Albanian Parliament adopts an important Justice Reform Package Legislation. The package contains seven draft laws related to the Justice Reform, including amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure, Code of Civil Procedure, Criminal Code, Juvenile Justice, Law on the organisation and functioning of administrative courts and adjudication of administrative disputes, Law on the organisation and functioning of the Ministry of Justice. The adoption of these laws paves the way to the implementation of the Justice Reform.

Government approves the Action Plan against Cannabis and Trafficking. The government approved the Action Plan against Cannabis Cultivation and Trafficking 2017-2020. The main goal of the Action Plan is to identify criminal groups and networks through a joint inter-institutional cooperation, as well as to promptly detect attempts to cultivate and traffic cannabis. The fight against cannabis cultivation started with the dismantling of plantations in Lazarat in 2014, but since then the cannabis cultivation has been spreading in other regions. Drug trafficking is considered to be one of the top predicate offences in Albania.

Prime Minister confirms that the elections will not be postponed. The Prime Minister Edi Rama has stated that the Socialist Party will not accept postponement of June elections and if the opposition decided to boycott the elections the country will not remain without an opposition because new parties will replace it. Democratic Party keeps confirming that the only peaceful way out of the present stalemate is the establishment of a technical government. The chairman of the Democratic Party Mr Lulzim Basha called on the Prime Minister to resign as soon as possible. The Prime Minister has invited the leader of the opposition to meet and discuss any amendments to the Electoral Code and to any other legislation that the Democratic Party may require as necessary to guarantee free and fair elections and highlighted that he would unreservedly vote everything that does not conflict with proposals of OSCE and ODIHR, or any other organisations.

JAE official embezzles a large sum of money by means of misappropriation, report says. The Special Investigation Service of Armenia is investigating a case initiated by the Mashtots Division of Yerevan City Police Department following the report made by citizen Armen K. According to the report, within the period from October to December 2012 an official of the Ministry of Justice Compulsory Enforcement Service took from the citizen 3.650 US dollars, within the framework of the compulsory enforcement. The official did not transfer the money to the deposit account of the Service, but, making use of his official position, embezzled the mentioned sum of money entrusted to him by means of misappropriation.

Armenia ex-minister: Many people made up fortune in army through corruption but I stopped that. This was the statement made by the former Defence Minister of Armenia, Seyran Ohanyan, who tops the candidate list of Ohanyan-Raffi-Oskanian alliance, at the meeting with the Union of Veterans of Armenia held in Yerevan. According to him, the accountability of the army to the society has unprecedentedly risen in the recent years, and this experience should be used in governing the state. “It is necessary to establish justice in the country, the need for which our society feels very sharply,” Ohanyan added.

Armenia PM: Concrete steps made to fight corruption. In Armenia concrete steps are made to fight corruption, Prime Minister Karen Karapeyian said during a campaign meeting with the residents of Jermuk. According to him, the government's work is aimed at reducing corruption risks. Karapetyan also said that the government is working to minimize the communication between a citizen and a government official.

Azerbaijani anti-corruption blogger sentenced to two years in prison. An Azerbaijani blogger known for reports seeking to document corruption has been convicted of libel and sentenced to two years in prison. A court in Baku convicted Mehman Huseynov of libel for statements he made about police.

The Government of Azerbaijan withdraws from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. It followed the decision of the EITI Board made at its 36th meeting in Bogota, Colombia, to suspend Azerbaijan’s membership in the organisation as the country did not fully meet the corrective actions related to civil society space set by the Board in October 2016. Prior to this, Azerbaijan’s EITI status was downgraded from ‘compliant’ to ‘candidate’, given deep concern for the ability of civil society to engage critically in the EITI process in Azerbaijan.

Bombardier Sweden investigated for alleged bribery in Azerbaijan. A major Swedish engineering company, Bombardier Transportation AB, is suspected of channeling millions of dollars in bribes to unidentified Azerbaijani officials through a shadowy company registered in the United Kingdom. In Sweden, one Bombardier executive has been detained and several others have been questioned. According to Swedish anti-corruption prosecutor, Bombardier is accused of colluding with Azerbaijani authorities and paying bribes to win the signaling deal.

According to the Prosecutor’s Office the level of corruption in healthcare institutions of the Brest region has decreased. The results of the inspections conducted by the Prosecutor's Office of the Brest region in healthcare institutions as regards the implementation of anti-corruption legislation, show that these institutions are taking effective measures to counter corruption. There were only ten corruption related crimes detected in 2015 and 2016 in the health sector of the Brest region. At the same time, the work in progress is not yet fully in line with the requirements, as evidenced by the established facts of corruption crimes and offenses.

Among the identified violations, there were several cases of non-compliance with restrictions on the conduct of business activities by officials, as well as legislation on public procurement of goods (works, services). Based on the results of the inspections, nine acts of prosecutorial supervision were sent to the heads of healthcare institutions.

Bosnia indicts sixteen for banking scam. Prosecutors claim that the suspects issued fraudulent loans and guarantees on behalf of Bobar Banka to companies linked to the owner of the bank while knowing those clients were unable to pay back. The suspects are charged with organized crime, misuse of office and money laundering. Prosecutors called it the biggest financial scam in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s post-war history with a collapsed bank and the theft of 123 million KM (€ 63 million).

US puts Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia on blacklist of major money laundering countries. The US department of state has included Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Serbia in its latest list of major money laundering countries, as their financial institutions have allegedly been involved in currency transactions involving significant proceeds from drug trafficking. The three Balkan countries have been identified as part of a route for international drug trafficking, but not as major drug producers.

Greed and corruption grip struggling Bulgaria. Top Bulgarian judge Lozan Panov cuts a lonely figure in the crusade against the rampant corruption gripping his country, the European Union's poorest member state. Pointing to neighbouring Romania, which saw huge anti-graft protests erupt last month, Panov deplored the ‘lack of courage’ among his fellow countrymen. Panov is one of the only senior judges to openly accuse magistrates of political interference and to campaign for reforms in a system governed by greed rather than justice.

GRECO issues report on transparency of political funding and the criminalisation of corruption in the Czech Republic. In its report published on 2 March, GRECO concludes that the Czech Republic has made significant progress to improve the transparency of political funding, but regrets the lack of progress in implementing its pending recommendations concerning the criminalisation of corruption. The report points out that Czech Republic has implemented nine of the thirteen recommendations contained in the Third Round Evaluation Report and that notable progress has thus been achieved by the Czech Republic. In view of the progress achieved, GRECO concludes that the current level of compliance with the recommendations is no longer “globally unsatisfactory”.

Two thirds of Czechs say most politicians are corrupt.  A majority of people in the Czech Republic (64 percent) share the view that most Czech politicians are corrupt, yet their number is lower than in the past several years, according to a poll that the CVVM institute released today. In 2015 and 2016, this view was shared by 66 percent. In 2012-2014, it was shared by 73 to 75 percent of Czechs.

Czech Republic lacks tools to reduce the threat of conflict of interests. The Czech Republic lacks instruments to help reduce the risk of conflict of interests in public administration and in businesses related to the placing of contracts and drawing of subsidies, Ivana Dufkova, from the Czech branch of Transparency International (TI), told reporters yesterday. She added that rules for transparent steps, decision making and also sanctions are lacking. TI plans to draft recommendations for the public administration and entrepreneurs based on its ongoing project Conflict of interests as a risk of fraud, which is to end in a year. The project has been backed by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).

Georgia’s Parliament Overrides President’s Veto on Surveillance Bill. The MPs of Georgian Parliament have overridden President Giorgi Margvelashvili’s veto on the surveillance draft bill adopted by parliament on 1 March.

Rapporteurs for the Monitoring Committee of the Council of Europe welcome Georgia's progress in judiciary reform, rule of law, and media environment. The Monitoring Committee's rapporteurs congratulated Georgia on the enactment of EU visa waiver and commended the Georgian Government's performance in this direction.

Parliamentarians vote to refer 90 violations to the Jordan Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission. The Jordanian Parliamentarians referred 90 violations listed in a report of the Audit Bureau to the Jordanian Integrity and Anti-corruption Commission (JIACC) for investigation. In terms of repartition by entities/institutions, the Greater Amman Municipality is suspected for 27 violations, the Ministry of Education for 19 and the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority for 17 violations.

An interagency delegation of Kosovar anti-corruption officials took part in a study visit to Poland. Within the framework of the joint EU/CoE Project against Economic Crime in Kosovo* - PECK II, the delegation composed of representatives from the Anti-Corruption Agency, Prosecutorial Council, Ministry of Justice, Office for Strategic Planning within the Prime Minister’s Office and Assembly Committee on Legislation and Judiciary and Oversight of the Anti-corruption Agency held a series of meetings with Central Anti-Corruption Bureau of Poland, National Prosecutor’s Office, National Police Authorities including the Polish Asset Recovery Office and Ministry of Justice. The visit was organised with the aim to promote bilateral cooperation in the combatting economic crime, and enable participants to exchange experiences as well as identifying good practices to strengthen the Kosovar anti-corruption framework. The visit led to the establishment of contacts between the Kosovar and Polish institutions, thus paving the way for future bilateral cooperation.

Kosovo* Law Institute (KLI) issued the report “Corruption sea in Kosovo, catching small fish while big fish go free”. This is the annual monitoring report of corruption cases treated in 2016 within prosecutions services and the judicial system in Kosovo. KLI monitored 1,505 hearings in 383 cases of corruption that involved 989 defendants in all basic courts of Kosovo*. It emphasises that “despite the policies adopted and declarative expression of the will of the judicial and prosecutorial system in the fight against corruption, concrete results in fighting, particularly high-profile corruption are still missing”.

Kosovo* Democratic Institute (KDI), a member of Transparency International, issued the review of practices of Law on Political Parties. The paper offers a general analysis of comparative practices with regard to legal regulation of the functioning of political parties and addresses the potential contents of such a law, discussing models known to date in light of domestic absence of special legislation regulating the functioning of political parties.

The Joint EU/CoE Project “Strengthen Prevention and Combating of Corruption in Kyrgyz Republic” (SPCC-KY) was officially launched. Over one hundred representatives of state institutions, civil society and international organizations engaged in anti-corruption efforts were present at the event. The official launch provided a venue to discuss with the beneficiary institutions the components of the project and the next steps in its implementation. The event was followed in the next days by a technical workshop on corruption proofing.

Ex-Justice Minister Charged with Corruption. The State Committee for National Security said lawmaker Almambet Shykmamatov, acting chairman of Ata-Meken - country’s opposition party - is suspected of fraud while serving as an auditor at the State Accounting Chamber in 2011.

EU report: Further reform efforts needed from the Republic of Moldova to benefit citizens. The joint report assesses the state of play of Moldova's implementation of the Association Agenda since November 2014. It focuses on key developments and reforms undertaken in line with the strategic priorities agreed between the European Union and Moldova. According to the report, Moldova has adopted a number of reforms, which aim to restore the independence of the judiciary and tackle corruption. 

Moldovan Agriculture Minister Dismissed After Arrest On Corruption Charges. Moldovan President Igor Dodon dismissed Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Eduard Grama on 20 March, citing suspected corruption. Grama, who has been detained as a suspect in a scheme to illegally expropriate state-owned vineyards and buildings has denied any wrongdoing.

Moldovan Deputy Economy Minister, Valeriu Triboi, in Custody Over Corruption Case. Director of the National Anti-Corruption Center, Viorel Chetraru, confirmed that the searches are being conducted in the offices of the Economy Ministry. Triboi was the subject of several journalistic investigations. The media wrote about him being a millionaire, and that he owns several real estates and has taken by influence peddling, a prosperous business in the construction field.

Council of the Agency for prevention of corruption adopted a Report on the work of the Agency for 2016. Thanks to proactive actions of the Agency, institutions published the following data in 2016: 2,293 analytical cards, 4,122 information on travel orders, 197 reports on social assistance, 190 copies from the state and local treasuries, with data on consumption of state and local budget reserves, 1,786 employment decisions. Political subjects submitted 87 reports on regular work, 162 reports on the contributions of legal and natural persons, 55 reports on the origin, amount and structure of collected and spent funds from public and private sources during the election campaign. 

The Agency provided 185 opinions regarding the prevention of conflicts of interest of public officials. As a follow up of theses opinions and conducted administrative proceedings, 75 public officials stepped down from the public office, and 26 public officials were dismissed. Total 4,409 public officials, as well as 1,228 civil servants submitted their income and asset declarations for 2015/2016.  The Agency verified 1,473 declarations of public officials, as well as 174 declarations of civil servants. During the initial verification, irregularities were found in income and asset declarations of 49 public officials and 25 civil servants for reporting inaccurate and incomplete data.

In 2016, 669 integrity managers were appointed, 665 integrity plans were adopted and 64 recommendations for improving the integrity plans were made.

Five more persons charged with creation of criminal organisation pleaded guilty. The High Court in Podgorica has confirmed Agreements on admission of guilt which were concluded between the Special State Prosecutor's Office and five citizens of Serbia accused of the criminal offence of creation of a criminal organisation. The five Serbian citizens admitted being a part of the criminal organisation which planned to enter the Parliament of Montenegro by use of force and to declare victory of the opposition party (Democratic Front) in the parliamentary elections held on 16 October 2016.

Former Mayor Arrested. Former Mayor of Berane and the current official and committee member of the DPS party in local Parliament, Vuka Golubović, was arrested by order of the Special State Prosecutor's Office. In past years, currently ruling coalition "Zdravo Berane" consisting of the Socialist People's Party (SNP) and the Democratic Front (DF) submitted a number of criminal charges to the Special State Prosecutor's Office against Golubović and other persons and companies associated with him for abuse of official position.

Morocco confirms its commitment in the fight against corruption. On the occasion of the evaluation of Morocco under UNCAC chapters II and V (prevention of corruption and asset recovery), the Moroccan authorities reiterated their commitment to the fight against corruption, in order to improve good governance mechanisms. The national anti-corruption strategy was mentioned as a clear sign of that commitment, with 5 axes of intervention (governance, prevention, criminalisation, communication/awareness-raising and training/education) aimed at significantly reducing corruption by 2025.

The head of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate addressed the GRECO plenary. Ms Laura Codruta Kovesi said that Romania needs to have its legislation revised and a greater transparency in public procurement to be able to combat high-level corruption more effectively. She explained that the ministers’ immunity must be confined to their term in office so that the investigation of those suspected of corruption might be carried on.

Romania’s justice minister keeps general prosecutor and chief-anticorruption prosecutor despite negative report. Justice Minister Tudorel Toader presented a negative report on the activity of the General Prosecutor Augustin Lazar and Chief Anti-corruption Prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi but concluded that it’s not the right time to start the procedure to revoke the two. At the beginning of March, Romania’s Constitutional Court ruled that the National Anti-Corruption Directorate had no authority to investigate a Government bill (OUG 13 which decriminalised some corruption related conducts) and that, by doing so, the prosecution institution had violated the Constitution. Minister Toader’s evaluation was strictly related to the investigation on OUG 13.

Justice Minister will order an external audit at the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, Public Ministry and Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism. When asked what the respective audit should look into, Toader said that into “a lot” and it could contain the verification of the number of cases, acquittals or citizens who were unlawfully imprisoned.

Anti-Corruption protests across Russia. On 26 March 2017 thousands of Russians rallied across the country to protest against government corruption in one of the largest opposition demonstrations in years. Demonstrators defied bans by authorities and were arrested by the hundreds. Alexei Navalny, a prominent critic of President Putin and Prime Minister Medvedev, called for the protests after posting reports accusing Medvedev of controlling properties far beyond what he could afford on his government salary, including mansions, yachts, and vineyards. Navalny was also arrested and has been fined and jailed for 15 days for organising the rallies.

CoE workshops on impact of inspections on business processes and corruption practices affecting the procurement process at the municipal level. On 16-17 March 2017, the Council of Europe Project on “Protection of the Rights of Entrepreneurs in the Russian Federation from Corrupt Practices at the Municipal Level” – PRECOP II organised two workshops in Krasnodar.  Over 60 representatives of federal and regional Business Ombudsman Offices of the four project pilot regions and 21 other regions, as well as high-level representatives of executive and legislative bodies, legal firms, and business associations of the Krasnodar Krai discussed the main findings and recommendations of the draft studies prepared by the Council of Europe experts on “Inspections at municipal level and their impact on the regular business processes” and “Corruption practices affecting the procurement process at the municipal level in the Russian Federation”.

Mr Boris Titov, Federal Ombudsman for the Protection of the Rights of Entrepreneurs in the Russian Federation, addressed the audience and underlined the importance of fighting corruption affecting business sector at the municipal level given that it is in the municipalities where in particular small and medium-size enterprises face the biggest obstacles in various corruption-prone fields, including procurement. He thanked the Council of Europe for continuous support provided since 2013 when PRECOP RF was launched and reaffirmed his commitment to continue successful cooperation in order to achieve tangible results.

The CoE conducts three back-to-back workshops for regional business ombudsmen. Workshops organised in the framework of the PRECOP II project brought together representatives of federal and regional Business Ombudsman Offices, executive and legislative bodies, and business associations of the Tver region but also from other pilot regions participating in the project to discuss: corruption factors and trends in provision of public services to business entities by municipal authorities; typologies of corruption affecting the business sector; and corruption practices affecting the procurement process at the municipal level in the Russian Federation.

The participants had an opportunity to discuss the main findings and recommendations of the relevant draft studies prepared by the Council of Europe experts with the input of the respective Expert Working Groups. They provided valuable feedback which will serve to finalise the studies and tailor corresponding recommendations to specific needs and country context taking into account international standards and good practice in respective fields.

Serbia’s PM, Aleksandar Vucic, wins Serbian presidential elections. Aleksandar Vucic has emerged the victor in Serbia's presidential elections, scooping about 54.9 per cent of the vote, according to a preliminary estimate from monitoring NGOs. Political analysts said Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic’s presidential election victory gives him almost unassailable power and means the opposition must change its strategy.

The Anti-Corruption Agency Annual Report for 2016 Submitted to the National Assembly. The Annual Report contains work results and challenges that the Agency had faced in its work, as well as recommendations to the National Assembly. The Agency has also submitted a Report on the Implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy in the Republic of Serbia for the period 2013-2018 and the Action Plan for its implementation.

47 arrested on suspicion of corruption. The police have arrested 47 people in several Serbian cities in a continued clampdown on money laundering, financial crimes and corruption and, in particular, abuse of office by state authorities. The suspects are charged with committing a number of crimes starting in 2005 that caused damage totalling EUR 17.5 million to the state budget.

The 4 T’s. The Special Prosecutor’s Office opened four new cases – “Tabla”, “Trista”, “Total” and “Tifany” upon reasonable suspicion of committing a crime that financially damages the state budget on account of legal and natural persons. In the case “Tabla”, a primary school director has been accused of using his position and authority and enabling property for a legal entity. In the case “Trista” the suspect is the Assistant Minister at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who is charged with abuse of office and authority. The case is about the procurement of 300 vehicles in the period from 2008 to 2012. The case “Total” deals with tax evasion by the legal entities "Total Marketing Agency," "Total Marketing", "Media Max" and "Total Media Center" from Skopje. The  suspected owner, manager and sole authorized signatory is accused of giving false information in determining the amount of tax liabilities in the companies’ accounts, final accounts and tax returns for 2008 and 2015, and of concealing tax on behalf of legal entities. Investigation "Tiffany" also refers to tax evasion. Suspect is an individual owner, manager and authorized signatory of "Smart Group" and "Smart Center LLC export-import Skopje". Similar to the previous case, the suspect in the accounts of the companies, final accounts and tax returns gave false information about the facts of significance in determining the amount of tax liabilities, by which legal entities avoided to pay tax liabilities for tax years 2008 to 2014 year.

The Tunisian President is preparing a new draft law to grant amnesty for economic crimes committed under the Ben Ali regime. A first draft law was presented by the President in 2014, with a view to promote national reconciliation and stimulate investments. The draft law was strongly criticised by civil society and some political forces as it would have implied impunity for businessmen and officials responsible for corruption offences, and as its provisions were considered to be too general. Even if it was presented to the Parliament, the draft law was never examined by Parliamentarians. According to some sources of information, the new law under preparation will contain a distinction between different categories of offenders.

The Tunisian Financial and Economic Judiciary Court will give audience to the previous Minister of Public Function and Governance on anti-corruption cases. The Financial and Economic Judiciary Pole will soon hear Mr Briki, the previous Minister of Public Function and Governance recently dismissed by the Head of Government. Mr Briki declared to the press to be in possession of relevant information on many dossiers of corruption.

The Government of Tunisia abolished the Ministry of Public Function and Governance. Further to the dismissal of the Minister in charge and the refusal of the person identified to replace him, the Head of Government decided to suppress the Ministry of Public Function and Governance. The related services and competences have been transferred under the Presidency of the Government, as was the case until the end of 2015. 

State Fiscal Service Chief held in €70 million graft case. A Kiev court has started a detention hearing against Roman Nasirov, the controversial head of Ukraine’s powerful tax and customs agency, in what could be a landmark case for the country’s faltering fight with top-level corruption.

Ukraine amends disclosure law to include NGOs. Ukraine will require anti-corruption groups to make the same asset disclosures as politicians and public servants, a step that NGOs say attacks their work and distracts from their attempts to bring more transparency.

Justice Ministry calls on anti-corruption organisations to join drafting changes for NACP management. Ukrainian Justice Minister Pavlo Petrenko has proposed to anti-corruption non-governmental organisations to join drafting amendments to the law that would make the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) a body with ultimate responsibility. The Prime Minister ordered the Justice Ministry to draw up relevant legislative amendments.