Albania hosts International Conference "Transparency of Beneficial Ownership". Organised by the Council of Europe’s Economic Crime and Cooperation Division, the conference was aimed at facilitating a common understanding of standards and sharing good comparative practices related to transparency of beneficial ownership among practitioners and policy makers from twenty jurisdictions.

National Anti-Corruption Coordinator presents the results of the Anti-Corruption Task Force during weekly reports. The Minister of Justice, in her capacity as National Anti-Corruption Coordinator and Head of the Anti-Corruption Task Force, presented weekly reports on inspections conducted in several central institutions (and their local directorates) providing public services to citizens in various districts across the country. Based on these reports, a total of 120 disciplinary actions were recommended, while criminal charges have been filed against directors, former directors and civil servants. All relevant institutions have implemented the Anti-Corruption Task Force recommendations by imposing disciplinary actions and several officials have been dismissed. The Minister stated that the Government remains “fully committed to discovering and combating any manifestations of this phenomenon, which is one of the biggest obstacles to the country’s economic and democratic development”. However, she stressed that such commitment won’t be complete without the citizens’ participation. Reports and complaints submitted by citizens through the online co-governance platform “Albania We Want.al” not only help in efforts to solve the problems of concerned citizens, but also contribute to improving the performance of public administration.

Two Socialist ex-MPs arrested on graft charges. Albanian authorities arrested two former MPs from the governing Socialist Party, Arben Ndoka and Arben Cuku, among others, over accusations of corruption and organised crime amid a major crackdown on alleged drug traffickers, with Prime Minister Edi Rama stating that no one is above the law. Former MP Arben Ndoka was arrested for alleged involvement in what police said was a criminal group engaged in falsification of documents for the purpose of appropriating lucrative state-owned land in coastal areas of the region of Lezhe. Former MP Arben Cuku is accused of taking bribes during his short stint as head of the General Directorate of the Penitentiary Service. Albania hopes to launch negotiations to join the European Union next year, and fighting corruption is one of the key areas that the country needs to work on before those talks can begin.

Amendments made to Law on Prevention of the Legalization of Criminally Obtained Funds or Other Property and the Financing of Terrorism. According to the new amendment of 17 October 2018, supervisory bodies will be responsible for assessing AML/CFT risks in relation to reporting entities/persons once a year. Furthermore, supervision will be carried out based on the risks identified.

Amendments to Code on Execution of Sentences set forth procedures for criminal-legal measures towards legal entities. With the amendment of 17 October 2018 to the Code on Execution of Sentences, procedures regulating the execution of criminal-legal measures in relation to legal entities have been clearly set and introduced to the Code. A new chapter was added to the Code defining the procedures for execution of the measures on confiscation and sanctions imposed on legal entities, as well as deprivation of rights to engage in certain activities and new the procedures for the liquidation of legal entities.

Rules adopted on obtaining information about shareholders of commercial legal entities and owners of securities. On 10 October 2018, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the Rules “On providing information to monitored persons/entities and other persons participating in monitoring with respect to founders (shareholders) of commercial legal entities, their shares in the charter capital and owners of securities”. The rules will allow them to request information while carrying out due diligence, including enhanced and on-going due diligence measures, in cases involving, inter alia, the establishment of business relations, or conducting transactions valued at AZN 15,000 or above.

Belarus interested in World Bank experience of government procurement system development. Deputy Chairman of the State Control Committee of Belarus, Mr Vasily Gerasimov, made this statement as he met with World Bank representatives in Minsk on 25 October 2018. According to Mr Gerasimov, a new information and analysis system to manage government procurement is being developed to make the system more transparent and competitive. The meeting took place on the margins of a World Bank delegation visit to Belarus, led by Krish Krishnakumar, Manager of the Global Governance Practice in Procurement Solutions and Innovations, in order to get familiar with the practice and problems in the sphere of government procurement. During the visit, Mr Krishnakumar said he believes that the introduction of such a system for managing government procurement in Belarus would help consolidate information about ongoing procurement procedures and improve transparency.

President Lukashenko underlines the importance of public consultations of draft legal acts. At a meeting dedicated to the priorities for Belarus Presidential Administration, President Lukashenko noted the importance of expert contributions to legislative drafting and the coordination of the activities of state bodies in the legal field. According to the President, engaging the general public and expert councils in the discussion of draft legal acts has proven effective.

Asset Declarations of Judges and Prosecutors to be made public. From next year, the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) will introduce a new electronic system for online submission and the publication of asset declarations of judges and prosecutors. The HJPC has adopted a Rulebook for submitting, reviewing and processing the financial reports of judges and prosecutors which sets out, among other things, how members of the judiciary (and their family members) will have to declare their property holdings every year. According to the rulebook, only the first and last names of judges and prosecutors will be publicly revealed. Also, the values of their bank accounts will not be revealed either. The new system should become operational on 1 January 2019.

Bulgaria arrests persons suspected of a citizenship-selling scam . At least 20 people, including the head of the State Agency for Bulgarians Abroad, have been held for allegedly taking part in a corrupt scheme to provide documents that enable Bulgarian citizenship to be granted, the Specialised Prosecution announced. The operation to arrest the suspects in Sofia, Kyustendil and Pleven was initiated after four months of investigation on behalf of the Specialised Prosecution, which focuses on high-profile corruption cases, and the Commission for Illegal Assets Forfeiture, the country’s newest anti-corruption body, Bulgarian National Radio reported. According to the Minister of Justice, about 18,000 people – mostly from “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” (10,252), Ukraine (1,894), Albania (1,510), Serbia (1,013) and Moldova (851) - claimed Bulgarian heritage, and almost 10,000 of them were granted citizenship based on these documents. Although media reports and investigations into alleged corrupt schemes to ‘sell’ Bulgarian heritage documents have been published for years, the most likely reason behind the investigation was a call by the Movement for Rights and Freedoms political party in June for the creation of a parliamentary committee to probe the granting of Bulgarian passports to 114 criminals who were being sought internationally by Interpol.

Georgia: voters had a genuine choice and candidates campaigned freely, but on an unlevel playing field. Georgia’s 28 October presidential election was competitive and professionally administered. Candidates were able to campaign freely and voters had a genuine choice, although there were instances of the misuse of state resources, and the involvement of senior state officials from the ruling party in campaigning was not always in line with the law, the international observers concluded in a preliminary statement released on 29 October 2018. A substantial imbalance in donations and excessively high spending limits further contributed to an unlevel playing field, the statement says. “Yesterday’s voting was well organised, and electors made their choice without restrictions,” said Andrej Hunko (Germany, UEL), Head of the delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

Bashir Hospital ‘graft’ case referred to anti-corruption agency. On 8 October 2018, Jordanian Prime Minister Omar Razzaz said that the government had referred the case of a housekeeping company at Al Bashir Hospital to the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission (JIACC) for investigation. The case involves suspicions of having hundreds of employees on fake lists as service employees who receive salaries without going to work.

Jordan’s King Abdullah vows to crack down on corruption. On 14 October 2018, Jordan’s King Abdullah II opened the country’s third ordinary session of Parliament and delivered a speech during which he vowed to crack down on corruption.

Jordanian group of 100 former politicians and military figures calls on king to enact reforms. More than 100 prominent figures in Jordan have called on King Abdullah II to institute reforms and have accused him of ignoring previous calls for change, choosing instead to lead the country in the wrong direction. In a statement, the figures - including former ministers, military and political leaders - said that constitutional amendments made in 2014 gave the king exclusive powers beyond those he already held and have led to "worsening corruption which has prevailed on a large and open scale".

Decriminalization of Politics. Kosovo* Law Institute (KLI) has recently published a study on Decriminalization of Politics in Kosovo*. In this study, the KLI raises concerns about the criminalization of the political scene in Kosovo* and highlights the depth and complexity of the problem by setting forth some concrete recommendations.

Visa liberalisation for Kosovo* may be delayed. Minister of European Integration, Dhurata Hoxha, says that if the majority of necessary votes for the visa liberalisation is not secured in the EU’s Council of Ministers, then the voting which is scheduled to take place this December may be delayed until a majority is secured. Deputy Prime Minister Enver Hoxhaj has criticized EU member countries which are hesitating to vote in favour of this decision.

Face-to-face meeting with Kosovo* authorities on Anti-Corruption and AML/CFT assessments. Within the framework of the joint CoE/EU Project Against Economic Crime in Kosovo* (PECK II), Kosovo* authorities discussed the two draft assessment reports on compliance with international standards in the anti-corruption (AC) and anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) areas. The reports are set to be presented to the Plenary which is scheduled to take place in Pristina in November 2018.

MONEYVAL Fifth Mutual Evaluation of the Republic of Moldova. The Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing regime of the Republic of Moldova was analysed by a team of experts from the Council of Europe’s monitoring body, MONEYVAL, during an onsite mission carried out from 1 to 12 October 2018. At the onset of the mission, the team met the Prime Minister who reiterated the commitment to implement international standards as well as to undertake efforts to consolidate the banking sector, improve the business environment and to fight corruption and money laundering.

Dean at the Faculty of Law of the State University arrested on corruption charges. The National Anti-Corruption Centre (NAC) questioned the Dean of the Faculty of Law of the State University of Moldova and a PhD coordinator. Allegedly, the PhD coordinator offered different sums of money to the Dean to facilitate the approval of doctoral theses. The latter, in turn, allowed for the PhD coordinator to be positively assessed by the Scientific Council and further remunerated. Searches carried out by the NAC resulted in the seizure of several assets. The Rector of the university raised concerns over the situation, which discredits his institution.

Judge sent to trial for illicit enrichment. The Anti-Corruption Prosecution Office completed an investigation on illicit enrichment involving a judge. The prosecutors confirmed that the judge intentionally avoided declaring revenues obtained in the form of deposits to his bank accounts. Additionally, the real price of a vehicle bought was reported as much lower, and the properties owned by the judge and his family accounted for much more than what could have been legally purchased. The judge may face seven to fifteen years imprisonment for illicit enrichment, a ban from holding public offices, and several fines. The prosecutors seized property and financial resources accordingly.

Suspects acquitted for money-laundering suing the state for unlawful detention. Dusko Saric and Jovica Loncar, acquitted in April by the Supreme Court from all the charges related to alleged multi-million money-laundering, decided to sue the state for €400,000 for unlawful detention. The two individuals were convicted back in 2013 for laundering €20 million from drug trafficking activities. The convictions (as well as the subsequent two convictions) were all overthrown by higher instance courts including by the Court of Appeal on 27 September 2017. In the first instance judgment, the High Court had sentenced the two of them to 11 years of prison.

Ongoing disputes on interpretation of the Law of State Audit Institutions and Agency for Prevention of Corruption. The State Audit Institution (SAI) has issued a negative opinion on the annual financial report of New Serbian Democracy (NOVA) party due to the transfer of €91,000 from their regular account to the account for the financing of an electoral campaign. NOVA is claiming that such a transfer is legal and they base their claim on the interpretation of the Law on Financing of Political Entities and Electoral Campaigns given by the Agency for Prevention of Corruption (APC). This is not the first case where these two institutions have contradicting views on the same issue[*].

[*] In the framework of the EU/CoE Horizontal Facility Action against Economic Crime in Montenegro, the Council of Europe developed a Technical Paper analysing the legal framework for party financing and providing recommendations to be taken into consideration in the ongoing reform process of the electoral legislation.

Hundreds protest corruption and bribery in Morocco. On 14 October 2018 hundreds of Moroccans demonstrated in the city of Casablanca calling for an end to corruption and those involved in corruption cases to be held accountable. Organised by the Moroccan Association for the Protection of Public Money, the protest was joined by trade unions and non-governmental organisations.

Morocco sentences Casablanca official to 6 years for corruption. A Casablanca court has sentenced an official in Hay El Hassani neighbourhood to six years in prison on charges of bribery, fraud, and abuse of power. In the same case nine other individuals including an officer, the head of an unnamed organisation, and an entrepreneur also received sentences between six months and six years in prison.

Romania faces rule of law criticism in EU parliament. European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans has warned Romania's government that it might end up in court if it reverses judicial reforms that he said undermined the fight against corruption in the country. Timmermans made the critical comments on 1 October at the Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE) in the European Parliament ahead of a plenary debate on Romania's rule of law with Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila. "We are all aware the initiatives taken by Romanian authorities since 2017 as regards to the reform justice laws, the criminal procedure and criminal codes and the processes regarding the judiciary have led to concerns from a wide range of stakeholders both inside Romania and internationally," he told MEPs. "Many Romanians are worried that the proposed changes to these laws may undermine the longstanding efforts to fight against corruption and independence of the judiciary, and these concerns are shared by the European Commission," Timmermans said adding that the Commission will not hesitate to take Romania to court if it violates EU rules.

Venice Commission adopts Opinion on Judicial Laws and amendments to the Criminal Code of Romania. The Venice Commission held an exchange of views with Mr Florin Iordache, Chair of the Joint Special Parliamentary Commission for amending the Judicial Laws of Romania, and adopted the Opinion on amendments to the law on the statute of judges and prosecutors, the law on judicial organisation and the law on the Superior Council for Magistracy of Romania; and the Opinion on amendments to the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code of Romania, previously examined by the Sub-Commissions on the Judiciary and on Fundamental Rights on 18 October 2018.

Romania adopts disputed money-laundering law. On 24 October 2018, the Romanian parliament voted to adopt a disputed law on money-laundering meant to implement a European Union Directive in the field, a year and a half after the deadline had passed and months after Brussels referred the country to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to comply. The initial vote in the Romanian Parliament sparked tensions among MPs, after Social Democrat party leader Liviu Dragnea, also the speaker of the lower chamber, demanded a second round of voting after the bill had been rejected by deputies. The bill, drafted by the National Office for Prevention and Control of Money Laundering but heavily amended by the ruling Social Democrats, came under heavy criticism by the opposition as well as numerous NGOs, in particular because it obliges organisations to declare the beneficiaries of all their projects and activities, including those that could be exposed to risks if their identity is revealed. “This law is clearly unconstitutional and we will attack it at the Constitutional Court,” the leader of the Save Romania Union, Dan Barna, told journalists after the vote. Some 40 NGOs sent a letter to all political parties asking them to reject the bill which they said would block the activities of some NGOs and reduce the number of people asking the NGOs for help.

NPOs and foreign agents forbidden to conduct anti-corruption assessment of legal acts. President Vladimir Putin has signed amendments to the law prohibiting international and foreign organisations, as well as non-profit organisations (NPOs) on the register of foreign agents, to take part in anti-corruption assessment of legal acts. This is stated in the accompanying note to the bill posted on the website of the Russian State Duma. In addition, the law prohibits citizens with outstanding convictions, as well as those dismissed due to the loss of trust or corruption offences, to carry out independent assessment of legal acts. The chairman of the State Duma Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption said that the adoption of the draft law "will limit the influence of foreign structures on the legislative process in Russia."

Judges have been given the right to request information on corrupt officials from banks. President Vladimir Putin signed a decree expanding the list of officials who have the right to request information from banks and tax authorities in the fight against corruption. Now this right is vested in the chairmen of federal courts of general jurisdiction and the chairmen of federal arbitration courts.

President Putin permits the transferal of funds seized in corruption cases to the budget of pension fund as part of the recently signed package of laws on the reform of pension legislation.

GRECO: Serbia did not progress much in fighting corruption. Marin Mrcela, President of the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) of the Council of Europe said that Serbia will be probably given an extended deadline to fulfil GRECO’s recommendations from 2015. It was assessed in May this year that Serbia had regressed in fighting corruption, and has only partially implemented six out of 13 recommendations.

CIA Factbook: Serbia is land of cheap labour, inefficient judiciary and prevailing corruption. In its latest issue of the World Factbook, the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) speaks of Serbia as the country of cheap labour, inefficient judiciary and prevailing corruption, but also the country of economic reforms with a good strategic position. The report also mentions that Serbia is a “transhipment point” for Southwest Asian heroin moving to Western Europe through the Balkan route, while the country’s economy is “vulnerable to money laundering.”

Serbia remains on FATF list as a high risk country for money laundering and corruption. Serbia is still among the countries that have strategic deficiencies in combatting money laundering and terrorist financing (AML/CFT) as stated by the FATF as part of its ongoing review of compliance with AML/CFT standards. Specifically, the progress report states that the deterrence mechanisms against money laundering and the financing of terrorist organizations are not functioning properly because, on the one hand, the work of law firms is not properly supervised, while on the other, the relevant state institutions do not have complete and updated information on companies’ ownership.

Former Macedonian Minister jailed over luxury car purchase. On 8 October 2018, the Skopje Criminal Court found Gordana Jankuloska guilty of abusing her position and authority in the purchase of a €600,000 bulletproof Mercedes while she was Interior Minister in 2012, and sentenced her to six years in prison. Judge Dobrila Kacarska said that Nikola Gruevski, who was Prime Minister at the time, solicited the purchase of the car from Jankuloska. The defendant then encouraged former Deputy Interior Minister Gjoko Popovski to rig the tendering procedure and commit a "criminal act." Jankuloska, who did not attend the court session, had pleaded not guilty. Gruevski, who led the government from 2006 to 2016, and Popovski were sentenced to prison in May in the same case, and an appeals court last week upheld the former Prime Minister's two-year sentence.

The selling of EDS raises a lot of questions. Greek media reporting on the sale of the Macedonian Electricity Trading and Supply Company (EDS) to the Greek Electricity Distribution Company (DEI) allege that it is a criminal act. This raises a number of questions as the Greek company purchased the EDS, which has a negative credit rating, from the Deputy Prime Minister Koco Angjushev only 2 months before the signing of the Prespa Agreement between the Republic of Greece and “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”. The amount of money that Mr Angjushev has received from the Greek company on his personal accounts, which are not on the accounts of the EDS group, is approximately €4.8 million. Authorities in Greece say that the purchase of EDS by DEI was unanimously decided by the DEI Steering Board. The Minister of Energy and Environment of Greece, George Shtatakis, in a written statement says that the purchase of EDS by DEI has been known for a year and was within the company’s policy for expansion in the Balkans.

Tunisia ‘at a turning point’, stresses UN rights expert. Following his 10-day visit to Tunisia, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association, Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, expressed deep concern over the current law establishing a National Registry for Enterprises, aimed at combating money laundering and terrorism. Given that the bill creates requirements that would limit the capacity of associations to operate freely, and the important role played by them in the democratic transition, he called for Parliament to exempt associations from the new law. The call was ignored as the bill was adopted last Tuesday, reportedly without further debate.

New transparency law enters into force in Tunisia. Tunisia’s Asset Declaration Law, which was adopted in July 2018, entered into force on 16 October. Chapter V of the law identifies those obliged to declare their property and profits as the head of state, ministers and senior government officials, the Supreme Council of the Judiciary, the Constitutional Court, judges, mayors, secretaries of trade unions, parties and associations as well as owners of media institutions. The number of people required to make declarations under the new law is about 350,000 officials.

EU aims to remove Tunisia from "grey lists" of terrorist financing and money laundering. The European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker stated that the European Union would work with Tunisia to remove the latter from the "grey lists" of money laundering and terrorist financing during a joint press conference in Tunis attended by the Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi.

The United States expects Ukraine to speed up the creation of the High Anti-Corruption Court. At a briefing at the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Kirsten Madison said that "independent anti-corruption institutions are essential. Passing legislation to establish the High Anti-Corruption Court was a major milestone. But taking the next steps to establish and fully fund a functioning, independent and effective court is crucial to Ukraine's development. We expect Ukraine to establish the court promptly, as promised by the government."

Sytnyk says HACC may start working in March 2019. National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) Director Artem Sytnyk believes that the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) may start working in March 2019. "Now there are 340 candidates [for the positions of judges], who applied for the contest. Unfortunately, the composition of the Council of International Experts has not been approved yet. But the process is underway, and I do not rule out that the anti-corruption court could start working in March 2019," Sytnyk said.

Instigators of attacks against activists in Ukraine must face justice. 2018 has seen a wave of attacks against public figures, journalists, activists and representatives of non-governmental organisations in Ukraine. One of the most outrageous cases was the acid attack against Kateryna Handziuk, an outspoken official from the local government of Kherson, in July 2018. Handziuk has been in hospital in critical condition since. Despite arresting individuals suspected of carrying out the attack, law enforcement agencies are yet to identify those who ordered it.