Ljiljana Simović: My husband took me to meetings to translate in order to save the state budget

My husband is very economical. He had the right to hire an interpreter during business meetings, but in order to save money, he took me along to translate - Ljiljana Simović said at the High Court.

She was heard today as a witness in the proceedings initiated by the prosecution against her husband, Milutin Simović, the former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The Special State Prosecutor’s Office accuses him of, between 2017 and 2020, presenting a total of 5,000 euros in private expenses from stays in hotels and restaurants as official expenses in order to have them covered from the budget of the ministry he headed.

Ljiljana Simović emphasized that her only goal is the truth.

- I am a privileged witness and had the right not to testify, but my goal is not to defend my husband, but the truth – she said.

At the beginning of her testimony, she stated that she had stayed in several hotels across Montenegro when her husband had work meetings, and that she was there solely to provide translation. As she explained, the same applied during their stay in Rome, when her husband had business meetings.

- All the events my husband is being charged with did not have a private purpose, but were work-related and protocol meetings - Simović said.

She added that she assisted her husband with translation because she speaks English and Italian.

She explained that when she gave her statement before the prosecutor, she could not recall all the meetings.

- After my husband was charged, we had many sleepless nights, and I managed to remember certain events - she said.

Earlier, before Judge Veljko Radovanović, she stated that she spent a weekend in June 2017 at the Splendid Hotel in Bečići due to work on drafting a fiscal strategy.

- I gave suggestions to my husband because at the time I was Director of the Directorate for European Integration and EU Funds within the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare. My husband was working on that strategy at the Splendid with then-Minister Darko Radunović - she said.

She also recalled that during one weekend in November 2018, she joined her husband at the Bjanka Hotel in Kolašin, where he was staying during visits to municipalities in the north.

- He was staying at the hotel and completing his duties, while I was visiting my family in Kolašin - she said.

She also referred to their stay in Rome in January 2020, where, as she emphasized, she covered her own travel expenses.

- My husband had certain meetings with representatives of the IFAD organization. We attended a business lunch, where I translated. Because of the translation, I did not have lunch, but we later went to dinner - Ljiljana Simović said.

In response to a question from prosecutor Siniša Milić, she said that her husband held a diplomatic passport while serving as Deputy Prime Minister.

- I did not have one, because I was not entitled to it under the law - Simović said.

Prosecutor Siniša Milić assessed that her testimony was calculated to help and ease her husband’s position.

On the other hand, Simović’s defense attorney, Miroslav Adžić, had no objections to her testimony.