The Kosovo Special Prosecution has issued an indictment against 12 people on suspicion that they have damaged the Kosovo budget in the case of fake veterans of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army, the Kosovo Prosecutor’s Office confirmed. The highest Kosovo officials are included among the indictees, Pristina-based Koha reported.
Apart from the initials of the accused, the Kosovo Prosecutor’s Office did not provide other details on their identity in a press release.
Koha, however, reported that the Minister of the Kosovo Security Forces, Rustem Berisha and the deputy of this minister, Agim Ceku are also accused, along with Nuredin Lushtaku, Sadik Halitjaha, Shkumbim Demaliaj, Faik Fazliu, Fadil Shurdhaj, Xhavit Jashari, Qele Gashi, Shukri Buja, Ahmet Daku, and Smajl Elezaj.
They are accused of „the abuse of official position or authority“ and of damaging the Kosovo budget with illegal payments to alleged veterans amounting to €68,153,533.14, the prosecution’s office said in a statement.
“Pension fraud indictment filed, proud of Kosovo for taking this important step to fight corruption,“ the US Ambassador to Pristina, Greg Delawie reacted after the announcement on the indictment.
The indictment also proposed to ban the payment of illegally earned pensions to fake veterans of the KLA until the end of the criminal proceedings, they added.
The indictment was filed after the resignation of the prosecutor Elez Blakaj, who was working on the veterans’ case.
According to Kosovo media allegations, Blakaj uncovered over 19,000 fake KLA fighters. He submitted his resignation, as he himself admitted, after being threatened and pressured. Blakaj also included Berisha and Cheku among the accused, i.e. the complete Veterans Verification Commission of the Government of Kosovo.
Following this discovery and resignation, civil activists organized a series of protests demanding the resignation of the Chief State Prosecutor, Aleksander Lumezi. Since then, individual prosecutor’s offices have launched investigations into the veterans’ list.
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