„Envelope“ case: Verdict for Knežević, Stijepović and others on April 9
The outcome of the trial of businessman Duško Knežević, former Mayor of Podgorica Slavoljub „Migo“ Stijepović, and other defendants in the case known to the public as „Envelope“ will be announced on April 9, when the verdict will be delivered. The decision in the retrial will be made by a panel chaired by Judge Nenad Vujanović.
In addition to Knežević and Stijepović, the indictment also includes Branislav Todorović, Živko Šljivančanin, Tamara Krdžić, Goran Grujović and Tomica Knežević.
In the first-instance judgment, all were acquitted of charges of forming a criminal organization and money laundering. The Court of Appeal overturned that decision and ordered a retrial.
In closing arguments, prosecutor Tanja Čolan Deretić requested a guilty verdict, while the defense argued that the only proper decision would be an acquittal.
Duško Knežević stated before the Court today that he had read the Court of Appeal’s decision, which questioned the origin of the money „that he had presented as his private funds“.
- I had a house in Belgrade which I sold for seven to eight million, and I also had other funds for which I can provide evidence. I was not treated as a whistleblower, but as someone who formed a criminal group and laundered money for the needs of the Democratic Party of Socialists - Knežević said.
Attorney Andrijana Razić stated that for some time now the Court of Appeal has been acting as an extended arm of the Special State Prosecutor’s Office, especially in significant, high-profile cases.
Her colleague, attorney Lazar Aković, emphasized that the Court of Appeal in its decision to overturn the judgment barely mentioned his client Stijepović.
- It did not even provide reasons why it overturned the first-instance judgment - Aković said.