EU prosecutors indict Kosovo ex-minister for corruption

(PRISTINA) - EU prosecutors on Friday indicted Kosovo's former transport minister Fatmir Limaj and six other suspects on charges of organised crime and corruption.

Limaj, an ex-guerilla leader, is accused of having received bribes to award multi-million-euro highway construction projects, said a statement from EULEX, the EU body overseeing the rule of law in Kosovo.

He and the other suspects have been accused of having together fixed bids for the contracts when Limaj ran the transport, post and telecommunications ministry between 2008 and 2010.

According to EULEX, Limaj's actions cost the state budget "approximately two million Euros ($2.5 million)".

Limaj, a member of parliament, is currently a deputy president of Prime Minister Hashim Thaci's Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK).

Corruption continues to be a serious concern for Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008. International and local watchdogs say the government lacks the political will to fight it.

EULEX was launched in 2008 to oversee the rule of law in Kosovo and tackle high-profile cases that are sensitive for the local judiciary.