An investigation by journalists from the Montenegrin daily newspaper Vijesti revealed that the former director of Montenegro's Agency for Prevention of Corruption (ASK), Jelena Perović, hid from the public the sale of an apartment that she inherited as well as the income of €70,000 resulting from the sale. Contrary to her obligations under the Law on Prevention of Corruption, the official data on the anti-corruption agency’s website shows that Perović did not submit a separate report 30 days after she had sold the inherited property in September 2022.

Perović submitted an extraordinary report on 26 August 2021, reporting that she inherited a 43-square-metre apartment in Podgorica, which she sold the following year. According to the anti-corruption agency’s response to the Vijesti inquiry, Perović did not have an obligation to report on changes related to an increase of property above €5,000 following the apartment sale, as in that case, it was not about an increase in property, but its transfer from an immovable to a movable asset.

However, Article 23 of the Law on Prevention of Corruption clearly states an extraordinary report shall be submitted in case of changes in the report referring to an increase in assets of more than €5,000, within 30 days from the date of change. The law also foresees a fine ranging from €500 to €2,000 for those public officials who do not fulfil their legal obligations.

In the past, the Agency for Prevention of Corruption has taken the position that a sale of real estate does not represent a change in the form of assets, and according to the Network for the Affirmation of the NGO Sector, the agency continues to establish a practice of creative interpretation of the law. That is a dangerous practice as it opens a space for selective implementation of regulations, something that is particularly troubling considering that the anti-corruption agency is the designated authority for scrutinising public officials who fail to properly report their incomes and assets. Even more troubling is that this case involves the director of the most important anti-corruption institution in the country, who should demonstrate model behaviour when it comes to integrity.

MANS reported the issue to the APC in March 2024, but without the official response from the institution so far, and Perovic was discharged in August 2024, following her arrest earlier that year.