The Special Prosecution Office of the Republic of Kosovo (SPRK), in the indictment filed against the acting minister Rozeta Hajdari, former deputy secretary Irfan Lipovica, the director of the Department of State Reserves in this Ministry, Hafiz Gara, and businessman Ridvan Muharremi, has estimated that the damage caused to the Kosovo budget in the "State Reserves" case is close to 3 million euros.
“Oath for Justice” has secured the indictment filed by special prosecutors, Valdet Gashi and Milot Krasniqi, at the Special Department of the Basic Court in Pristina. According to the indictment filed, the budget has been damaged in the amount of 2,912,134.78 euros.
Based on the SPRK indictment, Rozeta Hajdari in her capacity as Minister of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade, Irfan Lipovica as Deputy Secretary and Hafiz Gara in the position of Director of the Department of State Reserves, in violation of the Law on Public Procurement, avoiding the competition process, through a negotiation procedure, had negotiated and then signed a contract with the Turkish company "Yafe Turizm Indaat Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi" headquartered in Bursa, Turkey, for the purchase of 10 thousand tons of wheat at a price of 4,834,778.00 euros.
However, it states that the price for purchasing wheat was contracted 193.48 euros higher than the average market price.
They are accused of avoiding the open procurement procedure in the context of the state reserve goods procedure in 2022, specifically wheat, oil and sugar, within the framework of the budgetary funds allocated by the Government in the amount of 10.000.000 euros.
After concluding the contract with the Turkish operator on March 15, 2022, it is said that an annex/contract was signed with the same operator on March 29, 2022 for the costs of transporting wheat in the quantity specified in the basic contract from Turkey to the Port of Durres in the amount of 295.000 euros.
Meanwhile, according to the indictment, a contract was signed with the company EO "Xanto" SP. ZO.O" based in Gdyna, Poland, for the purchase of oil in the amount of 200.000 liters and sugar in the amount of 120.000 kg, with a total price of 276.000 euros.
According to the indictment, even though the contracted payment was made in violation of the 2022 Budget Law, 100% in advance from MINT, the Turkish company did not fulfill its obligation regarding wheat, bringing 58.98 tons of wheat less than specified in the contract, while the Polish company did not bring the oil and sugar products at all according to the contract, thus causing significant damage to the state budget.
According to the indictment, Gara, in coordination with Lipovica and Hajdari, with the aim of limiting competition and favoring economic operators and concealing legal violations in this activity, requested Lipovica via e-mail under the pretext of accelerating the procedures for the supply of goods to the Department of State Reserves, to submit a request to the Government for exemption from the procurement procedures for the supply of state reserve products, which they and Hajdari submitted by e-mail to the Government on February 25, 2022, and that the request was approved the next day by the Government, all of this in violation of the Law on State Reserves, classifying the purchase of reserve products as secret, despite the fact that the procurement activity had to be carried out through open procedures and is not considered a state secret under the Law.
The price contracted with the Turkish company for 1 ton of wheat, according to the indictment, was 483.48 euros, while the average market price based on Kosovo Customs import data in the same month - March 2022 - was 290 euros.
"Referring to the difference between the contracted price of wheat of 483.48 euros per ton and the average market price for March, which was 290 euros per ton, it results that the price for one ton of wheat was contracted for 193.48 euros more than the average market price in Kosovo, and that the difference in price in relation to 10 thousand tons of wheat is 1,934,800.00 euros, which is considered damage caused at this point," the indictment states.
However, it is further stated that although the contract provided for 10 thousand tons of wheat and was paid 100% in advance, the company is suspected of having brought 58.98 tons of wheat less. Consequently, causing damage to the budget of 28,515.65 euros.
Meanwhile, Hajdari is said to have signed the contract with the Turkish company without publishing the public announcement, on March 15, 2022, despite the fact that he had been warned by the director of the Legal Department that the purchase of reserves through a negotiated procedure had no legal basis.
According to the indictment, the contract with the Turkish company for the purchase of wheat, signed on March 15, 2022, in the amount of 4 million 834 thousand 778 euros, was made based on Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) commercial terms, which means that the contract price, in addition to the purchase of the product, covers all transportation costs from the warehouse to the final destination, including insurance of the goods during transport, loading and unloading of the goods, customs and other administrative costs.
However, this turns out not to have happened, according to the SPRK.
Hajdari is accused of acting in violation of the amendment/supplementation of the Law on Public Procurement, intentionally avoiding the essential conditions for ensuring the execution of contracts and in violation of the Law on Budget, 100% advance payments were made, while MINT received 59.98 tons of wheat less than the contracted and paid quantity from the Turkish company, and did not receive the quantity of oil and sugar at all from the Polish company. With these actions, two EOs were favored and material benefit was provided and avoidance of responsibility was enabled, while at the same time great damage was caused to the state budget.
Nine days after signing the contract for the purchase of wheat, the indictment states that MINT had signed an annex-contract with the Turkish company for transportation costs in the amount of 295 thousand euros, despite the fact that the basic contract also included transportation costs.
Subsequently, it is said that Lipovica, in coordination with Hajdari and Gara, had entered into a contract with another company, EO "Railtrans" LLC, on April 15, 2022, for transport and forwarding services from Durrës to the reserve depot in Kosovo, in the amount of 377,419.13 euros.
"Referring to the fact that beyond the rules of the Basic Contract, 2 (two) contracts were concluded for the transport of wheat, initially an Annex-contract worth 295,000 euros and then another contract worth 377,419.13 euros, as in the factual descriptions of the indictment, it follows that at this point damage in the amount of 672,419.13 euros was caused," the indictment filed by the SPRK states.
The indictment further states that defendants Hajdari, Lipovica and Gara also negotiated and signed a contract with the company "Xanto SP. ZO. O" based in Gdynia, Poland, for the purchase of 200 thousand liters of oil and 120 thousand kilograms of sugar. However, despite the payment made, the goods were never received.
"Referring to the fact that upon concluding the contract for the purchase of oil and sugar as in the factual descriptions of the indictment, on the one hand, a 100% advance payment was made in the amount of 276,400 euros, while on the other hand, the goods were never delivered to Kosovo, from which it follows that at this point damage in the amount of 276,400.00 euros was caused," the indictment states.
Payments to companies were made 100 percent in advance, according to the Special Prosecution Office, despite the fact that this is only done in cases where the goods are related to defense and security, i.e. equipment for military needs.
With these actions, the same individuals are accused of causing damage to the Kosovo budget in the total amount of 2 million, 912 thousand, 134 euros and 13 cents.
For all these actions, Minister Rozeta Hajdari, Deputy Secretary Irfan Lipovica and the Director of the Department for State Reserves, Hafiz Gara, are being accused of having committed the criminal offense of "Abuse of official position or authority" under Article 414, paragraph 2, in conjunction with paragraph 1 and Article 31 of the Criminal Code.
The same individuals are also accused of the criminal offense of "Disclosure of official secrets", as according to the indictment, businessman Ridvan Muharremi, known as "Ridi", is also accused of having been part of the negotiation process.
Gara is accused of communicating a state secret to Muharrem, by sending him an e-mail with the program for the supply of state reserve goods for 2022, which described the details of the type of product, quantity and monetary value as part of the Annual Strategic Plan for state reserve goods, endangering the public interest and the country's strategic supply of state reserves.
With this, Gara is accused of having committed the criminal offense of "Disclosure of official secret" under Article 426, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code.
Meanwhile, together with Hajdari and Lipovica, Gara are charged with revealing official secrets by providing Muharrem with information about the location of the storage of wheat as a state reserve commodity. Muharrem initially informed the group, which included the other three defendants, via WhatsApp that he had secured an EO for the storage of wheat, sending them the data.
They are hereby accused of having co-perpetrated the criminal offense of "Disclosure of official secrets" under Article 426, paragraph 1, in conjunction with Article 31 of the Criminal Code.
An additional punishment has also been proposed for Hajdari, Lipovica and Gara - compensation for damage to the state budget.
On the other hand, businessman Muharremi is being accused by the SPRK of committing the criminal offense "Assisting in the commission of the criminal offense of abuse of official position or authority." /Oath for Justice
