CASE STUDY
CASE STUDY
Asset declarations
Case example: Structure of the Kosovo Anti-corruption Agency (KAA)
Monitoring of the declaration of assets of public officials
Organizational Level
The KAA also carries out routine investigations by double-checking asset disclosure declarations for the presence of conflicts of interest. If there are undisclosed conflicts of interest, the department may decide to discharge officials. The KAA also exchanges information with the Financial Intelligence Unit and the Tax Administration. As part of the verification process, the KAA checks whether officials have paid their taxes according to the assets declaration. The methodology also looks at yearly differences as an indicator of possible misrepresentation. If a crime is suspected, the corruption prevention department forwards the case to the investigation department.
The KAA has established an effective recording routine. Asset declarations are sorted by year, institution and alphabetically. Only for people have the right to access the archives and this happens only after written authorization is given by the director.
In the current system, asset declaration verification is based on random sampling. Instead, the KAA should utilize risk management approaches such as a focus on key officials with regard to disbursement of funds, or those who exhibit a lavish lifestyle. It should also adopt a risk-based approach to verification, which should be contained in an Operations Manual for the Assets Disclosure Unit.