Page 14 - bne_newspaper_January_25_2019

Southeast Europe
January 25, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 14
Head of troubled Atlas Banka accuses Montenegrin president's "clan" of ordering his arrest
Denitsa Koseva in Sofia
The head of Montenegro’s troubled Atlas Banka, Dusko Knezevic, has provoked a scandal in the tiny country, accusing President Milo Djukanovic of corruption and claiming a warrant was issued for his arrest upon pressure from a clan related to the president. He claims that the president and his family are trying to take over his businesses and properties along Montenegro’s Adriatic coast.
The businessman also talked of a wider rot within the Montenegrin banking sector, claiming that three banks are particularly at risk.
Montenegro’s special prosecution has accused Knezevic of heading a criminal group that or- ganised and executed the laundering of €500mn through Atlas Banka. Knezevic illegally received €1.9mn, prosecutors said.
Knezevic, who has a previous history of bankruptcy, has been charged with abuse of office and the prosecution has issued an international arrest warrant for him. A Montenegrin court ruled several weeks ago that, once arrested, he must spend one month in detention.
Atlas Banka was put under temporary administra- tion by the central bank in December along with Invest Banka Montenegro (IBM) as its audit showed that the capital of the two lenders did not comply with the minimum risk requirements. While IBM will go bankrupt, Atlas Banka decided to increase its capital and can be stabilised. The two banks are both owned by Knezevic’s Atlas Group.
The scandal has now escalated further as a video showing Knezevic giving money to a member
of Djukanovic’s long-ruling Democratic Party
of Socialists (DPS) was released. The money was allegedly donated to support Djukanovic’s campaign for president; he returned to the presidency in April 2018.
The troubled businessman claims in article posted on his LinkedIn profile that he was one
of the DPS’s biggest donors for the last 25 years.
“They know very well the exact amount of dona- tions. Did they declare donations are a direct question for Djukanovic? As for Mr. Djukanovic, we had the habit of discussing scrupulous issues (sic) from time to time,” Knezevic said.
He claimed that “if you want to do business
in Montenegro, you must be a donor of the Democratic Party of Socialist and their families”. Knezevic also indicated he had given a €10mn villa to Djukanovic.
This is not the first time Montenegro’s president — the most experienced and popular politician in the country — has faced accusations of corruption, but he has always managed to escape consequences. He denied being the owner of the villa, but admit- ted that Knezevic has donated money to his party. However, Djukanovic claims the sums were signifi- cantly lower than Knezevic claims to have donated.
Moreover, Djukanovic denied being a friend of Knezevic, and said that he had never asked the banker to support him financially. The politician claimed that Knezevic is lying in order to divert attention from his own legal responsibility.
Djukanovic’s DPS also replied to Knezevic’s accusations in several statements. The party