Owner of firm connected with €2.1mn theft from Kosovo’s Treasury surrenders to police

By bne IntelliNews October 26, 2020

Kadri Shala, the owner of the LDA Group, into which €2.1mn were poured into via illegal transactions from Kosovo's finance ministry, has surrendered to the police, media in Pristina reported on October 26.

The scandal was revealed last week when Kosovo police said that €2.1mn had been stolen from the state treasury and one suspect had been arrested, while two others were still on the run. The money was transferred from the Treasury administered by the finance ministry to LDA Group through four suspicious transactions.

Shala’s lawyer, Osman Hoxha, was cited as saying by Gazeta Express that Shala returned from Turkey and went to the police station where he was interviewed for several hours on October 25.

Hoxha added that his client was not apprehended by the police while entering Kosovo even though he was sought by the prosecutor office.

After the interview, he was detained for 48 hours by the order of the Special Prosecution.

The investigation into this theft includes 40 people.

Kosovo Finance Minister Hykmete Bajrami said last week that this is an isolated case, and that the government’s budget is safe.

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