Mayor of Bar (First bank case)
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Former Mayor of Bar Žarko Pavićević is alleged to have abused his official position while building apartments and office buildings through the Bar Construction Institute (Zavod za izgradnju Bara, ZIB). Pavićević kept control of the company although he resigned as a director when he became mayor of Bar. The damage caused through this business amounts to €1.8 million to the budget of Bar municipality (see here).
- Country
- Montenegro
- Sector
- Public finance
- Offence
- Abuse of official position or authority
- Phase
- 2nd instance verdict
Description of the case
Former Mayor of Bar Žarko Pavićević is alleged to have abused his official position while building apartments and office buildings through the Bar Construction Institute (Zavod za izgradnju Bara, ZIB). Pavićević kept control of the company although he resigned as a director when he became mayor of Bar. The damage caused through this business amounts to €1.8 million to the budget of Bar municipality (see here).
Pavićević was sentenced to one year in prison by the high court for abuse of office while doing business with First Bank (Prva banka) to construct apartments for civil servants. Pavićević used taxpayer money to repay debts to First Bank to complete the construction of apartments for civil servants. He did so without approval from the municipal parliament of Bar. The former mayor signed a contract on behalf of the municipality guaranteeing the construction of the apartments, even though no institutional obligation existed. The financial damage caused to the city budget amounted to €1.8 million. Interestingly, Pavićević also owned a construction and planning company working on several projects in the city of Bar (see here).
As Pavićević has been involved in several corruption cases, it is suspected that he established a scheme that captured local government to benefit selected interests.
Legal description of the case
Abuse of an official position, Article 416 of the Criminal Code
Applicable Corruption offence
Abuse of an official position
Suspects' institutional affiliation
Mayor of Bar municipality (at the time of the offence) and high-level official of the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists until his resignation on 22 June 2016.
Date of offending
Between 11 December 2007 and 12 June 2015: abuse of office for damaging the budget of Bar municipality in connection with repaying debts to First Bank
Sector affected
Public finances; Construction and urbanism
Related developments
In the wake of the corruption scandal, Žarko Pavićević lost political power as the mayor of Bar. He did not run for another term.
Court
High court in Podgorica and appellate court
Related domestic or foreign cases
Pavićević is on trial for other corruption cases related to causing damage of €2.2 million to the state-owned Montenegro Post. He is alleged to have abused his official position in the construction of residential and business spaces in 2011 (see here) (link to the case Mayor of Bar – Montenegro Post).
Current phase of the case in criminal procedure
Second instance verdict of the appellate court dated 8 November 2017, confirming the first instance judgment of the high court of one year in prison, dated 28 February 2017
Procedural history
Following the arrest of Žarko Pavićević on 23 September 2015, the special prosecutor filed an indictment against Pavićević on 19 November 2015 for abusing his official position and damaging the local budget up to the amount of €1.8 million.
The trial started on 25 February 2016 and the high court sentenced the accused to one year in prison on 28 February 2017. The indictment was changed during the trial from Article 416, paragraph 3 to Article 416, paragraph 1, which carries a shorter punishment, because it was not proved that the personal gain was greater than €30,000. The appellate court upheld the high court judgment in its decision on 8 November 2017 (see here).
Resolution of the case
Second instance verdict for damaging the budget of Bar municipality. The media reported that Pavićević was postponing serving the prison sentence for over a year but was eventually sent to prison.
Applicable minimum and maximum penalty
Between six months and five years in prison for the offence (Article 426, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code)
Charges pressed by the prosecutor in the actual case
Article 426, paragraph 3 of the Criminal Code (two to twelve years in prison for an offence that results in material benefit exceeding €30,000)
Sanctions imposed
One year in prison (see here)
Sanctions enforced
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