Podgorica, (MINA) – The Court of Appeal has overturned the verdict of the Podgorica High Court in the “Envelope” case, in which several persons, including businessman Dusko Knezevic and former Podgorica Mayor Slavoljub Stijepovic, were acquitted of charges of creating a criminal organization and money laundering.

The Court of Appeal announced that, following the panel session held on February 24, they issued a decision accepting the appeal of the Special State Prosecutor’s Office (SDT) and annulled the verdict of the Special Division of the High Podgorica Court, and returned the case to the first-instance court for a retrial.

The Court recalled that by the first-instance verdict, Knezevic, Stijepovic, Branislav Todorovic, Zivko Sljivancanin, Tamara Krdzic, Goran Grujovic and Tomica Knezevic were acquitted of the criminal offenses of creating a criminal organization and money laundering.

The Appellate Court assessed that the SDT’s appeal was founded, indicating that the first-instance court committed a significant violation of the provisions of the criminal procedure, as it failed to provide reasoning for decisive facts, while the explanations given were unclear and largely contradictory.

According to the Appellate Court, the obligation of the first-instance court is determine the facts fully and accurately, important for making a lawful and fair decision in the retrial.