Montenegro's Ex-President Marovic Faces Jail for Corruption

The ex-president of the former state union of Serbia and Montenegro, Svetozar Marovic, was released from custody on Tuesday after he signed a plea bargain with the special prosecution for organised crime and corruption and agreed to serve three years and eight months in prison.

Sixty-one-year-old Marovic had been accused of being the kingpin of a criminal group in his hometown of Budva.

After five months in detention, he reportedly agreed to reveal where 15 million euros that went missing from the Budva municipality ended up in exchange for a reduced jail term. It is not yet clear when he will start serving the sentence.

His lawyer Zdravko Begovic confirmed the plea bargain deal but said that the agreement with the prosecution excludes any admission that Marovic headed a criminal organisation.

Marovic spent almost five months in the Spuz prison near Podgorica and Begovic said that his health had deteriorated as a result.

"Five months in custody, despite the very correct attitude of the prison staff, in many ways worsened his physical and mental health, and after leaving the detention unit, Marovic will be immediately visit a hospital to try to alleviate these health problems," Begovic told reporters.

Marovic has also served as Montenegro's parliament speaker as well as president and prime minister of Serbia and Montenegro. 

He was arrested on December 16 last year in connection with a long-running corruption case focusing on Budva. 

Most of his relatives have now been either arrested, convicted or accused of corruption and abuse of power in relation to crimes in the resort.

His son, Milos, his brother, Dragan, Budva's former deputy mayor, and his aunt, Mirjana, spent months in custody following their...