EU in Montenegro demands probe into claims about President’s property deals

“We expect those recent reports on corruption and eventual tax evasion adequately investigated by the respective state institutions,” the Delegation told the Podgorica Vijesti daily.

„The Pandora Papers, a set of millions of documents from offshore corporate service providers, was leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and shared with media partners around the world, including OCCRP. In total, 35 current and former national leaders appear in the leak, alongside 400 officials from nearly 100 countries. Among those names are former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Chilean President Sebastián Piñera, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, Montenegrin President Milo Đukanović, and Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba," the report said."
The forthcoming European Commission (EC) annual report would include a complete assessment of the rule of law in Montenegro, it added.

The US embassy in Podgorica told Vijesti they couldn’t comment on individual cases mentioned in ‘Pandora Papers.” However, they recalled President Joseph Biden’s memorandum in which he promoted the fight against corruption as the key interest of national security.

”In line with that memorandum, the US Government increased efforts in curbing offshore financial secrets, robust implementation of federal laws demanding the US companies to report real owners to the Finance Ministry and identify a need for reforms. President Biden is also committed to working with partners and allies on solving issues related to fictitious firms and money laundering through property transactions,” the US embassy told Vijesti.

Within the ‘Pandora Papers’ global investigation on offshore companies, the Network for Promotion of NGOs (MANS) published a report that claimed Djukanovic and his son Blazo signed secret deals on managing their properties in 2012 with companies from Great Britain, Switzerland, British Virgin Islands, Panama and Giblaratr.