Montenegro Probes Ex-Officials for ‘Destroying Secret Documents’

Special Prosecutor Milivoje Katnic (centre) at a press conference in Podgorica. Photo: PR Centar.

"A case was established at the Special State Prosecutor's Office and a pre-investigation process has been launched. More information and data cannot be disclosed in order to protect the criminal proceedings," the Special Prosecutor's Office told BIRN.

On January 29, Montenegrin Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic accused the previous government of destroying confidential documents dating from 2016 to 2020, and urged the prosecutor to start an investigation.

"It is known who participated in that, and when a large amount of the documents were taken away. Why are those papers being destroyed? The key element that serves as evidence is a record, in other words a piece of paper,"  Krivokapic said.

The new government and NGOs also called on the authorities to investigate the claims.

But former Prime Minister Dusko Markovic, a DPS MP, denied the accusations.

Markovic wrote on Twitter that the documentation was "created, used, stored and destroyed in accordance with the law".

On January 21, the new head of Montenegro's National Security Agency, Dejan Vuksic, accused some of the agency's officers of destroying confidential documents on illegal wiretapping and surveillance, and said the Agency had started an internal investigation.

Media reported on January 19 that National Security Agency officers were destroying important documentation about illegal and unauthorised surveillance activities.

The Special Prosecutor's Office started an investigation into these claims on January 21, calling on Vuksic to send them a report on the internal investigation.

By law, surveillance and wiretapping are possible only by order of...