Montenegro freezes over €6.8 million in bank accounts amid organized‑crime investigations

The Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) in Montenegro obtained a court order to block €6.8 million across 58 bank accounts held by companies and private individuals. More than half of the frozen amount (approximately €3.5 million) is linked to organized‑crime suspicions, while the remainder concerns personal accounts. The largest single freeze involves over €2 million on one individual's account. The action is presented as a reform step under Montenegro’s EU‑aligned Reform Agenda, which ties the release of EU‑funded tranche payments to progress on investigations, prosecutions, confiscations and asset seizures. The SDT cited previous 2023 data showing five cases where over €6.1 million was frozen on business accounts. The legal framework allows the state prosecutor to request temporary security measures, such as asset freezes, which are then approved by a court.