Montenegro’s ruling Europe Now Movement (PES) announced on Tuesday it will seek the formation of a parliamentary inquiry committee to examine allegations of corruption surrounding the controversial privatisation of the national telecom company – a case involving former President and long-time leader Milo Đukanović.
The initiative was confirmed by PES MP and head of the Parliamentary Commission for the Oversight of Privatisation, Uglješa Urošević, who said the time had come for Đukanović to “answer concrete questions” about the so-called “Telekom affair.”
The move follows the decision of Montenegro’s Special State Prosecutor to dismiss a criminal complaint against Đukanović and his sister Ana Đukanović, citing the expiration of the statute of limitations. The complaint had been filed in 2019 by the NGO MANS (Network for Affirmation of the NGO Sector), referencing a 2005 deal to sell state-owned Telekom Crne Gore to Hungary’s Matáv, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom.
‘Swept Under the Rug for 20 Years’
“The Montenegrin public, both experts and laypeople, have watched with disbelief as the Telekom case was dismissed due to statute of limitations, despite a final conviction for corruption in a related case in a U.S. court,” Urošević said in a statement. “In Montenegro, the case was buried in a drawer under layers of time and deliberate neglect.”
He accused Đukanović of “manipulative rhetoric” and hypocrisy for suggesting that the dismissal proves no crime was committed, while at the same time blaming “pressure from Greater Serbian nationalism” for paralyzing prosecutors.
Urošević said PES will propose the formation of a parliamentary inquiry committee to investigate the Telekom affair and other controversial privatisations, including those of Nikšićka Banka, Primorka, and Metalac. The committee will also request a full list from the Ministry of Justice of unresolved privatisation-related cases that have not resulted in court proceedings.
“We owe this much to the generations that built Montenegro’s large state-owned enterprises – enterprises that were gutted over the past three decades by Đukanović and his cronies,” Urošević said.
Đukanović: “Everything Was Done to Harm Me”
In response, Đukanović reiterated his long-held position that the charges are politically motivated. Speaking to local daily Pobjeda, the former president dismissed the case as part of a “decades-long campaign” orchestrated to damage his reputation.
“Everything in this case – not just in the past six, but nearly 20 years – was done to my detriment,” he said, accusing EU institutions of funding politically motivated legal actions against him and other public officials in Montenegro. He also alleged that foreign diplomats and Western partners had contributed to the campaign.
Đukanović argued that the government’s decision to allocate €2.5–3 million to facilitate the purchase of minority shares in Telekom was economically sound and added €40 million to the state’s revenue, bringing the total proceeds from the sale to €150 million.
He denied any criminal wrongdoing, calling the MANS complaint a “political pamphlet,” and said prosecutors should have acted sooner, rather than letting the case expire.
“This isn’t about a lack of time. It’s about a lack of courage and integrity in state institutions,” Đukanović said. “Instead of upholding the rule of law, many are paralyzed by fear – fear of the media, the public, foreign actors, and nationalist pressure.”
Opposition Calls for Accountability
The Telekom case has long been a rallying point for Đukanović’s opponents, who accuse him of overseeing widespread corruption during his decades in power. Although he stepped down after losing the 2023 presidential election, Đukanović remains honorary president of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), the party he led for over 30 years.
The PES-led government, which came to power promising transparency and accountability, says its investigation is not limited to Đukanović, but part of a broader effort to revisit Montenegro’s post-independence privatisation era.
The parliamentary inquiry is expected to face resistance from Đukanović’s allies, who argue the move is politically motivated and intended to discredit the opposition.