Kosovo Fines Officials For Not Declaring Assets

A court in Kosovo has fined over 60 government officials for not declaring their wealth as they are required to by law.

Hasan Preteni, director of the Anti-Corruption agency, told Balkan Insight that the officials did not meet a deadline to declare the status and origin of their assets after which their files were sent to court.

“The court found them guilty of not respecting the deadlines, and fined 62 officials based on the pleas we had filed,” Preteni noted.

Kosovo’s Anti-Corruption Agency is an independent institution tasked with implementing state policies to combat and prevent corruption. It also monitors the property and assets of top public officials.

The agency warned some months ago that around 90 senior government officials, including lawmakers, ambassadors and ministers, had not submitted forms declaring their wealth.

According to Preteni, only about 22 of this 90 met the legal deadline and responded to last-minute requests from the Anti-Corruption Agency to act, and so were not sent to court. Pristina’s Minor Offences Court fined most of the rest 300 euros.

Media reports initially claimed that among the senior officials fined were two MPs: Azem Syla and Rada Trajkovic. Syla is vice-president of the ruling Democratic Party of Kosovo, while Trajkovic is president of the United Serb List.

But the Anti-Corruption Agency denied the reports, saying that both MPs had respected the deadline. Neither was in fact fined, according to the agency website.