From €38,000 lent to €123,000 paid: what the case file says about the three usury suspects

A person suspected of borrowing €38,000 was ultimately forced to pay €123,000, according to the prosecution’s claims. The case file obtained by the media outlet also contains evidence gathered in connection with the case.

Three people, B.M., Sh.B. and M.B., were arrested by Kosovo Police on Wednesday, September 23, on suspicion of the criminal offenses of “usury” and “threats.” Tëvë1 obtained the case file from the Basic Prosecution Office in Pristina, which has requested that the suspects be remanded in custody.

According to the prosecution, the arrested individuals lent A.Y. a total of €38,000, taking advantage of his financial difficulties. The arrangement allegedly stipulated monthly interest of 10 percent and began in 2021.

The prosecution says A.Y. could not repay the money with interest, and that B.M. repeatedly called him, saying he was under pressure from Sh.B. By May 2026, the victim had allegedly been forced to pay €123,000. At a meeting between B.M. and M.B. on 11.09.2026, he was asked for another €27,000.

M.B. is also suspected of threatening one of the victims in various ways. According to the case file, in May 2026 he also contacted A.Y.’s son, causing him anxiety and distress. Through text messages, the prosecution alleges, M.B. exerted constant pressure to recover the money and warned him that if the debt was not paid, “things would get very bad.”

The prosecution considers remand in custody necessary because the suspects could influence witnesses if released. The Basic Court in Pristina ruled during the day that this measure should be imposed on all three.

The television outlet also obtained the statement M.B. gave to Kosovo Police. He admitted lending money to A.Y., but denied that he had done so as usury.

M.B. said that from 2021 to 2023, as far as he could remember, he lent A.Y. a total of €52,000 in different amounts and at different times. He said the money was not his own, but had come from his uncle, who lives in Austria. He had also taken out two loans of €2,000 each and one loan of €5,000.

Asked whether he had lent A.Y. money at usurious interest, M.B. replied: “No, never in my life.”

He said he had also received money toward the debt from A.Y.’s family members, including his wife, son and daughter. According to his statement, in 2023 they gave him approximately €52,000 in different amounts and at different times. M.B. said A.Y.’s wife did not know that A.Y. owed money to three people from Albania, and that only A.Y. knew about it. He said A.Y. had asked him to tell his wife that the money was for some people from Peja.

During searches of the suspects’ homes, police seized phones, 20 different property sale and purchase files, a notebook containing notes, money in euros and francs, and an Audi A6 car.