Albanian prosecutors seek arrest of the former Minister of Interior on corruption and drug trafficking charges. Serious Crimes Prosecutors asked Parliament to lift the immunity of former Minister of Interior Saimir Tahiri to allow them to investigate him on corruption and drug trafficking charges. Tahiri's name came from transcripts of the Italian police that wiretapped while investigating a criminal smuggling ring made up of Albanian and Italian citizens, six of whom were arrested. Among those arrested and sought were Moisi and Florian Habilaj, distant cousins of the former Minister. Mr Tahiri denied any implication in the matter and stated at a press conference that he would not oppose Parliament lifting his MP immunity for further investigation. The arrest of the six cannabis smugglers in Italy prompted the Albanian police and the Serious Crimes Prosecution to conduct their own search operation in villages near Vlora, after wiretapping identified other criminal elements related to the same crime ring in this area. During the operation, police seized four tons of cannabis and arrested a collaborator of Habilaj`s brothers.

Training on asset tracing for Albanian Prosecution and Law Enforcement. Over 60 representatives of the General Prosecution Office, District Prosecutions, Serious Crime Prosecution, Albanian State Police, General Directorate for the Prevention of Money Laundering, General Directorate of Customs, General Directorate of Taxation, attended training on asset tracing and identification for purposes of seizure and confiscation in a criminal case organised by the EU/CoE Action against Economic Crime in Albania (AEC-AL).

Two regional pilot trainings, one on Ethics in Public Service and one on Anti-Corruption in Public Service, delivered in Ganja. On 9 and 10 October 2017, over 70 regional participants were introduced to basic concepts and key theories of ethics and anti-corruption complemented by practical exercises and delivered by four certified local trainers, who took part in the Training-of-Trainers courses on Ethics and Anti-Corruption in Public Service earlier this year. The trainings, organised in the framework of the EU/CoE Project Strengthening capacities to fight and prevent corruption in Azerbaijan (PGG-Azerbaijan), will serve as a useful tool for strengthening ethics and preventing corruption in public administration as part of continuous efforts by the Azerbaijani authorities to tackle corruption and ensure integrity of public officials.

Azerbaijan hosts next Law Enforcement Network Meeting of Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ACN). On 25-27 October 2017, over 70 participants came together for the 8th Law Enforcement Network Meeting to address issues regarding investigation and prosecution of corruption, including confiscation of proceeds, asset recovery and independence of prosecutors. The meeting was co-organised by OECD and Azerbaijan's Anti-Corruption Directorate with the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Business inspections in Azerbaijan suspended for four more years. The moratorium on inspections of business activities in Azerbaijan was extended until 2021, according to the amendments to the law “On suspension of inspections of entrepreneurial activities,” approved at the Parliament’s plenary session on 31 October. This suspension will prevent illegal audits by tax authorities and facilitate sustainable development of small and medium enterprises in the country.

GRECO adopts the Interim Joint First and Second Round Compliance Report on Belarus. At its 77th Plenary Meeting on 16-18 October 2017, GRECO adopted the compliance report on Belarus (GrecoRC1-2(2017)3). The report concludes that the level of compliance with recommendations remains ‘globally unsatisfactory’.

Parliament adopts in the first reading New Anti-money Laundering Law. A new “Measures Against Money Laundering” Act, submitted by the Council of Ministers was adopted by the Parliament with 166 votes in favour, 1 against and 8 abstained. The law aims to achieve compliance with the EU Anti-money Laundering Directive, related to preventing the use of the financial system for money laundering and terrorism funding purposes. The new legislation aims to enhance money laundering and terrorism financing prevention; reinforce the fight against corruption; achieve more effective risk management; and improve the competent national institutions' capacity to analyze and exchange information. 

Bulgaria MPs approve changes to Judicial System. Lawmakers have approved at the second reading legislative amendments that - the Government argues - are paving the way for a major reform in the judicial system. MPs have agreed to split the Supreme Judicial Council (VSS) into two colleges, one for judges and the other for prosecutors. Separately, a “plenary” is set up to ensure there is VSS configuration bringing together all of the council’s members. The VSS is the top decision-making body of the judiciary (sometimes referred to as its “government”) which is in charge of issues such as key appointments to or dismissals from the system, salaries, and disciplinary action.

Bulgarian President’s meeting to discuss anti-corruption steps collapses. The October 8 meeting of Bulgaria’s Consultative Council on National Security called by President Roumen Radev to discuss steps against high-level corruption ended inconclusively when, after more than three hours of talks, it lost its quorum. The Government, in which Prime Minister Borissov’s Party is the majority partner, has tabled legislation on restructuring of the bodies intended to fight corruption, while the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party has tabled rival legislation that if approved, would create a new anti-corruption agency, headed by an appointee of the President.

Czech election front-runner charged with subsidy fraud. Czech prime minister candidate Andrej Babiš was formally charged with fraud in a case involving a €2 million EU subsidy, local media reported Monday. Police filed charges against Babiš, a former finance minister, and his deputy Jaroslav Faltýnek for subsidy fraud linked to a farm and conference center nearly a decade ago. Babiš is believed to be behind a plan to acquire the EU funds that were only meant for small businesses.

The first high-level EU–Georgia Strategic Security Dialogue took place on 11 October in Tbilisi. The one-day meeting reflected the commitment of both sides to take forward cooperation in the area of foreign and security policy in line with the EU-Georgia Association Agreement. The meeting confirmed the EU's appreciation for Georgia's important role in strengthening security and stability in the region and beyond.

Georgia meets EaP Summit "in good shape". Georgia is approaching the upcoming Eastern Partnership (EaP) summit “in good shape,” and is “ready to do even more than the Association Agreement requires from us, because we are doing it for our future in the European Union,” the Georgian Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze said at the meeting of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) on October 19. In his opening remarks to MEPs, Janelidze noted he was “proud to represent one of the strongest EU-enthusiast countries,” adding that “around 80 per cent of the entire population of Georgia supports the EU integration,” and that “Georgia’s democratic transformation is a product of its European aspirations.”

Doing Business 2018: Kosovo* among the top ten performers in the world. According to the World Bank Doing Business 2018, Kosovo* is ranked as the 40th economy with a DTF (distance to frontier) score of 73.49 (an improvement of +4.98 between 2016 and 2017). It is one of 10 economies showing the most improvement in performance on the Doing Business indicators. Improvements are noted regarding reforms related to starting a business, getting credit and resolving insolvency, including simplifying process of registering employees when starting a business and adoption of a new bankruptcy law that establishes clear priority rules inside bankruptcy for secured creditors and clear grounds for relief in reorganisation procedures.

Government approved the draft Law on Prevention of Conflict of Interest. This law should strengthen the integrity and the guarantee of the performance of public duties in an objective, impartial and transparent manner by public officials. The aim of the Draft Law is to identify, prevent, manage and resolve conflict of interest situations of public officials. Council of Europe through the EU/CoE Joint Project against Economic Crime in Kosovo* (PECK II) has supported and provided substantial technical assistance in drafting and finalising this piece of legislation.

“Capture Corruption” Regional Competition. An annual student regional anti-corruption competition (sponsored by the U.S. Departments of State and Justice and the U.S. Embassies in the Western Balkans) will be conducted to encourage the Balkan student population to develop public awareness campaigns that advocate for intolerance and rejection of corruption. The students will design anti-corruption posters (grade school), create Public Service Announcement/Informational videos (high school) and compete for national and regional recognition and electronic prizes for the best anti-corruption campaign. The contest will be conducted on the YouTube video sharing platform and on the Facebook Page “Pa Korrupsion” “Bez Korupcije” (Corruption-free!).

A Vote for Stability Steers Southerner to Success in Kyrgyzstan's Presidential Election. Former Prime Minister Sooronbai Jeenbekov — from the pro-presidential Social Democratic Party — has won the Kyrgyzstan presidential election, with 54.81 percent of the vote. His main opponent, Omurbek Babanov, leader of Respublika-Ata Jurt — the second-largest party in parliament — received 33.74 percent of the votes. Jeenbekov’s ascent to power indicates voters’ clear preference for stability over any potential risk of a radical, yet uncertain shakeup of the country’s socioeconomic policies advocated by Babanov. 

Deputy Minister of Finance under arrest for influence peddling. The National Anti-Corruption Centre (NAC) arrested the deputy Minister of Finance on charges of influence peddling. Allegedly, the deputy Minister tried to convince the administration of one of the hospitals in Chisinau, that decisions on the on-going renovations were taken exclusively by her, asking therefore for a payment and to favour a specific building company during the tender procedures. Representatives of the medical institutions reported the case and legal action over active and passive corruption was taken. Searches were performed. The deputy minister may face 7 to 15 years of jail, a substantive fine and 10 to 15 years ban on holding particular public posts or .  

Both candidates for Head of the National Integrity Authority (NIA) failed the polygraph test. The remaining two candidates running for the post of head of NIA (currently acting deputy of NIA and a member of the Superior Council of Magistracy) did not pass the polygraph test, the last stage of the competition. On 9 October, the National Integrity Council announced that the competition will be re-opened. Allegations of political involvement of high-level officials overshadow the process of selection of NIA head. According to political commentators, journalists and even members of the National Integrity Council (NIC), there is no will to have an authority checking assets and personal interests of public officials and parliamentarians. It was also emphasised that the problem was not so much with the candidates themselves but more with the small number of candidates who applied for the post of NIA head.

Member of the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM) resigns after failing polygraph test. After failing the polygraph test, the last stage in the selection of the head of the National Integrity Authority, Mr Teodor Carnat, who had scored the highest in the written and oral tests, resigned from the SCM. He stated that in light of the reservations about his integrity he could not serve on the SCM. He made allegations about the unfairness of the process, especially when it comes to members of the hiring board publicly defining the candidates as weak.

Agency for Prevention of Corruption called for dismissal of 4 members of the Council of National Broadcaster (RTCG). Acting on the basis of an anonymous report, the Agency for Prevention of Corruption (APC) has brought decisions regarding 4 members of the RTCG on allegations of incompatibility of functions (private/public sphere) and conflict of interest (family member related). In all four cases the APC has found violations and initiated misdemeanor procedures. The decision was heavily criticized by NGOs as interfering with the work of the National Broadcaster RTCG; the US embassy was also vocal along the same lines in the social media.

Ex Podgorica major under investigation for corruption. An investigation has started targeting the previous political leadership of Podgorica municipality, notably its former major and high official of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), Miomir Mugosa. The Special Prosecution questioned him for selling municipal land to a private company, on charges of abuse of office and fraud to the local budget worth of 7 MLN Euro. This is the first time a corruption investigation involves the local authorities of the capital of the country.

New arrests took place on money laundering charges. On the order of the Special Prosecutor, 6 persons were arrested and accused for setting up a criminal group and for laundering money returned from loans. The group is suspected to be connected to a Montenegrin businessman, president of a major group of companies in Montenegro (Atlas Capital), with investments in Serbia, Cyprus and Russia – of which the 6 arrested individuals are employees. They are in detention, interrogated by the Special Prosecution. Allegations in the media, beefed up by statements of Democratic Front politicians, link this operation with the coup case of October last year, as if the money allegedly laundered by Atlas group was supposed to support those events and ensure DPS victory.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports is undertaking an anti-corruption effort to check the accounts of several sports federations. The names of these federations will be known in three weeks. The Minister of Youth and Sports Talbi Alami vowed to "fight corruption in the federations at its root". While the Ministry still refuses to give the names of federations concerned by these audits, it is expected that the audit will cover shooting federations, sport for all, basketball, volleyball, taekwondo and others.

Five people are accused of undermining state security for organizing the promotion of citizen journalism in Morocco. They risk five years in prison. Two other defendants are being prosecuted for failing to notify the General Secretariat of the Government of receiving funding from abroad for their association, AMJI; they risk a fine of 10,000 dirhams.

The law will protect whistleblowers in Russia. The Government of the Russian Federation approved the draft law aimed at protecting individuals reporting corruption.  According to the draft law, developed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and submitted to the State Duma for discussion, decision to dismiss, transfer to another position or initiate disciplinary proceedings against individuals reporting corruption could not be taken without a review of each case by a special commission on work ethics and conflict of interest. Prosecutors will be required to participate in the hearings conducted by such commissions. Moreover, whistleblowers will be provided with free legal consultations. The draft law also ensures protection of confidentiality of information provided by whistleblowers.

Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights is preparing a report on the impact of corruption on internal, economic and social policies in Russia. The report will be finalised by December 9, the International Anti-Corruption Day.

Ministry of Internal Affairs is investigating the involvement of managers of three Russian banks in stealing of assets. The Ministry of Internal Affairs requested the Central Bank to provide information about possible illegal activities of managers and staff of Russian banks Otkritie, Binbank and Yugra. This request came after the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market submitted a letter in which members of the Parliament asked for the full explanation of the reasons that had led to the loss of assets of these banks as well as information on whether those responsible had been held accountable. General Directorate for Economic Security and Combating Corruption is in charge of the inquiry.

International arrest. The former chief of the fifth administration, Goran Grujovski, and Nikola Boskovski, who was an employee at UBK, were arrested in Thessaloniki when they attempted to leave Greece with false Bulgarian passports. They have been on the run since July when the Special Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against them for the “Fortress” and “Target” cases in connection with the illegal wiretapping of thousands of citizens by misusing the monitoring systems within the Ministry of Interior, as well as for the physical destruction of part of the equipment. Due to this an international arrest warrant was issued by the Macedonian authorities. Greek police acted on this international arrest warrant and brought them into custody. Both Grujevski and Boskoski asked not to be extradited as they feared for their life. The Special Public Prosecutor, Katica Janeva, expressed hope that the extradition proceedings for the defendants will end soon allowing the trial to begin soon as well. They will be also tried in Greece for holding false identification documents.

Anti-graft prosecutors accuse Romania's justice minister of interference. Romanian anti-corruption prosecutors accused the Justice Minister of interfering in a criminal investigation involving two senior government officials. They said they had asked the top judicial watchdog to look into comments that the Justice Minister Tudorel Toader made about their inquiry, in a country that Transparency International and other bodies say has one of the worst records on graft in the European Union.

Romanian lawmaker named in corruption probe keeps immunity. Romania's parliament has voted to let a former minister named in a corruption probe keep her parliamentary privilege against prosecution. Lawmakers opposed lifting the immunity of Rovana Plumb in a 184 to 99 vote. Plumb resigned as Minister for European Funds on October 12 together with Sevil Shhaideh, the Deputy Prime Minister. The two are suspected of transferring land near the River Danube to a local council that was then illegally leased to a private company. Both deny wrongdoing. Plumb, an aide of party chairman Liviu Dragnea, accused anti-corruption prosecutors of trying to "demonize" the ruling Social Democratic Party and overturn results of the 2016 parliamentary election.

Serbian President Claims Clean Campaign Finances amid allegations of fraud. Following a journalistic investigation into the financing of election campaign by Serbia’s ruling party, President Vucic says his party’s finances are “clean as a whistle”. The investigation showed how his party has used proxy donors to disguise the true source of campaign gifts – which are illegal under Serbia’s law on the financing of political activities.

Zero Tolerance in Corruption Cases. Justice Minister, Nela Kuburović, announced that as of March next year, special teams trained in combatting financial crime will be dealing with corruption crimes. A new law has been introduced that establishes four separate departments that will deal solely with criminal offenses with corruption elements. Anyone committing crimes involving corruption, money laundering, tax evasion or damage to a state or municipal budget will be subject to the special teams.

Prosecution Fined One Million Dinars for Keeping Silent on Savamala Case. The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance has, in the course of 2017, sanctioned the Higher Public Prosecution in Belgrade for a total sum of one million dinars for covering up information from the public, above all in the case of the demolition of buildings in the Belgrade quarter of Savamala.

Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi issued an amnesty law for civil servants involved in corruption under dictatorship. The only sanction foreseen is the reimbursement to the State of sums unduly earned, as well as the payment of a financial penalty. The amnesty only concerns officials accused of being involved in administrative corruption, but not receiving bribes.

Thirteen public officials involved in a money laundering case were detained on the orders of the public prosecutor. The Judicial, Economic and Financial Crimes Unit is leading the case, which involves a smuggling ring and collusion between businessmen and public officials, with some of these crimes punishable by 20 years in prison.

The President of Ukraine: a separate Anti-Corruption Court must be created in Ukraine. According to President Petro Poroshenko, a separate judicial anti-corruption vertical line should be created in Ukraine as part of a separate Anti-Corruption Court, cassation instance - the anti-corruption chamber in the Supreme Court of Ukraine and representatives of the anti-corruption court on the ground. The President proposed to the Parliament to create a working group immediately and elaborate a concerted draft law that will be supported by the whole Verkhovna Rada.

Venice Commission invites the Ukrainian President to submit a revised draft law on high specialised anti-corruption courts to Parliament, based on its recommendations. In its opinion on the draft law on anti-corruption courts in Ukraine adopted on 6 October 2017, the European Commission for Democracy through Law (the “Venice Commission”) noted that many of the provisions of the draft law provide a good basis for the establishment of a high specialised anti-corruption court (HACC), but made several recommendations to reduce the risk that it could be considered unconstitutional. The Venice Commission invited the President of Ukraine to promptly submit his own draft law on anti-corruption courts. The current draft law (Draft Law No. 6011) thus needs to be withdrawn.

NABU detained Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine for corruption in amount of UAH 149 million. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office exposed the corruption scheme with embezzlement of public funds in the amount of over 149 million Ukrainian hryvnas (4.7 million euros) in the purchase of fuel for the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine. Deputy Minister of Defence was detained in relation to this corruption scheme.