Officials indicted by the Special Prosecution Office on suspicion of abuse of official position or authority have been suspended from work by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport. The decision was announced by acting minister Dimal Basha.

In his public response, Basha explained that the case concerns the 2017–2019 period and is linked to the contract for the maintenance of bridges on national and regional roads.

He said that the procurement procedure had begun with an estimated value of €500,000, but the total payments made had exceeded €5 million.

Basha said this concerns citizens’ money and public responsibility, calling on the justice system to deliver a final decision as soon as possible and hold accountable anyone who abused taxpayers’ funds.

According to the acting minister, no one is above the law, while public funds must be managed solely in accordance with established procedures and rules.

He also guaranteed the Ministry of Infrastructure’s full cooperation with judicial authorities on any information that may be requested in connection with the case.

At the same time, Basha warned that control, oversight and accountability mechanisms would be strengthened at all levels of the ministry. He added that any serious suspicion of abuse would be examined with the highest level of institutional responsibility.

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Acting Minister of Infrastructure Dimal Basha today welcomed two Kosovo Police officials to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport: Arbnesh Ajvazi, director of the Public Order Department, and Lieutenant Colonel Jeton Rexhepi.

In a Facebook post, Basha said that during the meeting he thanked them for the continued support and cooperation that the Kosovo Police has provided in a series of operations and activities conducted jointly with the Ministry.

According to him, the meeting also addressed strengthening interinstitutional coordination on upcoming projects and responsibilities, with the aim of improving road safety and carrying out joint duties as efficiently as possible.

Basha stressed that the Kosovo Police is an important partner for the Ministry and confirmed that their close cooperation would continue in the future.

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The Special Prosecution has filed an indictment against B.R., B.H., R.Q. and N.L., who are charged with the criminal offense of “Abuse of Official Position or Authority.”

The indictment states that, from August 2, 2017, to November 26, 2020, the defendants, in their capacity as officials of the Ministry of Infrastructure in Pristina, allegedly exceeded their legal authority and failed to fulfill their official duties.

The case concerns the initiation, procurement, management, authorization, certification and execution of payments for the public contract titled “Maintenance of Bridges on Kosovo’s National and Regional Roads for 2017–2019.”

According to the Special Prosecution, the defendants acted in violation of the Law on Public Procurement, the Regulation and Operational Guidelines on Public Procurement, as well as the Financial Rule on the Expenditure of Public Funds. Although the procurement procedure was launched with an estimated value of 500,000 euros, the payments made totaled 5,377,058.07 euros.

The indictment also alleges that work reports were signed and certified for quantities several times greater than those specified in the tender dossier. This was allegedly done without an annex to the contract, without conducting a new procurement procedure and without proper oversight by the works acceptance commission.

The Special Prosecution has asked the Court to impose, in addition to punishment for the criminal offense, the supplementary measure of barring the defendants from holding positions in the public administration or public service.

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Following media reports and public statements made on August 11, the Kosovo Police Inspectorate has launched, ex officio, a preliminary investigation into several members of the Kosovo Police. The proceedings relate to allegations made by a citizen with the initials N. R. concerning an alleged abuse of police powers.

The preliminary investigation aims to verify these allegations and clarify the relevant facts and circumstances surrounding police actions during an operation conducted in Dren, Zubin Potok.

At this stage, without prejudging the outcome of the investigation, the KPI will collect and analyze all available information and evidence in accordance with its legal mandate.

Within the scope of its authority, the Kosovo Police Inspectorate will carry out all necessary investigative procedures and actions. These include cooperation with the relevant institutions, obtaining official documentation and data, and interviewing individuals who may have knowledge of the incident.

The KPI emphasizes that every complaint or piece of information related to allegations concerning the conduct of police officers is treated with the utmost seriousness.

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As the search for mass graves continues in Kalludër, Zupç, potentially uncovering new evidence of Serbia’s crimes in Kosovo, officials in Belgrade are returning to their former rhetoric of threats and territorial claims.

Serbia’s official rhetoric is becoming increasingly harsh. Aleksandar Vučić and Ana Brnabić continue to portray Kosovo as part of Serbia, Snezhana Paunović has spoken of the “ethnic cleansing” of Albanians, while Petar Petković has claimed that Serbs are being persecuted in Kosovo. Aleksandar Vulin, meanwhile, has described Kosovo as “Serbia’s Jerusalem.”

Even a Serbian member of the Serbian Parliament has acknowledged that Vučić’s party has never distanced itself from the criminal policies of the past, but has merely adapted them to its present-day style of governance.

According to professors and security experts, this rhetoric goes beyond political propaganda. They see it as part of a deliberately constructed narrative intended to provide political justification for Belgrade’s destabilizing projects.

Geopolitics professor Dorajet Imeri said ethnic cleansing cannot take place without killings, particularly mass killings, persecution, and the destruction of territory or settlements. According to him, Serbia has done all of these things: it has killed people, concealed evidence, and created mass graves to erase the traces of its crimes. For this reason, he said the current rhetoric is a continuation of what Serbia has claimed and done in the past.

Gurakuq Kuçi of the Octopus Institute said the aim is to incite as much hatred as possible toward Kosovo and to psychologically prepare and mobilize the Serbian people to act against it at a given moment. He said this was particularly evident in Vučić’s statement and Vulin’s latest interview, in which he said: “We are waiting for the elections in Serbia and to see what we will do against Kosovo.”

Other experts are calling on the international community to respond more forcefully to Serbia’s rhetoric.

Fatmir Çollaku, director of the Institute for Justice and Security Research, said a tougher approach was needed, accompanied by criticism and sanctions. He recalled that measures were imposed on Kosovo unfairly and despite it having done nothing, while Serbia, regardless of all its actions, continues to be treated indulgently in one way or another. According to Çollaku, the problem lies in the lack of a unified position from the European and broader international community.

Under these circumstances, experts warn that international silence or a weak response to Belgrade’s threatening rhetoric could normalize a narrative with direct consequences for regional stability.

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The latest security report on Albania from the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC), a body of the U.S. Department of State, highlights several issues related to the fight against corruption.

According to the report, our country continues to face deep-seated problems related to corruption, organized crime, and impunity for powerful individuals.

According to the report, the establishment of the Special Structure against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) has led to an increase in investigations and prosecutions of high-level officials, politicians, and individuals with economic influence.

However, the document emphasizes that it remains a concern that some officials, politicians, judges, and individuals with strong business interests continue to be able to evade legal responsibility.

“Impunity remains a serious problem. With the creation of SPAK in 2019, the arrest and prosecution of officials committing abuses has increased; however, many officials, politicians, judges, and individuals with strong business interests are still able to evade prosecution. Corruption continues to be a serious problem in detention centers, particularly regarding access to work and special release programs,” the report states.

According to the assessment, corruption affects important areas of state functioning, including the judicial system, public administration, government procurement, and public contract management.

Foreign investors, according to the report, consider the lack of transparency, limited competition, and weak contract enforcement as among the main obstacles to the business climate.

The report also highlights that organized crime remains one of the main threats to security in Albania. Albanian criminal groups are mentioned for activity in drug trafficking, money laundering, corruption, human trafficking, and other forms of international crime.

According to the document, one of the main challenges for Albanian authorities is weakening the influence of these networks and preventing the intertwining of criminal interests with business and public institutions.

The report acknowledges the work of SPAK and other law enforcement structures, but stresses that institutional corruption, lack of coordination between institutions, and limited resources continue to hinder a full crackdown on criminal networks.

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According to the announcement, of the 37 legal officers appointed, 33 are women and 4 are men.

This process also included the appointment of representatives from non-majority communities, specifically two from the Serbian community, two from the Bosniak community, and one from the Turkish community.

The announcement stresses that the council remains committed to the proper implementation of legal obligations, with the aim of creating the necessary conditions for the efficient functioning of the courts, while ensuring respect for the principles of legality, transparency, and meritocracy in staff recruitment and selection processes.

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