The Bureau for the Verification and Confiscation of Unjustified Assets will be responsible for examining the assets of public officials, including property that may have been transferred to third parties. Where assets cannot be justified by the owner’s income, the Bureau will ask the court to order their confiscation.
This was stated by Kosovo Assembly Speaker Albulena Haxhiu, who described the law as one of the most important mechanisms for fighting corruption and organised crime.
She explained that the Bureau will not have the authority to confiscate assets directly, as the final decision will rest with the court.
“When there is a discrepancy between an official’s income, meaning their salary, and their assets, those assets must be explained and justified. Where did the money come from? How was the apartment, the car or the house on the coast purchased?” Haxhiu said.
According to her, the Bureau may initiate asset verification based on officials’ declarations, on its own initiative, following reports from institutions or information provided by third parties, including citizens.
“When we cannot justify the assets we have accumulated, the Bureau asks the court to confiscate them. It will therefore be a court decision,” she stated.
Haxhiu said the law would also apply to public officials after their terms in office have ended, as well as to third parties suspected of having received assets transferred to them in an attempt to conceal their ownership.
She stressed that the law is not intended to target all citizens, but rather public officials suspected of accumulating unjustified wealth through the abuse of their official positions.
Before the law can be submitted to the President for promulgation, an eight-day period must expire, during which MPs and other authorised parties may refer it to the Constitutional Court.
Haxhiu said that once the law enters into force, the Assembly will appoint the head of the Bureau. She added that selecting staff with the highest standards of moral and professional integrity would be essential.
According to her, the mechanism should also serve as a preventive measure, ensuring that no one sees politics as an opportunity to accumulate wealth illegally.
