Kosovo's Constitutional Court Ex-Chief Charged with Fraud

Kosovo's Special Prosecution raised an indictment against Hasani on Friday for committing "fraud while holding official duty" while he was rector of the University of Pristina.

Hakif Veliu, former head of the University of Pristina procurement office and Albert Rakipi, director of the Institute for International Studies from Tirana, were charged alongside Hasani.

According to the indictment, the defendants falsified a contract for the translation of books from English into Albanian.

They allegedly changed the price of translation from "12.56? for 1000 words" to "12.56? for 1000 characters."

This meant that the Institute for International Studies in Tirana was able to illegally obtain 70,426.90 euro.

The falsified contract was sent by Hasani to Rakiqi in Tirana in December 2008, who stamped it in the name of the Institute and sent a bill for 87,541.80 euro to the University of Pristina in July 2009.

The payment was then authorised by Veliu.

A second bill was sent five months later, for 299,488.75 euro, which the Institute claims the University never paid.

Hasani is thought to be close to and influential within Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci's Democratic Party of Kosovo. Local media have been speculating in recent weeks about what position he will be given next after two mandates as head of the constitutional cout.

In September last year, former Foreign Minister Enver Hoxhaj nominated him to represent Kosovo at the Venice Commission.

His second mandate as constitutional court president expired at the end of June.