Montenegro’s Interior Minister Danilo Šaranović accused opposition leader and former Prime Minister Dritan Abazović on Monday of attempting to gain control over cigarette smuggling operations during his time in office, triggering a fiery exchange in parliament.
Šaranović, a member of the ruling Democratic Montenegro party, claimed that in 2022, Abazović reached a political compromise with the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) to enable two URA party officials to oversee smuggling routes. He also alleged that Abazović maintained connections with members of criminal organizations, presenting a recent photo of him with an alleged member of the Škaljari clan.
“For the first time in decades, figures such as Milivoje Katnić and Zoran Lazović have been arrested under this government. Meanwhile, you granted Montenegrin citizenship to an individual who defrauded the state of €2.3 million,” Šaranović told parliament.
He also demanded answers about Abazović’s alleged ties to Russian-Azerbaijani businessman Telman Ismailov, raising questions about whether he had links to the Georgian mafia.
Abazović, leader of the centrist United Reform Action (URA) party, dismissed the allegations as “fabrications and forgeries,” and accused the minister of incompetence and of allowing criminal groups to reassert influence over state institutions.
“You traffic in lies. If these were real documents, I challenge you to prove it,” Abazović said, adding that major tobacco seizures took place during his premiership, unlike under the current administration, which he claims has a “zero-record” on cigarette busts.
The debate escalated further as Šaranović alleged that the 2000 murder of Goran Žugić, an advisor to then-President Milo Đukanović, was carried out by Ivan Delić—a Montenegrin national recently extradited from the UAE—under orders from criminal bosses with ties to Montenegro’s former state security agency.
Reading from old intelligence files, Šaranović named several alleged perpetrators and collaborators, including Darko “Beli” Raspopović and Branislav “Brano” Mićunović, long-suspected of heading regional smuggling and assassination rings.
“This marks the beginning of a new era of confronting Montenegro’s criminal legacy. We now have evidence of state-sponsored killings, and we will ensure these crimes are not forgotten,” Šaranović declared.
Opposition MPs, including DPS lawmaker Ivan Vuković, countered that Šaranović had arrived unprepared and was recycling unproven allegations. “You’re the one presiding over a surge in violence today, not in 2000,” said Vuković.
Abazović accused the ruling coalition of exploiting security institutions for political gain and warned that criminal elements were being emboldened under the current government.
The parliament session was temporarily suspended following verbal clashes between lawmakers.
The heated session comes amid renewed scrutiny of Montenegro’s long-standing struggles with corruption, smuggling, and the legacy of alleged collusion between political elites and organized crime.