The High Court Council in Podgorica has upheld the indictment from the Special State Prosecutor’s Office against former Chief Special Prosecutor Milivoj Katnić and ex-Assistant Director of the Police Administration Zoran Lazović.

This information was released in a statement by the Higher Court in Podgorica.

“The decision by the Criminal Chamber has confirmed the indictment from the SDT, charging ZL with crimes including the establishment of a criminal organization under Article 401a, paragraph 1, in conjunction with paragraph 6 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro, abuse of official position under Article 416, paragraph 1, and the extended criminal offense of money laundering under Article 268, paragraph 1, among others. The defendant MK is charged with similar offenses including the creation of a criminal organization and illegal possession of weapons,” announced the High Court.

The Panel asserts that the evidence provided in the indictment supports a reasonable suspicion that defendants ZL and MK committed the alleged offenses in sufficient measure to affirm the indictment and proceed to trial. It is noted that the Panel does not possess the authority to evaluate conflicting evidence at this stage, which is the responsibility of the Trial Panel during adversarial proceedings.

Last October, the Special State Prosecutor’s Office filed an indictment against Lazović and Milivoj Katnić with the Higher Court in Podgorica, charging them with creating a criminal organization, abusing their official positions, money laundering, and illegal possession of weapons.

Zoran Piperović, the attorney for Zoran Lazović, indicated during the indictment review in late November 2024 that, should the indictment against his client be validated, he would destroy his Law Faculty diploma.

The indictment from the SDT was returned for correction at the end of January; after finalization, the detentions of Lazović and Katnić were extended, followed by a review of the document.

Lazović is accused of organizing a criminal organization in 2020, which allegedly included Katnić and others, and for colluding with a criminal organization led by Radoje Zvicer.

The former GST is alleged to have misused his official position in January 2022, alongside prosecutor Čađenović, to benefit other accused individuals, including Petar Lazović and various police officers associated with the organized crime.

The indictment further claims that there is reasonable suspicion that Lazović misrepresented the origins of money he knew was acquired through criminal means from March 2021 to March 2024, and that both Lazović and Katnić illegally possessed firearms and ammunition as of April this year.

During the indictment’s review on February 24, Lazović responded to accusations within the SDT’s indictment, stating: “When the special prosecutor and his mentors find a drop of someone else’s blood and a gram of cocaine on my hands, I will judge myself.”

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