A former top Montenegrin politician was sentenced to 22 months in prison for corruption after striking a plea agreement with prosecutors, a court said Monday.

                                                                             Svetozar Marovic

Svetozar Marovic, who served as president both of Montenegro and the last version of the former Yugoslavia, will spend 22 months in prison and return 1.1 million euros (1.2 million dollars) he made through illegal construction deals on the country‘s Adriatic coast.

Despite widespread corruption, the sentencing of Marovic, 62, is a rare occurrence in the former Yugoslavia.

Former Croatian prime minister Ivo Sanader, previously handed a 10-year sentence for corruption in several cases, has since been released as the verdicts against him were annulled and the trials sent back to the courts for revision.

Montenegro was invited to join NATO and is an EU membership candidate.

Europe Online Magazine

5 September, 2016