The detention of Petar Ivanović, the former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, was lifted following a proposal from the Special State Prosecutor’s Office (SDT), allowing him to leave the Spuž Remand Prison yesterday.

According to information obtained by “Vijesti,” his detention was initially ordered due to allegations of witness tampering. Since all witnesses have been questioned, the grounds for detention were no longer valid, leading the investigating judge to accept the SDT’s request.

Ivanović was arrested in December of last year alongside Milutin Simović, the former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Budimir Mugoša, the former State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nemanji Katnić, and Vukica Perović, the former Head of the Ministry’s Finance, Accounting and Public Procurement Service, at the SDT’s direction.

They face accusations of abuse of office, specifically for distributing funds in a manner that violated the Regulation on the Implementation of Agrarian Policy Measures, leading to a loss of over 300,000 euros for Montenegro from April 2014 to July 2019.

The charges specifically highlight dubious financial transactions with a single non-governmental organization, the National Association of Winegrowers and Winemakers, with disbursements ranging from 450 euros to 70,000 euros over a five-year span.

The SDT asserts that Ivanović was instrumental in facilitating the most questionable payments during the years 2014, 2015, and 2016.

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