Former Mayor of Pristina Sentenced to Imprisonment for Failure to Accurately Declare Assets

2026-07-24 14:30:11, Kosova & Bota CNA

Former Mayor of Pristina Sentenced to Imprisonment for Failure to Accurately

The Basic Court in Pristina found the former mayor of Pristina, Shpend Ahmeti, guilty of failing to accurately declare his assets, sentencing him to two years in prison and a five thousand euro fine.

The prison sentence will be executed after the verdict becomes final, while the fine must be paid within three months after the decision becomes final, said the head of the trial panel, Leon Perllaska, reports Betimi për Drejtësi.

However, the Court rejected the Special Prosecution's request for the confiscation of undeclared assets worth 172,600 euros.

A day earlier before the Basic Court, Ahmeti pleaded not guilty and said that the amount of 172,600 euros was financial assistance from his family, emphasizing that he has been subject to asset controls by the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption several times.

In December 2025, the Special Prosecution Office filed an indictment against Ahmeti for failure to report or falsely reporting assets.

According to the indictment, Ahmeti, who served as mayor of Pristina for two terms, from 2013 to 2021, had "intentionally" submitted incorrect asset declarations, as according to the Prosecution he had not declared cash deposits from 2018 to 2022.

"According to the indictment, the total amount of undeclared funds amounts to 172,600.00 euros," he said on December 23, 2025.

Failure to declare assets, according to the Criminal Code of Kosovo, is punishable by a fine or imprisonment of up to three years, while false declaration of assets is punishable by a fine and imprisonment of six months to five years.

In Kosovo, since 2007 public officials must declare their assets annually.

The Anti-Corruption Agency then selects a certain number of public officials whose declared assets it verifies.

The law on asset declaration obliges senior public officials to declare their assets 30 days after assuming their new position, and then on an annual basis.

So far, no official has been sentenced to imprisonment for failing to declare assets.

The Minister of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade, Rozeta Hajdari, was sentenced at the end of 2022 to a fine of 700 euros by the Basic Court in Pristina, due to failure to declare assets for 2020 within the legal deadline./REL