On Monday, the Prishtina Basic Court sentenced former Chief Prosecutor of the Court of Appeals, Haxhi Dërguti, to a suspended prison term following a 2022 two-part KALLXO.com  investigation that exposed a 150,000 euro scheme to influence court proceedings in Kosovo. Businessman Sali Dakaj was also sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for two years, and fined 5,000 euros for exerting influence.

The sentences were handed down after the court approved plea agreements between the two defendants and Kosovo’s Special Prosecution Office. Neither prison sentence will be enforced if the defendants do not commit another criminal offence during the two-year probation period.

The case derived from a two-year investigation by KALLXO.com, published on October 24, 2022 under the title “Buying the Chief Prosecutor.” It uncovered that 150,000 euros had been offered to influence the outcome of a court case involving a 3.5 million euro debt.

Dakaj claimed that he had paid 150,000 euros to Dërguti through two intermediaries, businessman Hasan Morina and Liridon Fandaj, a former Vetëvendosje official who has since been suspended from party membership.

According to Dakaj, the two men approached him and claimed they had connections to secure a favourable outcome in his court case in exchange for 150,000 euros.

Dakaj told KALLXO.com that he trusted them and borrowed the money to facilitate the payment to Dërguti, who was then serving as Chief Prosecutor of the Court of Appeals.

When the court case did not go in his favour, Dakaj demanded the money back. He met with Morina and Fandaj, as well as Dërguti himself.

Recordings, made in public places and obtained during KALLXO’s investigation, captured a meeting in which Dërguti advised Dakaj to follow the court proceedings and find people willing to provide money to influence the case.

“Keep an eye on this process, find people, give money, because otherwise this matter will not be resolved,” Derguti told Dakaj, according to the recording published by BIRN and Internews Kosova co-production, KALLXO Përnime TV programme.

In another recorded meeting, Dërguti denied receiving the money but did not deny meeting with judges in connection with Dakaj’s case.

Following the publication of the investigation, police questioned Dërguti on November 9, 2022. His home had previously been raided on November 4, 2022. In November 2025, Kosovo’s Special Prosecution Office filed an indictment in the case.