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In late April, EULEX police raided the offices of the transport and telecommunications ministry and Minister Fatmir Limaj’s home, in connection with a two-year corruption probe linked to a major highway project worth 700m euros.
Limaj and ministry personnel are suspected of soliciting bribes, money laundering, organised crime and fraud in office. EULEX suspects the misuse of 2m euros in this case, in addition to other charges. If convicted, Limaj and his collaborators could receive up to 55 years in prison.
The action, however, has sparked tension between the EU mission and the government. Officials accused the mission of staging a spectacle, while Deputy Foreign Minister Vlora Citaku insisted that only Kosovo's institutions should combat corruption. Limaj, meanwhile, has denied all wrongdoing and called EULEX's actions "political lynching".
Prime Minister Hashim Thaci publicly suggested that International Civilian Office Chief Pieter Feith was interfering in the country's judiciary. The raids, he said, send a message that "Kosovo's institutions are at war with the international institutions."
Limaj and ministry personnel are suspected of soliciting bribes, money laundering, organised crime and fraud in office. EULEX suspects the misuse of 2m euros in this case, in addition to other charges. If convicted, Limaj and his collaborators could receive up to 55 years in prison.
The action, however, has sparked tension between the EU mission and the government. Officials accused the mission of staging a spectacle, while Deputy Foreign Minister Vlora Citaku insisted that only Kosovo's institutions should combat corruption. Limaj, meanwhile, has denied all wrongdoing and called EULEX's actions "political lynching".
Prime Minister Hashim Thaci publicly suggested that International Civilian Office Chief Pieter Feith was interfering in the country's judiciary. The raids, he said, send a message that "Kosovo's institutions are at war with the international institutions."
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- tags:
- Corruption, Fraud, Bribery, Organised crime, 4 more
