Radio Free Europe: Kurt's governance with not so clean hands

Me Promise that it will fight corruption and lead with clean hands, many would expect the Government of Kosovo not to mention anything about this phenomenon.

However, nearly at the end of its 4-year mandate, reality is not very inspiring.

Prime Minister Albin Kurti himself was invited this month by the Special Prosecutor to testify in a case of corruption. He did not go, but he invited the prosecutor to come to him.

The case relates to state reserves, in which the Minister of Industry, Trade, Roseta Hajdari is directly involved.

And other officials faced investigation or judicial procedures.

In the Agency for Prevention of Corruption (APK), cases of corruption signals or misuse of official duty marked increases in 2017, compared to a year ago.

The Kosovo government did not answer Radio Free Europe questions about its fight against corruption.

Increase in number of cases compared to a year ago

The director of the Agency for Prevention of Corruption (APK), Yll Buleskaj, says dozens of cases of external notification of possible corruption or misuse of official duty were reported this year.

From January 1st to December, he says the APK has handled 38 such cases, of which nine have been sent for investigation to the prosecutor, seven have been sent to public institutions for treatment and three have been sent to court for countering others or have been rejected, or are still in treatment at the APK.

By comparison, Buleskaj says that during 2023, 19 cases of signalation have been accepted.

He also reports that this year, The APK has reviewed 98 cases of non-recognition of property on the part of public officials, which is binding on law, and has pronounced 96 fines, which have reached an estimated 22,000 euros.

By comparison, this agency has recorded 38 cases of property failure.

“also, as a result of the findings we have had from the observation of property, we have submitted 45 information and criminal charges, which are under way of treatment from this prosecutor”, says Buleskaj for Radio Free Europe.

Prosecutor and judiciary “set”

The State Prosecutor and the Kosovo Judiciary Council did not answer Radio Europe's free questions about the number of corruption cases and misuse of official office, prosecuted by these institutions of justice over the past four years.

But, according to data from a statistical analysis of the FOL Movement in Pristina, for the performance of the prosecutorial and judicial system in the fight against corruption, all Kosovo prosecutors during 2023 have had over 1,100 working materials, of which 630 have been new, while others have been inherited from the previous years.

How to solve only 500 subjects.

But according to this analysis for 2023, seven fundamental courts in Kosovo have handled 128 corruption substances, of which 24 new ones and others inherited.

Charge for “candal” and “apherate corrupt”

Medjide Demolli, executive director of the FOL Movement, says that increasing the number of cases of property failure and cases of signalling potential corruption or misuse of official office is only part of the mosaic of corruption phenomenon, which has not been fought sufficiently by the Government of Kosovo.

She recalls that Kurti's government, when it took power nearly four years ago, the main promise had the fight against corruption, but results, according to her, did not yield much.

“Mbi ministers, officials and senior officials of this government have a variety of scandals and corrupt relatives. The charge of abuses of state reserves, tax evasion, property failure, the pardoning of millions of euros in debt to water divers, these were some of the charges brought against officials of this government, for which there is still no judicial epilogue”, Demoli tells Radio Free Europe.

She adds that, despite some legal processes under way, there are still no court decisions with effective prison sentences for high profile officials.

Violet Hajoll, of the Kosovo Democratic Institute, says that for possible misuse of office by high profile officials, as well as the phenomenon of nepotism, public doubts have been voiced.

For example, in the case of subsidies [from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development], the party officials [in power] have given grants to their families. Then, we also saw at the last session [of the Parliament] impressive political appointments, where the minister's wife is named at [KOST Board]”, says Hajoll.

For the first case she mentions, Buleskaj says he is being treated in the APK.

The allegations are that the family of a ruling Vetevendosje Movement deputy has received 100,000 euros grant from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development, which is headed by Faton Peci.

Civil society has also raised concerns that two members of the System Operator Board, Transition and the Kosovo Market (KOSTT), elected late, are family members of Kurti Government.

This case has not yet been prosecuted.

Two Ministers' Cases

Industry, Intervention and Trade Minister Roseta Hajdari is currently under investigation for misuse of office in connection with state reserves.

Months ago, she was invited for an interview with the Special Prosecutor, but was quietly protected.

At the end of 2022, she was sentenced to a 700-euro fine by the Constitutional Court in Pristina, due to her failure to declare property.

In addition, Kosovo Foreign Minister Donika Grovalla has faced charges of contempt of property, but has been released from it in November.

What are the external evaluations?

The European Commission's 2024 Progress Report estimates that Kosovo has had limited progress in fighting corruption.

According to this report, the results are influenced by lack of resources and capacities, as well as lack of impartiality and accountability in the service of the prosecution and judiciary”.

In the 2023 Progress Report, corruption in Kosovo “remains an issue of serious concern”.

Even the U.S. State Department's report on human rights for 2023, published in April this year, noted some reports of corruption in Government” and stressed that the “, sometimes, engage in corrupt practices without punishment of”.

“The lack of effective judicial supervision and poor rule of law in general contributed to this problem”, he estimated. The DEA.

The state reserve case is also mentioned in the Freedom House report. It says Kosovo is in the process of drafting a new anti-corruption strategy, but that “Prime Minister Kurti attributes the delays to the opposition intervention”.

This strategy, which defines the goals of institutions to fight corruption, was meant to be finalised in December last year, but was set for public consultations on the part of the Government in December of this year.

Hajoll says Kurti, with his failure to present himself as a witness to the Special Prosecutor, did not show that he is serious in fighting corruption.

The prime minister's “points to a kind of overlapping executive to justice organs. It's wrong practice and it sends a very wrong signal to citizens and international partners”, it concludes.