Mobing u Crnoj Gori 2.2 Disproportionate wealth • According to a documentary2 by the opposition Democratic Montenegro party, ZUGIC is one of the wealthiest people in the country, in possession of properties worth millions of EUR, despite having drawn a modest public servant’s salary for years. 2.3 Prva Banka – criminal charges • ZUGIC served as the president of the board of Prva Banka (First Bank), which was privatized in 2007 by the DJUKANOVIC family.3 In November 2008, ZUGIC helped solicit from the Ministry of Finance a EUR 44 million loan to bailout Prva Bank following years of illegal and irregular practices,4 including money laundering and unpaid loans to criminals, including drug dealers. Prva Bank was in no position to repay the loan.5 After stepping down from the Prva Banka board in 2010, ZUGIC was appointed CBM governor. In July 2012, the Special State Prosecutor for Corruption and Organised Crime - investigated ŽUGIĆ, DJUKANOVIC and Finance Minister Igor LUKSIC with abuse of power in relation to the case.6 However, none of the defendants were ultimately convicted of the charges. 2.4 Atlas Bank – suspected abuse of power • In 2015, while ZUGIC was Minister of Finance, the CBM conducted overdue checks of Atlas Bank, which discovered a negative solvency ratio of 12.397. Legally, the CBM was obliged to revoke the bank’s license and initiate its liquidation; however, not only did the CBM not act, but Atlas Bank was not subjected to further onsite inspection for three years. ZUGIC was governor over much of that subsequent period, having assumed his office in October 2016. • According to investigations by the ‘Dan’ daily newspaper and the Centre for Investigative Journalism8, the deputy governor of the CBM at the time of the initial 2015 inspection, Velibor MILOSEVIC, resigned in February 2016 in protest over the refusal of the Finance Ministry – then led by ZUGIC – to sanction the imposition of interim administration by the CBM over Atlas Bank.9 Interim administration is a period of legal moratorium on the payment of deposits prior to liquidation. In January 2019, the owner of Atlas Bank, Dusko KNEZEVIC, released a recording from November 2015 in which MILOSEVIC appeared to request from him a bribe of EUR 100,000 to pay off six CBM officials responsible for inspections. MILOSEVIC was subsequently arrested.10 A ruling has yet to be issued in the case. It is unclear whether MILOSEVIC was a scapegoat. • Measures were finally taken by the CBM against Atlas Bank after the World Bank exerted pressure on the CBM through its Policy-Based Guarantee (‘PBG1’). Interim administration was therefore imposed in December 2018, with a view to declaring bankruptcy in April 2019. During this period, under the auspices of Zugic, the CBM arranged for the suspected illegal payment of EUR 21.8 million to privileged clients. The State Prosecution opened 2 https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2785058905051735 3 https://www.reportingproject.net/firstbank/en/first-bank-first-family 4 https://www.reportingproject.net/firstbank/en/bailout-protecting-the-first-family-s-investment 5 https://www.occrp.org/index.php/en/ccwatch/cc-watch-briefs/1580-montenegro-corruption-charges- against-top-politicians-first-bank-and-central-bank-officials 6 https://www.occrp.org/images/stories/Krivicna_prijava_Djukanovic_Luksic_i_Zugic.doc 7 https://www.dan.co.me/?nivo=3&rubrika=Vijest%20dana&clanak=679485&datum=2019-01-16 8 http://www.cin-cg.me/en/istrazivanje-cin-a-i-vijesti-o-aferi-atlas-interesi-knezevica-djukanovica-i- statisa-bili-vazniji-od-drzave-2/ 9 https://www.dan.co.me/?nivo=3&rubrika=Vijest dana&datum=2018-12-08&clanak=674532 10 https://www.vijesti.me/vijesti/ekonomija/viceguverner-cbcg-reketirao-knezevica 193