11 years in prison and 8 thousand euros fine for two former investigators accused of corruption

The Basic Court in Pristina has announced a guilty verdict against two former police officers, Lutfi Menxhiqi and Lavdim Osmani, sentencing them to a combined sentence of 11 years in prison and an 8 euro fine on charges of corruption.

The verdict was announced on Wednesday by the presiding judge, Sulltane Hoti, reports "Oath of Justice".

According to the verdict, the accused Osmani was sentenced to 4 years in prison and a fine of 2 thousand euros for the criminal offense of co-perpetration of "Accepting bribes". While for counts 3 and 4 he was sentenced to 3 years in prison and a fine of 2 thousand euros. A single sentence of 6 years in prison and a fine of 4 thousand euros was pronounced against him.

Also, Mendziqi was sentenced to 4 years in prison and a 2 euro fine for the first offense. However, for the other counts for this defendant, the sentence imposed was not stated during the announcement.

Mendžiqi was sentenced to a single sentence of 5 years in prison and a fine of 4 thousand euros.

The sentence imposed on the two defendants will include time spent in pre-trial detention and house arrest. If they do not pay the fine, it will be replaced by prison, where one day in prison is calculated as a 20 euro fine.

The two defendants are also prohibited from exercising public functions in public administration or public service for a period of 5 years.

They are also obliged to pay the costs of the criminal procedure, namely 50 euros for a lump sum court fee and 50 euros for the crime victims' compensation fund.

The injured party is instructed to proceed to a regular civil legal dispute.

Also, according to the verdict, money is confiscated - from Lufti Menxhiqi the amount of 9 thousand euros, and from Lavdim Osmani 1 thousand and 300 euros. The weapons found by Menxhiqi during the raid are also seized.

The parties have the right to appeal this judgment within 30 days.

Otherwise, the Basic Court of Pristina, on February 14, 2022, found Osmani and Mendzhiqi guilty, sentencing them to a total of 12 years in prison and a fine of 8 thousand euros.

However, the Court of Appeal, on May 3, 2023, issued a decision, through which it annulled the verdict of the Basic Court and remanded the criminal case against Mendzic and Osman for retrial.

The Appeals Court's decision on this matter came after the hearing held in this Court on April 5, 2023, where the appeals of the defendants' defense attorneys were reviewed, for Lavdim Osmani - attorney Muhamet Mujaj and for Lutfi Menxhiqi - attorney Skender Musa.

Otherwise, according to the indictment compiled on June 30, 2020, Osmani and Menxhiqi were accused of having accepted bribes from Driton Berisha and DH in early November 2019, in their capacity as investigators at the Directorate of Economic Crimes and Corruption in Pristina, in order not to take action to combat gambling.