Corruption charges confirmed against Malisheva Mayor Ragip Begaj

He is accused of deliberately and exploiting official authority of overcoming his competencies, causing damage to Rexhep Rudi and the Malisheva municipality budget on the occasion of building a school in the village of Drenoc.

The news about the “Justice Trust” has confirmed the defendant's defender, lawyer Emrush Kastrati.

The Special Department judge Violet Naman's decision states that the defendant's request exercised through his protector is unfounded.

The court has estimated that through going to court, the court will prove the actual situation through managing the proposed evidence with the accusation act.

To that decision, lawyer Kastrati has indicated that he has filed complaints with the Court of Appeals because of essential violations of the criminal procedure's provisions and misconception of the actual situation.

According to protection, if the legal provisions are correctly analysed and interpreted, it is evident that there is no purpose in the accused's actions to carry out this criminal act as it is claimed in the indictment.

And according to the indictment defence, there are shortcomings in the sense of alleged damage, as no part of the indictment is said to have been highlighted as to what is the damage done, reports the “Justice Vow”.

And all in the end, the defence requires the Court of Appeals that the indictment against its defender be dropped, with the reasoning that the primary elements of the criminal act have not been proven. According to the defence, the first degree court has not proven that the will and purpose for illegal property gains exist, but that the goal had been action for citizens' interests.

Otherwise, accused Begaj was declared innocent during the initial session held on August 5, 2021.

According to the indictment filed on April 7th 2021, Ragip Begaj is being charged on July 6, 2018, and in the quality of the official person, respectively, as chairman of the Malisheva municipality, deliberately and using official authority has exceeded its competencies, causing damage to Rexhep Rudi and the Malisheva municipality budget.

The indictment said that accused Begaj, on November 7, 2018, has assigned the location for building the school in the village of Panorc, where he had promised the injured to enter into agreement on exchange of land for the purpose of building the school.

As it says in the indictment, part of the school's facility was scheduled to be built on private property, contrary to the decision of the Municipal Assembly of May 4, 2018, which the decision aimed at building annexes of the school “Visar Krasniqi” in the village of Drenoc of Malisheva, which had never been built.

The same is also being charged that in October 2018, he had made a decision to carry financial means from one program to another contrary to the Law on Local Self - Rule.

According to the indictment, the financial means from the capital investment code without the initial approval of the MF carried goods and services and then used these tools for paying the municipality's financial obligations to third persons without the approval of the Municipal Assembly.

For these actions, Ragip Begaj is being tasked with carrying out the criminal act “misuse of official position or authority”, from Article 422, paragraph 1 of the Penal Code regarding Article 81, where the sentence is set for six months to five years.