Corruption in public procurement represents the area of greatest risk for damage to the state budget and can occur at all stages of the process.
In the 2010 analysis "Public Procurement in Montenegro - Transparency and Liability," we stated that “the Police Directorate independently filed only three criminal charges over a period of three years on reasonable suspicion that criminal acts of abuse of official position in public procurement procedures were committed. According to available information, no final court verdicts for criminal acts in the field of public procurement have been issued so far.“ In the analysis, we also recommended that “the Police Directorate and the State Prosecutor's Office should approach the issue of identification and prosecution of criminal acts in the field of public procurement with particular attention.“
Fourteen years later, we investigated whether anything has changed by conducting interviews with state prosecutors, police officers, and control institutions, as well as gathering information on cases, indictments, and verdicts.
We analysed the period from January 2016 to July 2023, during which public procurement contracts worth over 3.5 billion euros were concluded in Montenegro. This is approximately the value of one annual budget of Montenegro, which for 2024 amounts to 3.48 billion. In the publication, we provide answers to the reasons for the absence of criminal liability, as well as recommendations for further action.
