Former Malisheva Mayor Ragip Begaj sentenced to prison

Begaj was charged with deliberately and exploiting official authority overstepping 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 Begaj Act was announced Monday by Judge Violet Naman, reports “Justice Vowif”.

Under this indictment, if no consent is given to pay the fine penalty, then the six-month prison sentence remains in force.

The same is also obliged to pay procedure spending in 100 euros, as well as 50 euros for the crime victims' fund.

Otherwise, during the initial session held on August 5, 2021, Begaj had declared himself innocent.

The incident was confirmed in September 2021, the decision was made by the Special Department judge in charge of the subject Violet Naman.

The Act against Begaj was confirmed by the Court of Appeals in December last year.

According to the indictment filed on April 7th 2021, Ragip Begaj was charged that on July 6, 2018, 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 was also 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 was charged with carrying out the criminal act “The use 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. /Betimy for Justice