The manner in which the family of the police official Zoran Lazović acquired property must be the subject of attention of the competent authorities, primarily the Agency for Prevention of Corruption (APC), but also the Department for Internal Control of the Police of the Ministry of Interior (MoI).
Foto: ND Vijesti
Therefore, at the beginning of next week, MANS will hand over the initiative against Zoran Lazović to APC for not reporting that his wife acquired an apartment and a garage in the centre of Podgorica at the beginning of last year, after exchanging real estate with Žarko Garić, on which we informed the public yesterday. Pursuant to the Law on Prevention of Corruption, Lazović had to report this change in assets to APC in an extraordinary income and assets report in the event of a change of more than 5,000 euros, which he did not do.
In addition, Lazović did not report a gift that his wife acquired by exchanging real estate with Željko Garić, which is reflected in the difference between the market value and the price formed during that exchange. Let us remind that in the exchange with Garić, Lazović’s wife acquired a significantly larger apartment with a parking space, for an extra charge of only around 10 thousand euros.
Moreover, complete documentation will be forwarded to the Department for Internal Control of the Police, which we will ask to determine all the circumstances of acquiring the property of the former assistant director of the Police Administration, Zoran Lazović. We will request from the Department for Internal Control to determine whether Lazović subordinated the public interest to personal interest in the eventual treatment of natural and legal persons with whom he nurtures friendly and business relations, and whether the potential conflict of interest affected the results of his work.
MANS will also hand over to the Department for Internal Control of the Police the documentation related to the acquisition of the apartment by Lazović’s son, Marko Lazović, who is employed in the Criminal Police Sector. MANS’ investigation shows that the younger Lazović acquired a valuable apartment significantly below market conditions directly from the company “Bemax”, with deferred payment.
Finally, the documentation will be forwarded to the Revenue and Customs Administration in order to determine whether during the real estate transactions between the Lazović family, Zeljko Garić and the company “Bemax” the tax was paid for the real market price, or the price agreed between the participants in these affairs.
The case of Lazović, as well as many previous ones, point to the need for serious reform when it comes to controlling the assets and income of public officials and servants, and especially persons related to them. This is particularly important when we talk about the type of officials on whom the anti-corruption efforts of the state should be based, and whose impartiality and objectivity should not be questioned.
Dejan Milovac
MANS
