Politics, shorter way to become millionaire in Kosovo

Even though the salaries of top state officials on property statements to the Anti-Corruption Agency are brought in over 13 thousand euros a year, declared real estate is represented by hundreds of thousands of euros or even millions of assets.

Incompatibility between the pay they receive and the declared wealth, according to civil society, creates room for suspicion of illegal wealth.

Arton Demhasey, director of the non-governmental organisation “, says of Radio Free Europe that he doubts the wealth of many politicians or state officials is related to businessmen who benefit from public institutions' tenders.

“Creates doubt that a portion of them may have suspicious assets or illegal assets, which may have connections through various tender processes or benefits from businesses that are directly related to political parties, due to receiving large numbers of tenders from institutions. Otherwise it doesn't make sense if you see the discrepanza between their revenues and the property presented”, Demhasaj said.

Hasan Preteni, director of the Centre for Ethics, Transparency and Integrity in a conversation for Radio Free Europe, also calls this situation paradoxic. He doubts the wealth of some public officials has been acquired by misuse of office.

Look at the style of their lives, look at their real estate, look at how their children live and where they're educated, and it's going to immediately be seen that they can have a big salary, but for a 10-15 year period this wealth cannot be created”

We can talk about the property they claim in the Agency, but we can't talk about property that doesn't have in their name. So, it's a very big problem, but it's not expected to be fixed, because there is no reflection and there is no political will for this issue to be fixed”, Preteni said.
According to official statistics, the unemployment rate in Kosovo is about 30 percent, until about 17.6 percent of the population lives in full poverty.

The average salary for employees in public institutions, according to official data, has reached around 500 euros, while an increase for public sector workers has also been provided with the salary Law that was adopted in the Kosovo Assembly early February.
Meanwhile, salaries in the private sector continue to total 384 euros per month.

The minimum wage in Kosovo is 130 euros for employees under the age of 35, and 170 euros for employees over 35.

In contrast, the monthly basket of a citizen in Kosovo consumption for family economies of over 7,500 euros a year, which does not provide a good standard for citizens.
Taking into account the current situation, where Kosovo is counted as the poorest country in the region, Arton Demhaja says it is shameful that politicians or top state officials are the richest category of society.

It's very embarrassing that in a poor country such as Kosovo, the richest category be politicians or hosters of public institutions. As long as it is known what state the people of Kosovo live in, in what poverty citizens live in, when the average wage is known, what the amount of pensions, salaries in the private sector, is shameful when it sees politicians' assets in Kosovo”, Demhaya says.

Meanwhile, Hasan Preteni, who has been the director of the Anti-Corruption Agency, says that this situation is also helping them lack of laws that allow them to verify their background, since according to him, wages cannot enable them to become millionaires.
“There must be political will to regulate legal grounds, and provide capacity to the agency or any other mechanization that officials are declaring should become the verification of origin. This is the key element, the basic element that must be done”, he points out.

Even Arton Demhayan points out that in terms of verifying the source of wealth, but also confiscating it, there are legal shortcomings.

There is only legal basis for cases related to criminal activity, which initially one of these millionaires we're talking about must commit a criminal offence, be charged, tried and declared guilty of criminal work, so that the prosecutor can start examining his assets eventually confiscated his” said Demhasaj.

The law on the declaration, background and control of the property of top public officials is forcing all officials to declare tempting wealth, real estate, cash available in banks, shares in commercial society, valuable letters, cash available in credit institutions, debts, annual revenues, and their backgrounds.
This law also regulates public control of wealth, income, and other material benefits.

Recently, the Ministry of Justice has made some changes to the Criminal Code, as well as introducing the new Bill for extensive competencies for the seizure of property. / REL/