president of the special chamber, that he first learned about the case through the news.

“I served as the CEO of Atlas Bank for a certain time and was also on the boards of directors and oversaw seven or eight entities within the Atlas Group, none of which were involved in carbon credit processing. I have no recollection of this case. At 76 years old, it feels like a long time ago,” he remarked.

When asked if he recalled giving a statement to the special prosecutor, he responded, “By God, I do not remember giving a statement to the SDT.”

“I can’t remember anything about Atlas Bank’s operations from 15 years ago. Honestly, I struggle to recall what happened five or six months ago. I learned about this case from the media. There might have been typical banking transactions between IBM Bank and Atlas Bank, but I had no involvement with Global Carbon… Although there were standard banking dealings, I cannot recall specific details or even remember giving a statement to the SDT,” stated Banjević.

Judge Đuričković then referenced his statement from May 18, 2019, where Banjević noted that he was the executive director of Atlas Bank from January 2006 to January 2007 and officially left the Atlas Group in 2014.

He mentioned that Duško Knežević was the president of the Atlas Group and clarified that neither IBM Bank nor Atlas Bank was entirely owned by Knežević.

“I held the position of vice president for finance, with Manolina Bašović responsible for legal matters. My role was advisory. I was verbally appointed by Duško Knežević. I did not make any business decisions, nor did I give instructions to Brankica Bašović, who never consulted me on loan matters,” he explained in his statement to the SDT.

The special prosecutor claims in the indictment that Knežević established a criminal group in 2008, based on statements from the defense of the defendants and the testimony of cooperating witness Đorđe Đurđić.

Banjević then continued answering the court’s questions.

“The time elapsed is too great for me to remember this statement, yet I do not dispute its contents. I have been questioned by the SDT numerous times,” the witness affirmed.

“I was the president of the Board of Directors at Atlas Television. I read a statement in the news from Tatjana Obradović, the executive director of RTV Atlas. I don’t find anything wrong with what Tanja did. She may have taken a loan from IBM Bank to cover salaries at Atlas Television, which she informed me about after securing the loan for employee salaries. However, I don’t recall discussing this with Tanja Obradović. Age has its effects,” Banjević mentioned.

There were no questions or objections raised regarding his testimony.

During 2008, defendant Duško Knežević founded a criminal organization in Montenegro that operated until the end of 2017, with members that included other defendants and cooperating witness Đorđe Đurđić.

The indictment outlines that Knežević, along with Predrag Dašić, Zoran Nikolić, Brankica Bašović, and Biljana Bašović, allegedly caused damages to the legal entity “Global Karbon” DOO Podgorica and illegally profited to the tune of 1,942,000 euros from entities such as “Fin invest,” “Atlas group,” RTV “Atlas,” “RT Mimoza,” “Atlas system,” and “Mega Gulf Investments Holdings Limited.”

The trial is set to resume on March 10.

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