In a continuation of the actions of December 21, 2021 and January 7, 2022 concerning construction sites in Brezovica, where police have arrested several people in an operation targeting corruption, connected to the alleged illegal construction of villas, 12 other raids took place in four cities on March 3.

In the third part of “Operation Brezovica”, the Basic Prosecution in Ferizaj said seven more people were arrested.

Three were former officials of the Ministry of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure, including Ilir Morina, former head of the Kosovo Environmental Protection Agency, KEPA. 

Four were owners of construction companies. According to the prosecution, they are all suspected of abuse of office, taking, giving bribes, and exercising influence.

“On the order from the Basic Prosecution in Ferizaj and in cooperation with the Kosovo Police, the action ‘Brezovica 3’ took place, in which 12 different locations were raided in four different cities: Ferizaj, Prishtina, Skenderaj and Lipjan,” the prosecution said.

Of the 12 raided locations, five were in Prishtina, five in Ferizaj, one in Lipjan and one in Skenderaj.

On December 21, 2021, in part one of the operation, ten people were arrested, including the former mayor of Shterpce/Strpce, Bratislav Nikolic. 

As mayor from 2014 to 2018, he allegedly accepted bribes of money and gifts to issue construction permits in the Sharri National Park in the Brezovica area.

The prosecution claims Nikolic accepted a bribe of 210,000 euros to issue 21 construction permits for weekend houses for the investor, Stella Consulting, as well as taking another 200,000 euros for the construction permit of the hotel Stella Consulting.

In the second part of the operation, on January 7, seven people were arrested, among them the former Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Arben Çitaku, and Bedri Halimi, Chief Inspector in the same ministry, and five others.

Since the Kosovo war ended, many villas have been built in the Brezovica resort area, some of which allegedly belong to politicians and officials, and whose ownership is unclear.