Svetozar Marović, the convicted head of a Budva crime group, is free in Montenegro after the absolute statute of limitations on executing his prison sentence expired, according to his lawyer Zdravko Begović. Begović said 10 years have passed since the higher court verdict in Podgorica, meaning Marović could return to Montenegro as early as next week without fear of arrest, pending a formal decision by the Basic Court in Kotor. Marović, 71, was arrested in Budva in December 2015 on charges linked to multi-million-dollar corruption and financial embezzlement. After months in detention, he signed two plea agreements in 2016 with Montenegro’s Special State Prosecutor’s Office (SDT). Under the agreements, Marović was described as the leader of an organized crime group that damaged the Budva Municipality budget by millions. A court sentenced him to three and a half years in prison and ordered him to pay one million euros to the state, plus 100,000 euros for humanitarian purposes. The plea deals covered fraud in multiple cases, including “TQ Plaza”, the plateau in Jaz, the sale of land in Prijevor, “Donji bulevar”, a rural road in Krapina, “Kopirajt”, and “Properti investment”. The agreements were kept secret, leaving the public without details of the documents. After his release from custody in May 2016, Marović went to Serbia, saying he needed psychiatric and cardiological treatment, and Montenegro sought his extradition. Montenegro sent Serbia eight urgent extradition requests, including one on October 6, four days before the absolute statute of limitations for executing the sentence expired. The latest status is that Marović is already free and could return to Montenegro without fear of arrest once the Basic Court in Kotor issues a formal ruling on the statute of limitations.