Pristina municipality recommends contract business run by convicted fraud against Kosovo Prosecutorial Council

The Pristina municipality's procurement has decided to link contracts worth about 400,000 euros to the company, which was led by the convict for public procurement fraud. It's about Tahir Soppa, since he was sentenced to run business “NBT-ING” The KPS, which has now been recommended for contracting the peak of the new municipality object, according to technical description given in the tender file

Restructuring the peak object of the new municipality, according to the technical description given in the tender file.

Sopa in two cases has been sentenced by the Court for falsification of documents and for public procurement fraud.

For the first case, he was sentenced on June 29, 2021, while on January 12th, 2023, he was sentenced. In one case, the Court of Appeals confirmed the sentence on February 12th.

The announcement of the winner of the tender has been announced today and is carried out with open procedure. They've been racing 15 companies. But company “NBT -ING” S. P.C. has had a very low price compared to others, at a value of 386,096.29. The projected value of the contract set by the municipality has been 700 thousand euros. When the contract price is for 40% lower than the projected value shows a signal for failing to plan properly the tender and the projected value, and/or the company that has won the tender may not complete the contract under the terms of the contract, diverting from quality. For example, the responsible company, but which has had the highest price, has had the bid of 781 thousand euros.

The municipality has opened this procurement call since January this year, but has dragged on for several months because there has been complaints by a company for illegal prosecution by the municipality. The claims have dropped municipal procurement.

Sopa after the two sentences he took- the company left in the hands of Bexhet Baftjaraj, who has been a shareholder for weeks at the company.

The Public Procurement Law is penalised for ten years by the owner and company headed if convicted of criminal activity “public procurement fraud”.

Article 65, paragraph 3 says that: Economic operator has no right to participate in a procurement activity or to execute any public contract if such an economic operator, any manager, manager or manager over the past ten years has been found guilty by a competent court for carrying out any criminal or civil work, including corruption practices, money laundering, bribery, advantages or similar activities.

In December 2020, Kosovo Police had announced that they have arrested the company's director “NB T -ING” The S.P.K, which was suspected of fraud, counterfeiting, and misusing in public procurement, which by using forged documents, had managed to win the tender in value of 811 thousand and 372 euros for the renovation of the Special Prosecutor's object in Kosovo.

The Kosovo Prosecutorial Council's Office has selected the consortium “NBT %ING” & “B AJRAMY” as the winner of this tender, which was signed on April 28, 2020.

The Kosovo Police report said the suspect, Tahir Sopa, has forged the document “Letter of support to” of the bank's 12,12.2019, with which the bank allegedly secured support to its company worth 200 thousand euros.

According to police, Tahir Sopa, except suspected of criminal activity “falsification”, he is charged with two other criminal acts: “misappropriation and public procurement fraud” and “Marration”.

On February 12th 2023, the Court of Appeals has rejected the complaint of the Founding Prosecutor in Pristina, defence and damaged side- The Kosovo Prosecutorial Council (KPK), confirming the Constitutional Court Act in Pristina, which on October 10th 2022, accused Tahir Sopa had sentenced him to one year in effective prison and 2 thousand euros in fines for criminal work “Keq usage and public procurement fraud”.

So Sopa, representative of “firms NB T ING KPS” and “NPN Bajramaj” was charged with winning tenders over 800 thousand euros for the renovation of the Kosovo Republic's Special Prosecutorial Object (PSRK)

In Apel's decision, provided by “Justice Vow”, which turns out to have been taken on January 12th 2023, claims by the Pristina Constitutional Prosecutors, defenders of Sopa convicts, lawyers Imer Beka of Flamur Blakuru, as well as complaints of the damage- The Kosovo Prosecutorial Council (KPK) is groundless.

The Constitutional Prosecutor in Pristina had filed complaints because of the verdict on the sentence, with the proposal that the accused be pronounced jail sentences -- the highest.

Kosovo's Prosecutorial Council, through the legal representative, had filed complaints due to the wrong and incomplete confirmation of the actual situation, the decision regarding criminal sanctions and property-juridic demand, with the proposal to undermine or change the bias and the case return to retrial.

While defenders of Sopa's convicts, attorneys Beka and Blackcake had filed complaints because of essential violations of the KPPRK and KPRK's provisions, violation of the Criminal Law, error and incomplete proof of the actual situation, and the decision on the sentence.

They had proposed that their complaint and their defenders be approved under Article 47 (the goal of sentencing) of the KPRK to pronounce a prison sentence and replace it with fine sentences, but according to them if the Court of Appeals finds that violations of legal provisions cannot be exceeded, annuld the bias and the subject return to first degree retrial.

According to Apel, the prosecution in complaint does not stress any circumstances that have been overlooked by the first degree court, but therefore does not stress even the circumstances that have been assessed by the court in the first degree that have influenced the pronunciation of the sentence of why such circumstances are not directly weighed.

“From the complaint, the prosecution only stresses its assessments as a body following that the sentence was not adequate, but without specifying any cause supporting any concrete circumstance, subsequently giving no reason neither general nor concrete, the college finds that such complaints are not groundless”, the Apel decision said.

Similarly, the Court of Appeals has rejected the request of the damaged Kosovo Prosecutorial Council in terms of property-juridic demand.

Otherwise, on November 26, 2021, Judge Naser Foniqi's court panel had sent this case to the General Department, but from now on it was decided that competent to handle this case is the Department of Criminals.

While, on October 10th 2022, the Constitutional Court in Pristina, pronounced the conviction punishable against the accused Sopa, condemning him to a year of effective imprisonment and 2 thousand euros in fines for criminal work “Kestum and fraud in public procurement”.

According to the indictment compiled on July 27, 2021, Tahir Sopa on December 12th, 2019, in the quality of firm representative “NB T ING KPS” and “NPN Bajramaj” had presented forged documents to win the tender, worth over 800 thousand euros, for the renovation of the Kosovo Republic's Special Prosecutorial Object.

The indictment reportedly both of these firms, whose representative was the accused Sopa, had applied in the tender announced by the contracting authority, the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council (KPK) and that one of the conditions for meeting the contract has been a declaration proving the availability of 200 thousand euros in the bank account as a value to secure the tender.

According to the indictment, the accused Sopa had presented paper-support issued by NLB Banka for supporting the company “NB T ING KPS” for guaranteeing banking worth 200 thousand euros, which paper support has resulted in counterfeiting.

For these actions, Sopa was charged that he had knowingly violated public procurement rules by presenting false documentation, by which he was declared the winner of the tender worth 811 thousand and 372 euros and 13 cents, thus causing damage to the KPK budget.

Sopa was charged with criminal work “Kequmuse and public procurement fraud”, from Article 415, paragraph 3, Penal Code, where the perpetrators are fined and sentenced to imprisonment of one to eight years. /Periscopi/