The head of Montenegro’s Agency for the Prevention of Corruption, Jelena Perovic, was taken into custody following an order from the Special State Prosecutor’s Office. Early Wednesday, Special Police officers searched the agency’s offices.

While the Prosecutor’s Office has not yet revealed the cause of her arrest, they had previously indicated that an investigation was underway regarding alleged misuse of funds.

Inspectors from the Ministry of Finance had identified irregularities in the agency’s operations, which were reported to the Special State Prosecutor’s Office. It was noted that Perovic had claimed overtime and variable compensation amounting to nearly 13,500 euros in 2023, violating the Public Sector Salary Law.

In the previous year, an NGO named the Network for the Affirmation of the Non-Governmental Sector lodged a criminal complaint against Perovic, accusing her of abusing her official position. The NGO alleged that she made an unlawful decision by assigning two agency-owned cars for her and her assistant’s exclusive use.

The Special Police Department also conducted a search of the official vehicle driven by Perovic.

Perovic has consistently refuted all allegations against her publicly. In response to accusations from the ruling parties that she was safeguarding high-ranking officials of the former ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) and its former leader, Milo Djukanovic, she asserted that her agency’s actions were impartial.

On March 20, she announced that an investigation initiated by MANS regarding the value of Djukanovic’s watches was nearing completion, promising the public an update around April 10. This has yet to occur.

Perovic is also under investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office concerning messages exchanged with Vesna Medenica, the former long-serving president of the Supreme Court.

Messages recovered from Medenica’s phone after her arrest in 2022 revealed that Perovic, then head of the Basic Court in Cetinje, solicited advice on certain cases.

In a 2020 communication, Perovic indicated to Medenica that they needed to meet due to her having received a job offer. That year, she was appointed as the head of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption.

After these messages were disclosed, Perovic termed them a deceitful tactic.

In November 2023, lawyer Nikola Angelovski filed a criminal complaint with the Supreme State Prosecutor against Perovic, accusing her of disclosing personal data of state officials. Angelovski alleged that she provided a Serbian software firm, Prozone, access to thousands of officials’ personal information.

Her arrest was praised by Deputy Prime Minister Aleksa Becic, who stated that it sent a clear message that Montenegro would uphold a just and resolute state.

This arrest is part of a broader series of actions taken by the Special State Prosecutor’s Office.

On Sunday, former chief special prosecutor Milivoje Katnic and former deputy police director Zoran Lazovic were arrested. They have been detained for up to 30 days due to concerns about potential flight risk and possible witness tampering, facing allegations of forming a criminal organization and abusing their official positions.