18 December 2014

Today on 18 December 2014 the Basic Court of Pristina a mixed panel of local and international judges sentenced 8 defendants in  the so called Passport Case. The case is related to the theft of 1.4 million Euros which occurred in the context of a public supply contract for biometric passports at the Kosovo Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The panel of judges concluded that the defendants N.V,  F.B, B.B, E.D, I.F and N.T were found guilty of Organized Crime in conjunction with the criminal offence of Money Laundering. The defendants J. B. and S.S. were found guilty of the criminal offence of Receiving Stolen Goods. The defendant N. V. was acquitted for the criminal offence of Breach of Trust and Tax Evasion. The defendants F. B, E.D, I.F, N.T and H.S. were acquitted for the criminal offence of Tax Evasion.
The court imposed the following sentences on the defendants:
The defendant N. V was sentenced to twelve (12) years of imprisonment and a fine of 25,000 EUROS.
The defendant F.B. was sentenced to eleven (11) years of imprisonment and a fine of 25,000 EUROS.
The defendant B. B. was sentenced to five (5) years of imprisonment and a fine of 5,000 EUROS.
The defendant E.D. was sentenced to eight (8) years of imprisonment and a fine of 20,000 EUROS.
The defendant I. F. was sentenced to five (5) years of imprisonment and a fine of 8,000 EUROS.
The defendant N. T. was sentenced to four (4) years of imprisonment and a fine of 8,000 EUROS.
The defendant J.B. was sentenced to one (1) year of imprisonment and a fine of 5,000 EUROS.
The defendant S. S. was sentenced to one (1) year of imprisonment and a fine of 5,000 EUROS.

The court also decided to confiscate two apartments belonging to the defendants and some  other assets worth approximately 372,000 EUROS and obliged the defendants to compensate the injured party.
The court decided to impose detention on remand until the judgment becomes final against N. V, F.B, B.B, E.D, I.F. and N.T. and to temporarily confiscate travel documents for J. B and S.S.
The case was prosecuted by an international prosecutor from the SPRK office. All parties have the right to appeal.