Former treasurer claims that the Tërnava mufti demanded money from BIK without cover
However, after all this, Rexha has made other accusations against the leadership of the mufti of Kosovo, Naim Tërnava, and the chairman of the BIK Council in Pristina, Sopjani.
Rexha claims that in 2022, for personal reasons, the mufti of Tërnava once requested 20 thousand and then 15 thousand euros in cash from the BIK Council's cash desk in Pristina.
Rexha says he handed the money over to the office along with the council's deputy chief imam, Idriz Gjigoli.
"Journalist: Has there ever been a time, Mr. Rexha, when you were asked to withdraw money from the cash register and give it to someone without a cover?"
Rexha: After the statement I made with the lawyers that we would file a criminal complaint, I didn't want to prolong it any longer, but since you're asking, it's a case, namely, that the deputy head of the Council, Idriz Gjigoli, called me and told me that the mufti was asking for twenty thousand euros and after a period of time, he asked for another fifteen thousand euros.
Journalist: When did he get it, when did he request this money on behalf of the Mufti of Tërnava?
Rexha: During the year two thousand and twenty-two, approximately, somewhere on the date August two thousand and twenty-two, and Idriz Gjigoli was present for all of this.
Journalist: So he asked you for twenty thousand euros once, fifteen thousand euros once?
Rexha: He didn't ask me directly. Idriz Gjigoli called me and told me: The Mufti is asking for this amount of twenty thousand euros.
Journalist: And what did you do?
Rexha: We gave it to him.
Journalist: Who did you give it to?
Rexha: To the Mufti.
Journalist: Twenty thousand once and the second time?
Rexha: The second time I gave you fifteen.
Rexha says that the mufti of Tërnava returned these vehicles in 2023.
But how did he manage to justify the lack of funds?
He says he did this by not recording membership fee income for 2022.
He says he only registered the same in 2023, when he says he returned 35 thousand euros to the mufti of Tërnava.
"Journalist: How did you come up with a reason?"
Rexha: No, only one form was used here. That is, the religious services and membership blocks of their value were not registered in that year so as not to appear in the negative and declare that the mufti borrowed the funds from us. We used that method of transferring the blocks without registration and registering them in the coming year, but they were lost, and then registered in the year two thousand and twenty-three.
Journalist: When?
Rexha: From the year, from January onwards
Journalist: Did he tell you why he gave you this money?
Rexha: There is no market. And it's not mine and I didn't ask. It's not mine to ask, assuming that in some way he is the owner of the house or the leader.
Journalist: Has he returned all of the thirty-five thousand euros?
Rexha: He returned them.
Journalist: Did he return them to you or to Idrizi?
Rexha: No, he brought them back to the office.
Journalist: Has he come to you?
Rexha: He came to our office. He even returned it.
When asked if this was their practice, Rexha denied it.
"Journalist: Has this been a practice that has been used in other cases, Mr. Rexha, when the money that was withdrawn was not registered as a membership block for that period, and was then registered the following year?"
Rexha: There have been cases of such debts, meaning they have been carried over from year to year.
Journalist: So, once again… Were there any other cases besides this with Mr. Ternave?
Rexha: No, no, I don't.
Journalist: Is there any other similar case? Rexha: I don't have any.
However, the same practice turns out to have been used a year ago.
The Finance Commission, in a report provided by "Oath for Justice", made remarks about membership and religious service payments for 2021, which were registered later, in 2022.
However, it is not known whether in this case, the money had left BIK's coffers, and who used it.
"We have encountered numerous receipts for membership and religious services from 2021, recorded as income from 2022," the report states.
"The Oath for Justice" has attempted to get an answer to this from the mufti of Kosovo, Naim Tërnava.
However, he has not responded to emails.
On the other hand, the journalist tried to meet the same person in the office.
But, with the excuse that they would respond via email, they refused.
He has not received a response from Gjigoli, who was involved in the Rexha case.
Furthermore, Rexha has made serious accusations of financial gain towards Mayor Sopjani.
"Rexha: Mr. Sopjani, in addition to this, in the past, he also gave us the duties where he was, in all the mosques where he served, he could not have stayed long, because he himself is a person who violates the rules. We have the case in the settlement in Tophane that the community members have requested his removal for misuse that he has committed. I mean, the funds, which are for the maintenance of the mosque, the community has declared to the office and they have said that they have taken them and we are unable to pay the electricity and other obligations."
Furthermore, he claims to have placed a billboard on the mosque premises, and to have appropriated the proceeds from it.
"Rexha: Also, he made a billboard because it was transferred later, after the congregation requested that it no longer be part of this mosque, they transferred it to the Middle Mosque or near the museum and there he put up a billboard. I told him, I warned him, I told him that he doesn't do this form. The form of payment for the billboard means that its rent must go through the office. So that he can pay it later like the form he made for the others, let him do that too, but not in this form.
Rexha: He received the payments directly from the owner of the billboard or whoever gave him permission to put it up, and the moment the mufti heard about this case, he immediately told him to go and remove them."
Rexha also makes other accusations of abuse of office.
"Don't talk about the issue of bribes. He received the salary he had as a mayor, he received the salary he had as an imam, I can say that perhaps the only worker who received the salary never went to the mosque but also used it, it is written somewhere in the report that he also used the card for the use of oil. The workers have told me that I have not seen it, the workers have told me that Mayor Hetemi fills his own car and the family car with the council card many times."
In the end, Rexha expresses his willingness to cooperate with the justice system regarding everything that has happened at the BIK Council in Pristina since he worked there.
"With my lawyers Kastriot Feka and Flutra Selimi, we are also preparing a criminal report for all these violations. We are able to provide answers to all of them before any justice institution or prosecutor's office for everything that happened during the time I was there."
Regarding this case, "Oath for Justice" had first received information about half a million euros of misuse in BIK.
Then the amount dropped to 260 thousand.
While the official amount is now claimed to be 166 thousand euros stolen from income from charity, vitra, zakat, membership and income from rent of premises.
But this remains to be revealed by the justice authorities.
BIK amnestied chairman Hetem Sopjani from internal investigation
In addition to Rexha being suspected of embezzling 166 euros in charity, vitra, zakat, membership and income from rent of premises, the council chairman, Hetem Sopjani, may also have committed the criminal offense of "failure to report a criminal offense or its perpetrators."
"According to the Criminal Code, a responsible person who fails to report a criminal offense that he or she has discovered during the exercise of his or her duties is punished with imprisonment of up to three years, if the offense that was not reported is punishable by at least three (3) years of imprisonment. Thus, failure to report this case may eventually raise suspicions of criminal liability under this article," said IKL researcher Flamur Kabashi.
"Oath for Justice" has also attempted to conduct an interview with Mayor Sopjani, but he has not responded to emails, posts on social media, or phone calls.
And after a month of waiting, when Sopjani is encountered on the street, he again avoids confronting the arguments, calling his stop unethical.
"Journalist: Mr. Sopjani, can you tell us why you signed Bahri Rexha's invoices through which he allegedly stole 160 thousand euros?"
Sopjani: Well, you can also talk to the lawyer about this issue, please, I begged him, he has spoken to the media.
Journalist: However, you were his superior and you are a signatory of...
Sopjani: Yes, it's not ethical to stop me like this on the street, I'm very sorry.
Journalist: Can you briefly tell us why?
Sopajni: I'm on duty.
Journalist: Has an investigation been conducted against you?
"Journalist: So, Mr. Sopjani has kept the case that should have been submitted to the prosecutor's office in his drawer for two years, not reporting it to the authorities. Does this make Mr. Rexha responsible for not reporting the commission of the criminal offense?"
Shefqeti: The first one was not two years because a certain amount of time has passed since the moment of suspension, from which it was decided to terminate the employment relationship because an internal investigation was needed within the institution to see how stable the findings are, and until the last report of the impeachment committee, it was not substantiated with evidence what Mr. Rexha's omissions were and when these omissions were based.
Journalist: When was the audit committee report completed?
Shefqeti: It hasn't even been six months since this report was completed?
Journalist: And six months later, what was the wait?
Shefqeti: It was expected because initially, as I said, the idea of voluntary compensation for damage was discussed, and since this was not achieved.
Journalist: Isn't this concealment of the crime by Mr. Sopjani?
Shefqeti: If it was a cover-up, he wouldn't have reported the case himself.
Journalist: Didn't you report it after the interest of the "Oath for Justice" because before you were authorized, 10 days or two weeks ago, we discussed this topic with officials of the Islamic Community.
Shefqeti: I don't know, but what I do know is that Mr. Sopjani felt extremely bad and depressed about the abuse of trust that was placed in him, and he even feels bad in the aspect that being a hoxha, something happened to him that led to someone having such actions."
As a result, through the lawsuit filed, Shefqeti says they have requested the return of the funds from Rexha.
Meanwhile, in the criminal report filed with the prosecutor's office, he is accused of a series of criminal offenses.
"In the criminal complaint, we suspect the injured party, the chairman who represents the Islamic Community Council, of having committed several criminal offenses, in addition to abuse of trust, which is among the basic offenses, as well as abuse of official duty, namely theft or embezzlement of foreign property, because from the file we have, we have submitted the same to the prosecutor's office. Normally, we have filed a lawsuit in court for compensation for the damage caused and have requested a security measure to block his bank account to secure the request of the Islamic Community Council," said Shefqeti.
However, the business owners were not included in the criminal report, despite the fact that BIK itself claims to be involved in the collaboration scheme.
Even in this case, Mayor Hetemi decided to grant them his trust, based solely on their statements.
"Shefqeti: We have not included the businesses because the first businesses, the first business, say I was forced to send the money through this person. And the prosecution will assess whether the same person will be the declarant of someone's criminal actions or will be damaged, the second company whose accountant did not close the company and continued on. And for us, for the mayor.
Journalist: And in this case, Mr. Sopjani has once again given up his trust in businesses?
Shefqeti: It is not the idea that has given them faith, but it must be a person who is facing such an event for the first time, since it is likely that someone will abuse their faith due to the fact that they are a religious preacher, the same has addressed the prosecutor's office, so that the prosecutor's office can evaluate all of his actions. But his goal is to protect the money paid by citizens and maintain the trust of the institution because it was not easy for a person to file a criminal complaint.
Journalist: But why aren't businesses involved?
Shefqeti: It was his obligation because he represents the institution. Secondly, we have notified the prosecutor of all these actions, we do not know whether the business owner or his accountant committed a criminal offense.
Journalist: However, that is the job of the prosecution, why hasn't suspicion been raised on your part?
Shefqeti: We have also attached the evidence and it remains a matter for the prosecution."
Meanwhile, no measures were taken against the chairman of the BIK Council in Pristina, Hetem Sopjani, despite the fact that he had been the signatory of every invoice.
"Journalist: Has Mr. Sopjani also been investigated by the Islamic Community?"
Shefqeti: There was nothing to investigate.
Journalist: Since he was the signatory of every invoice.
Shefqeti: He was the signatory because of his position, he was neither the one submitting the request for supply, nor did he have authorization in the bank, everything belonged to Mr. Rexha. Because he also signed the invoices because he was asked to sign such an invoice.
Journalist: However, the procedure makes you responsible, doesn't it?
Shefqeti: He wasn't even authorized at the bank, the only one authorized was Mr. Rexha.
Journalist: However, part of the money in the Islamic Community circulates through the internal treasury,
Shefqeti: Which is held by the treasurer, not by the mayor.
Journalist: But every exit is signed by the mayor.
Shefqeti: Absolutely yes, but they are not taken by the mayor or taken and delivered by the mayor, not a single cent is like that."
"Understanding this whole situation, what should be emphasized is that the request for this type of signature should have some reason, which is supposed to be a kind of supervision. If this type of supervision has not occurred continuously, this could eventually raise suspicions of disciplinary liability, according to the internal mechanisms that the Islamic Community institution has," explained Kabashi from IKL.
On the other hand, Rexha's lawyer also warns of criminal charges, saying that the case was not previously reported to the prosecution authorities in order not to damage the image of BIK.
"Feka: And they didn't report it because he tried to protect the institution where he worked for a long time and as a devout Muslim it was important for him to protect the mufti, the institutions, and the Islamic Community. And this has been the reason from the beginning, even though we as lawyers have insisted and are already preparing the criminal report that we will file on behalf of Bahri Rexha for these cases, because he possesses evidence for every payment that was made.
Journalist: Who will be charged and for what exactly?
Feka: To the Islamic community, as well as to the people who are part of these abuses, for which they are accusing my client."
The BIK Council in Pristina attempted to close the case of misuse of 166 thousand euros
But, for nearly two years, the Islamic Community Council of Kosovo has kept this alleged theft secret from justice institutions.
In fact, they have attempted to close this case within the BIK bodies, not reporting it to the justice institutions. This is also argued by the council's lawyer, who says that they have requested the return of the funds from Rexha so that the case would not be reported to the prosecution bodies.
"Journalist: What's wrong with Mr. Sopjani, despite having had all this evidence in his drawer for almost two years, not having previously authorized you or any other lawyer to file the criminal report?"
Shefqeti: We have also discussed this part due to the nature of the functioning of the Islamic Community Council, due to their image, they have said that they have had discussions through third parties for Mr. Rexha to return the amounts that are suspected to have been taken and for this issue not to have any impact or damage.
Journalist: However, for two years, Mr. Rexha has returned part of the amount, right?
Shefqeti: For them, this issue has been discussed to be clarified because you have in mind that the TAK program with which Mr. Rexha operated was physical and not electronic where they connected directly to the Tax Administration.
Journalist: Has Mr. Rexha returned the money for these two years?
Shefqeti: I know they discussed something, but as far as I know, the amount for which the lawsuit for their return was filed is 166 thousand euros.
Journalist: Has Rexha returned any of the money?
Shefqeti: I have no information."
The same has been confirmed by Rexha's lawyer, Kastriot Feka.
However, Feka emphasizes that Rexha was only asked to return 30 thousand euros, even though he was accused of stealing 166 thousand euros.
“Feka: Our client mentioned this agreement, but he did not receive any money or monetary assets and was unable to return what was requested.
Journalist: What was asked of him?
Feka: I have asked for an amount of approximately thirty thousand euros to close this topic.
Journalist: To return them officially or as foreseen in this agreement?
Feka: I don't know, I don't have any information, but they told me that the Islamic Community verbally told them that they should give them around thirty thousand euros to close this, but that they don't have the financial means to give it, but they are not obligated to either, because they haven't misused anything."
Despite the fact that Rexha did not return the money he is accused of having embezzled, BIK still did not notify the Kosovo Police or the Prosecution about this.
This announcement was made only after the investigation by "Oath for Justice" began.
Lawyer Shefqeti admits that he was authorized only one day before filing the criminal report and lawsuit, that is, on February 25, almost a month after "Oath for Justice" had begun its investigation.
"Journalist: When did you receive the authorization?"
Shefqeti: We received it, I think, a week ago, a week ago we received the authorization.
Journalist: And within a week, you filed the lawsuit as a lawyer and the criminal report?
Shefqeti: The day we received the authorization, the next day we submitted the lawsuit and the criminal report."
BIK dismisses Pristina treasurer based on suspicions of misuse
Under these suspicions, Bahri Rexha was initially suspended.
The suspension was made in March 2023.
Whereas, nine months later, through disciplinary action, he was dismissed from his job as treasurer of the Islamic Community of Kosovo in Pristina.
"The Islamic Community has dismissed our client Bahri Rexha on the grounds that he abused his position as a financial officer, which we have challenged within the legal framework, but we have never received any response to this complaint," said the lawyer hired by Rexha, Kastriot Feka.
In fact, a response was only given by the first instance of the Commission for Complaints and Appeals of the Assembly of the Islamic Community on June 17, 2023, who had rejected Rexha's complaint as unfounded.
Meanwhile, regarding the second complaint filed on December 21, 2023 regarding the termination of the employment relationship, BIK has not yet responded.
The BIK Council in Pristina issued invoices for a business that was not functioning
Unlike the company "Adhurimi" which is suspected of having inflated the invoices, fictitious invoices, without providing any service, were issued in the name of the company "Përparimi Bau sh.pk".
In the statement given to BIK on June 12, 2023, which was also provided by "Oath for Justice", Përparim Bytyqi, the owner of this business, says that his business had been inactive, and he had not been aware of the payments made on behalf of his business.
Bytyqi had stated that his business was misused by the accountant, whom he had asked to close the company.
According to this statement, another BIK employee appears to be involved in this misuse, this time accountant Granit Berisha.
Bytyqi explains that Berisha was an accountant in his company, and at the same time a BIK employee.
"Bytyqi: I don't know what they did, I asked them to give me the papers to sign, because I've never worked there, they told me not to, not to, and not to. When they called me from BIK, they told me that's how it was for every material, I said no, I didn't bring any material.
Journalist: What was your signature for?
Bytyqi: I had a job in construction when I returned from abroad, but I didn't work there, because I joined Urban Traffic and I never worked with that company.
Journalist: Do you understand why we issued invoices in the name of your business?
Bytyqi: No, not at all, because they haven't even passed me by, so I don't know anything.
Journalist: Granit, you're saying, was your accountant and also worked at the Islamic Community?
Bytyqi: Yes, he did, I even signed it as a contract in your name.
Journalist: He was also an accountant at BIK
Bytyqi: "Yes, there was an accountant there too, they had something to do with that cashier."
When contacted by phone, Berisha said that the fictitious billing was made in the name of council expenses. For this, he says he was fired.
"Berisha: At the request of the Council or their responsible person, they have incurred some expenses that are unreasonable and have asked me to give them the invoices they issued so that I can justify those invoices within the Council.
Journalist: And what expenses did the council incur?
Berisha: I don't know if I gave them the invoice with a stamp, they did it themselves in the council.
Journalist: And who told the council to use this way of reasoning?
Berisha: Cashier.
Journalist: Was anyone else aware besides the cashier?
Berisha: I don't know that part, as long as the invoices are signed, the receipts are signed by the mayor, I don't know if the mayor seals it or not, I couldn't tell because no one from the council is aware of it."
When asked if there were other people who might be involved in collaboration with Rexhe, BIK's lawyer did not deny it but did not provide details.
"And what is rightly asked: Are there others involved? There may be. We cannot prejudge."
Rexha, when asked about this case, does not provide a concrete explanation.
"Rexha: I mentioned these earlier too. I mean, with the authorization or agreement of the council, in this case Hetem, the accountant was authorized to use such a form to cover expenses with the other firm, which was the exit from the membership, but also with this one. And I never even know him, I have never seen him, I do not know who he is.
Journalist: What payment did you make to this person on behalf of what? Officially, when did you make the payment, what did you make it for?
Rexha: It's bo, meaning to cover the expenses of the membership percentage.
Part of BIK's money is suspected to have been misused by issuing fictitious invoices.
The report further mentions a business supplying funeral planks. According to the report, the company was overpaid by over 40 euros for three consecutive years.
"The sample for funeral services (boards and pyramids) shows an output for Adhurim sh.pk in the amount of 65.427.56 euros. However, according to the Council's evidence and the MMS program, there are 1.368 cases of death. When the cases are multiplied by the costs of the pyramid boards (one case 36), the total comes to 49.248 euros. The financial difference is 16.179.56 euros. For this, we have requested clarification from the supplier," the verification for 2020 states.
For 2021, BIK paid the company 13.429 euros more than it received for the goods, while for 2022, 10.939 euros more.
Orders and payments were made without a contract with the company.
Rexha says that the requests for boards were made by other units, and he only received the invoices.
"Journalist: Have there been payments being made that are larger than the amounts you have received?"
Rexha: I don't know, I don't know who had the biggest payments.
Journalist: Have you ever recorded what amount you received when you made the payment?
Rexha: Let me check the goods, okay?
Journalist: Yes.
Rexha: No, there were responsible people.
Journalist: Who were the people responsible?
Rexha: Religious services.
Journalist: Can you tell us by name and surname, when a good was received, before payment was made, who checked it?
Rexha: No, I don't have it.
Journalist: Yes, you made a payment without checking the goods.
Rexha: Yes, but it's not my duty to go and check on...
Journalist: Whose job was it?
Rexha: It was the responsibility of those responsible.
Journalist: Who are the responsible parties?
Rexha: For religious services.
Journalist: I brought a report to you, to show you...
Rexha: No, just the bill.
Journalist: So, you received the goods, you made the payment, and the goods were not checked.
Rexha: And how honorable, even more so, it was the rule that the mayor should see the bills once, then give the order for execution."
Business accuses former treasurer of BIK Council in Pristina of bribery
But the truth is reflected differently by the businesses. The business in question, through a statement given to the Islamic Community on June 15, 2023, which was obtained by the "Oath for Justice", says that it was forced by Rexha to give a bribe in order to continue ordering cemeteries from him, or else its cooperation would be terminated.
But Rexha continues to deny this accusation.
"Journalist: Do you know Adhurim Nuredini, owner of the company Adhurimi ShPK? Do you know him?"
Rexha: Yes.
Journalist: What kind of relationship did you have with him?
Rexha: Contractual report.
Journalist: Did you ever have any relationship with him beyond the contractual relationship or is it how your relationship and his relationship were arranged...?
Rexha: I didn't have any reports, because I don't want to mention names, I didn't have bad reports with anyone and I didn't have good reports with anyone, meaning that everyone did their job and we moved on.
Journalist: Mr. Nuredini, in a statement he gave on June fifteenth, two thousand and twenty-three, said, and I quote: "He stated that during the three-year period, the treasurer of the Islamic Community Council in Pristina obliged me to increase my bills and the money, which he transferred to me through the bank, I had to take home. I had this conditioned by the treasurer, Mr. Bahri Rexha, because he said: If I don't increase them like this, I will change and get someone else in Pristina to supply all these bills, after I checked the supply situation for the years 2020, 2021 and 2022, they amount to forty thousand five hundred and forty-seven euros, on the pretext that we have expenses and I need the money to help Mr. Halil Ahmeti, as well as for some other issues of the Islamic Community Council in Pristina.
Rexha: The fact itself is surprising to me, that is, if I did such a thing, or do you understand that I know as much as I understand, if it was inside the institution, come on, it's the regular form, or internal management. Why this? If I did it conditionally.
Journalist: Have you done it?
Rexha: If I'm telling you conditionally, why hasn't anyone reported me? I think that not only this, but many other things were done just to ruin my image, just to ruin my image.
Journalist: What is your response to this claim?
Rexha: But, for this claim, we can only file a lawsuit, for defamation and defamation.
Journalist: Has anyone asked you to increase, inflate the invoices in relation to this business?
Rexha: Never.
Journalist: Who is Halil Ahmeti?
Rexha: He's a council worker.
Journalist: Under the pretext that we have expenses and need the money to help Mr. Ahmeti.
Rexha: Never, never! No, no, never, never! I will ask the justice institutions about this matter.
Contacted by phone, Nuredini did not give a reason for not reporting the case to the BIK, the Police or the Prosecutor's Office.
Meanwhile, he said that only Rexha knew about this, as the recipient of the goods did not have access to the inflated invoices.
He says he marked the inflated bills to identify them.
Nuredini: All the receipts I had had a sign that the money I had with him, I had it with some kind of small amount, and they reached that value.
Journalist: Where did you send the money?
Nuredini: At home, usually at home, I had to impose it.
Nuredini: Why didn't you notify the Islamic Community Council?
Journalist: "Most of the time, the biggest mistake is the president and the secretary themselves, everyone knows."
Meanwhile, "Oath for Justice" has also attempted to contact BIK employee Halil Ahmeti, but he has not responded.
If this claim is substantiated, then Rexha should be charged with accepting a bribe, while Nuredini should be charged with giving a bribe.
Who is Bahri Rexha, who is being suspected by the BIK Council in Pristina for 166 thousand € of misuse?
For three years in a row, income from sadaqah, witr, zakat, membership, and rents from the premises of the Council of the Islamic Community of Kosovo in Pristina has been suspected of being misused.
From 2020 to 2022, BIK money is suspected of being withdrawn from the cash register without a cover, and through bank accounts to have gone to various accounts, sometimes with a description of the reason and sometimes without.
The person being accused of embezzling hundreds of thousands of euros is Bahri Rexha, former treasurer of the Islamic Community of Pristina.
"Resha: I am Behri Rexha, I am currently a professor at the "Fehmi Agani" University in Gjakova.
Journalist: What subject do you teach at this university and in which branch?
Rexha: "Social Sciences", "Economic Policies".
Rexha, who now teaches students about economic policies, was initially suspected by BIK of having embezzled no less than 260 thousand euros.
The genesis of this internal investigation is alleged to have begun when Rexha told the chairman of the BIK Council in Pristina, Hetem Sopjani, that there was no budget to pay the workers.
"The mayor was told that there was no money to pay the workers, and this was worrying for the mayor, since he had created an extraordinary trust in the person. And then the treasurer says no, I have provided the money. This is where the doubt begins about how this matter happened," said Florim Shefqeti, a lawyer engaged by the BIK Council in Pristina.
But, the amount that BIK now officially claims to have been embezzled by former treasurer Rexha has decreased.
The lawyer hired by BIK in Pristina says that this happened because the first analysis was done by a commission composed of religious scholars, without knowledge in the field of finance.
"Shefqeti: And at the moment such discrepancies are noticed, an internal commission is formed by 3 imams who find that the incoming and outgoing amounts are the same, but inside their content, this report has concluded that sufficient documentation has not been provided. It also finds discrepancies with payment receipts.
Journalist: How much was the suspicion initially, how much was suspected to have been appropriated by Mr. Rexha?
Shefqeti: Look, from what I saw when drafting the lawsuit, but also when we submitted it to the court, the amount is close to 166 thousand euros.
Journalist: There was initially a suspicion that the amount could be much higher, or what amount did the first reports reveal?
Shefqeti: Look, we are talking about an audit report that is considered professional persons.
As a result, the council established another committee composed of people with knowledge in the field of finance, which checked the invoices for the period 2020-2022.
After this analysis, the account turned out to be missing 166 thousand euros.
This report dated June 6, 2023, which was provided by "Oath for Justice", reflects all payments and withdrawals allegedly made from the cash register and bank, without the signature of the recipient of the funds or without a description.
These were made on behalf of private individuals and businesses.
"According to the statistical sample drawn from the population of the documentation register, it shows that the total amount wasted-misused by the BI Council in Pristina amounts to 166,528.30 euros. After completing the work, the Commission received receipts as evidence of the sample, namely: 26 receipts from 2022, 17 receipts from 2021 and 13 receipts from 2020, which are mentioned above, as well as the register of alleged debts in the photo. At the same time, the trust return lists were also received, which must be verified by the BI Council in Pristina," the report states.
Former treasurer denies misuse, says every invoice was signed by Mayor Sopjani
But Bahri Rexha denies having embezzled this money. He argues that every invoice has the seal and signature of his superior, the president of the Islamic Community Council in Pristina, Hetem Sopjani.
"Journalist: Who gave you your orders?"
Rexha: The Chairman of the Council in this case.
Journalist: Who is the chairman of the Council? Who was it?
Rexha: It's Hetem Sopjani.
Journalist: So, you're saying that you didn't make any payments without Hetem Sopjani's permission.
Rexha: Yes, none. On the contrary, if, regardless of what it is, it is without the signature of the mayor, I take all responsibility.
Journalist: Did Mr. Sopjani know what payments, what amounts you were making as a cashier, since you are saying that everything was done with his signature?
Rexha: Yes, everything is with his signature, otherwise the Commission does not say at the end of the year or at the end of the audit that all documents were signed and sealed.
Journalist: But did Mr. Sopjani ever know that it was being revealed for what payment...?
Rexha: If he didn't know then why, where was our duty? Where was he? If he didn't know."
The lawyer hired by BIK admits that every invoice was signed by Sopjani.
However, for the 166 thousand euro withdrawal receipts through which thefts are alleged to have been committed, he says he signed them in good faith.
"Shefqeti: Look, according to procedure, every financial document presented to my client is signed in confidence.
Journalist: So, Mr. Sopjani signed invoices worth 166 thousand euros, and today he claims that his trust was violated for all of this?
Shefqeti: Look, according to the procedure for preparing the payment file, the person in question, the financier, has prepared a complete file on how to proceed further, and it is normal that this invoice was signed because the signature by the mayor was also a criterion, but the mayor had no information about what happened to any of the invoices or that no supply was made at all.
Rexha admits that a relationship of trust existed.
However, he says that the accusations are just pretexts because he was an obstacle to someone without having any idea who or why.
"Journalist: Did Mr. Sopjani trust you in the work you did and the responsibilities you had?"
Rexha: If he didn't trust me, why did he sign them?
Journalist: So it turns out that he believed that you were doing the job properly and in good faith signed every invoice sent by you?
Rexha: Yes, everything is processed in good shape.
Journalist: What do you think about good shape?
Rexha: In the best form that she is, she is not, if she is, she trusted me, she even trusted me to take money, but no one tolerates her honor.
Journalist: Then, why is the Financial Commission accusing only you?
Rexha: They asked me this question, and I came to get an answer, why was I their obstacle?
Journalist: Why were you their obstacle?
Rexha: I don't know."
