How did the Foundation justify the decision by which Minister Gervala was acquitted of not reporting property?

Minister Gervala was charged that in the quality of the top public official, in the form for property statements on March 22nd, 2021, she did not accurately submit the required data by law.

According to the Pristina Constitutional Court Act, compiled on December 3rd, 2024, there is no question that with the evidence administered in judicial examination, it proved that the work Gervala was charged with was no criminal offence and that the facts presented as in the indictment could be subject to consideration only in the anti-vacial procedure.

It points out that accused Gervala, during the trial, had not pleaded guilty, while in her defence in the judicial examination she has claimed to stand next to the statement issued at the prosecutor.

In the decision, it was said to be no contradiction that the accused was obliged to declare property but that the object was the fact that if accused after not making the exact declaration of property, he had fulfilled the elements of criminal work “not to report or report false wealth, income, gift, other material benefits or financial obligations”.

The court stresses that this controversial fact was chosen based on material evidence administered at the court review hearing.

The decision states that Berisha, representative of the Agency for Prevention of Corruption, in the quality of the witness, has stated that at the moment of handing over the form of property claims to be taken into office, there is a declaration signed by Gervalla, under which it is stressed that it is reported about the obligation coming out of the Law for the Declaration of Riches, but that there is no communication until the moment of clarification that has been requested through the request concerning the declaration of the piece of property to its husband.

According to the indictment, in relation to the business, Alb Lingua UG, in its clarification, the accused has also offered some supporting evidence, among which there have been some transactions that, according to the deklaratory side, are for initial expenses of starting business, but not any circulation as business gain. Thus, this business was declared because there was no circulation.

“While the revenues of the declaration party's husband are declared on the form in 2022 but not on that 2021. As for property that Dubovic's two-probate agency has been addressed to the declarative party initially has the first request to do with inaccuracies which, in its clarification, the declarational side has stressed that on the basis of some of the official communications from the Decani municipality, has confirmed the data it has submitted, after which the agency is again addressed with the request of the descriptor party, asking for information regarding those communications as well as whether there is a certificate of any ownership concerning this incompliance”, said in judgment.

Furthermore, it is said that the same in its explanation except that those properties are numbered but that the exact surface has misunderstood or confused with the official from the Decani municipality, by attaching to the transliteration of these communications, this clarification has attached to the property certificate, which is identical to what the APK has provided at the Kosovo Cadastral Agency, in which they see incorrectities declared in the form.

The prosecution says that the Court forgave the full trust of this witness's statement, since the same is in full harmony and harmony with the subject's records, but above all is in harmony with the prosecution's statement.

In the initial declaration of property after taking office, Gervala had not declared her husband's income, with the reasoning that he was employed in Germany's Parliament and that the secret of personal and tax revenues in the German state is protected by law, but that are incomes that come exclusively from his annual salary, and that the Prosecutor has offered no evidence to prove the opposite.

Always in accordance with the indictment, from the AKK's certificate of ownership issued in Pristina, the Court found the indictment was owned by 1/1 of the authentic property share for incompatibility, on the surface of 3964 m2.

“Which inconsistently in the case of the statement of wealth had declared on the surface “around 2000 m2”, which the prosecution of the court review hearing stated was property that it acquired on the basis of heredity, and the reason why you had been declared about 2000 m2, was that it was informed by other persons about the same area and that it did not know the exact area.”, said in decision.

According to the verdict, the Court forgave him full trust that as such indicates that the accused had presented this inconsistencies that were identified in her name and that she had legitimately benefited, so there was no reason to hide it.

According to the Prosecution, Gervala deliberately acted contrary to the Law for the Declaration of Riches when he did not accurately submit the required data by law, but the Court estimated that by no means can the prosecution's claims that the elements of the work that is imposed on him have been stated on purpose.

The court points out that in Article 17 of Law No.04/ L-050 for the Declaration, Determine and Property Control of High Public Officials and Declaration, Gift Clearing and Control for All Official Persons is defined as “Whoever violates the obligations prescribed by this law, which are not criminal acts, the high official has committed offence and is punished”.

“While the legal description turns out that for failing to declare or mispronounce property, legally benefited by the deklarator's negligence, it poses illegal action but does not attract criminal responsibility“, said in judgment.

According to the Foundation, the purpose of this article is to incriminate the public official only if he has not declared or declared his wealth falsely, and he has acquired it illegally, and he cannot reason on how it came to that wealth, but in no circumstances the wealth he has legitimately fulfilled, which he has stated, adding that in concrete cases the statement of the accused has been made but that the correct statement has not been made.

“The very fact that Article 17 of Law 04/L-050 has presupposed punitive provisions, correcting even fines, leads to a clear conclusion that “mos declaration or incorrect declaration of property which has been legally benefited” is only against wrongdoing“, Court estimates.

According to the Court, it would not be for the wrongdoing and fines for the failure of the property, as if the lawgiver's purpose was to make it as a legitimate property as one acquired illegally, as if it were not declared or declared incorrectly, to sanction it as a criminal act.

In the end, it is said that the prosecution, in the case of handing over the indictment, has not demanded the seizure of Gervala's property, since there are no indicators that the same would have benefited him illegally.

Based on these facts, the Foundation decided that Gervala would be acquitted.

“Justice Vow” has sent questions to the Constitutional Prosecutor in Pristina to ask whether he has filed complaints against this decision, but the prosecution has replied that the ruling in question is being considered by the prosecutor of the case and that within the legal deadline actions the prosecutor considers necessary will be undertaken.

Regarding the charge of exact non-reporting of property, at the initial session on March 7, 2024, Gervala was declared innocent.

According to the Pristina Constitutional Prosecutor's Act, compiled on 31 January 2023 by prosecutor Astrit Gashi, Grovall was charged that in the quality of the high public official with the legal obligation of property declaration, in the form for property statements on 22 March 2021, it did not accurately submit the required data by law. The Actakuz says the same on this form has not stated any in-lines of her husband, Stefan Schwarz, even though he has declared the same as a husband.

On the other hand, it is said that Gervalla has not declared the entire cadastral-land agricultural parcel, owned on its surface of 3964 m2 in ZK Dubovik-Decana, declaring only 2,000 m2. Also, Gervalla allegedly did not even declare business “Alb Lingua UG” registered in Bonn, Germany, on behalf of her.

With these actions, Gervala was accused of committing criminal work “not reporting false wealth, income, gift, other material benefits or financial obligations”, by Article 430, paragraph 2 of the Republic of Kosovo Penal Code.

By contrast, Pristina Constitutional Prosecutor, on May 29, 2023, had confirmed to “Justice Trust” that he has filed charges against Gervala. After the news of the indictment's establishment was made known, Minister Grovall said it is an attempt to negate representatives of institutions.

Otherwise, on October 2nd, 2021, “Justice Trust” has reported that Donika Grovalla, deputy prime minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspore (MPJD) has not declared all functions in local and international institutions. According to this research, it proved that Gervala did not declare that she owns business in Germany, has not shown that she is the director of a foundation in Kosovo, nor has she declared the wealth of her husband and children.