Albanian Government signs an agreement with Ernst & Young to help combat economic crime. According to the Prime Minister, the agreement aims to assist Albanian authorities in the fight against economic and financial crime, tax evasion, money laundering and corruption. Ernst & Young (EY) will provide a team of experts to work closely with Albania’s institutions towards increasing their capacity to fight economic crime. The EY team will be led by an American who has worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a German who managed his country’s economic crime unit. The Prime Minister added that this cooperation aims to strengthen the capacities of the law enforcement and other agencies as a key factor for boosting Albania's economic development and the well-being of its citizens and will have a great impact on the country's EU integration process.

Armenia to seriously fight corruption. The newly appointed Minister of Justice Artak Zeynalyan noted the pressing need to institutionalise the fight against corruption in the country. He added that a new anti-corruption body will be created which will have law enforcement, and preventive functions. At the same time, all necessary mechanisms will be created to ensure the independence of this body. He stressed the need of involving a wider society in the fight against corruption.

Azerbaijan establishes Financial Monitoring Service. On 25 May 2018 the Azerbaijani President signed a decree to create Financial Monitoring Service as a separate state entity implementing single regulation, control and coordination activity for prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing. Previously, the Financial Monitoring Service was part of the Financial Markets Supervisory Authority.

Azerbaijan strengthening fight against corruption. On 8 May the Anti-Corruption General Directorate and the State Customs Committee signed a Memorandum of Understanding to further expand cooperation aimed at joint activities. "This document plays a very important role in the detection of corruption offences among the parties, the prevention of smuggling resulting in the emergence of a shadow economy, and also offences committed by employees of customs bodies," Head of the Anti-Corruption Directorate Kamran Aliyev said.

The new “Law on Chamber of Accounts” will reinforce financial control over public funds. The Azerbaijani Parliament adopted the draft “Law on Chamber of Accounts” in the second reading. The changes in the law mainly focus on the functions of the Chamber, the fight against corruption offences, as well as the conduct of audits. The document proposes improving methods of control over public financial resources, increasing effectiveness of inspections conducted by the Chamber and establishing new methods of monitoring.

Publication of the Fourth Round Compliance Report by GRECO. The Compliance Report assesses the measures taken by the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina to implement the recommendations issued in the Fourth Round Evaluation Report which deals with “Corruption Prevention in respect of members of parliament, judges and prosecutors”. The report concluded that Bosnia and Herzegovina has implemented satisfactorily none of the fifteen recommendations contained in the Fourth Round Evaluation Report. Eleven recommendations have been partly implemented and four have not been implemented.

Disclosure of Banking-Secrecy-Covered Data may be required to check Magistrates' Property Declarations. On 30 May, Bulgaria's Parliament passed amendments to the Judicial System Act empowering the Inspectorate with the Supreme Judicial Council to require the disclosure of data covered by banking secrecy when this is necessary to verify the property declaration of magistrates who have not declared in writing their consent to access to such data. The amendments optimize the framework for checking of magistrates' property declarations and fine-tune the provisions on magistrates' secondment and appraisal. Judicial officers will be obliged to submit to their employer a declaration on property and financial interests under the Counter-Corruption and Unlawfully Acquired Assets Forfeiture Act upon taking office and annually on 16 May.

Public Opinion Survey: Corruption, trust in institutions and issues of public policy. On 11 May 2018, TI Georgia published results of a public opinion which was conducted by the Caucasus Research Resource Center. The research covered issues related to corruption, trust towards state and public institutions, performance of the main bodies of the government, significant public policy issues, work of the media and non-governmental organisations.

Jordanians protest new tax law. Thousands of Jordanians demonstrated in Amman on 30 May 2018 in protest against the high prices, and in rejection of the new tax law which is to be discussed in the House of Representatives. The week preceding the demonstration the Jordanian Cabinet approved a revised draft income tax law which would apply to anyone whose gross annual income is 8,000 Jordanian dinars (approximately 9 500 EUR) per year. The government estimates that this will provide the state treasury with about 100 million dinars (119 million Euros). The draft law also foresees establishment of a new financial investigations department tasked with taking legal action against tax evaders and the department will cooperate with the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Unit to detect tax evasion. Jordan’s Council of Professional Trade Unions has given the government one week to withdraw the unpopular tax bill.

Aqaba silos explosion case referred to the Jordan Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission. The explosion, which took place on May 14 in Aqaba, has left six dead and four injured, as several contracting companies were demolishing construction sites at the premises. The investigations indicated that these two companies failed to adopt the required safety measures in accordance with their contracts. The case has been referred to the Jordan Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission.

Kyrgyzstan to open bank account for funds from fight against corruption. A special bank account will be opened in Kyrgyzstan for the funds received as a result of the fight against corruption, as reported by the press service of the President. President Jeenbekov asked for the opening of a special bank account for the accounting, storage and further use of funds recovered by the law enforcement agencies during the investigation of corruption cases and recovered in the enforcement process. The government was tasked to work out the legal and regulatory issues related to opening a special bank account for these purposes.

President instructs Security Services to complete all high profile criminal cases on corruption. According to the Kyrgyz President’s press service, during the meeting held on 28 May 2018 between President Jeenbekov and the Chairman of the State Committee for National Security, the parties discussed the work of the Security Committee, and measures taken to implement its tasks. The President pointed to the need to continue active work on revealing the facts of corruption crimes committed by officials and finalising high profile criminal cases of corruption.

Recruitment of integrity inspectors proceeds. The National Integrity Authority received over forty applications for the ten available positions of integrity inspectors. Ten candidates passed the written test, while only six were successful in the interview. These candidates will undergo the polygraph test by the end of May 2018.

Investigative journalist from daily “Vijesti” shot and injured. Olivera Lakic, journalist covering corruption and organised crime was shot in the leg in front of her apartment in Podgorica in an attack that prompted calls from civil society and international community to project journalists in Montenegro. Ms Lakic was attacked also in 2012, after she wrote a series of articles about alleged suspicious activity in a tobacco factory. Prime Minister Markovic condemned the attack and urged a “swift and efficient investigation” to discover the motive as well as who might have ordered it.

Ex-head of the local parliament in Budva under investigation for abuse of office. The Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) is investigating suspicious transactions made by Boro Lazovic, the director of the liquidated Mogren Football Club from Budva. SDT assumes that in 2015 Mr Lazovic awarded himself a payment of €4.5 million, which should be paid by the budget administration of the Municipality of Budva. Lazovic is referring to (supposedly fictitious) contracts and verdicts by the Kotor court to claim €4.5 million in the name of alleged loans that the club did not return to him. Lazovic submitted debt documentation and registered himself as a creditor.

Money laundering: Details of future amendments to the law. Draft amendments to the law on combating money laundering are being finalised by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. They will be soon submitted to the General Secretariat of Government for approval and afterwards passed on to the parliament. New concepts will be introduced following the FATF recommendations.

Government encourages denouncing corruption. The Prosecutor General’s Office announced the establishment of a hotline for reporting cases of corruption which is part of the national anti-corruption strategy aimed at promoting the values of integrity and transparency in the country.

Request for opinion of the Venice Commission. By letter dated 3 May 2018, the Romanian President requested the Venice Commission to provide an opinion on the draft laws revising the law on the statute of judges and prosecutors, the law on the Superior Council of Magistracy and the law on judicial organisation of Romania. The Monitoring Committee of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe also decided, on 26 April 2017, to ask for an opinion of the Venice Commission on the draft amendments to the judiciary laws of Romania.

Romanian president refuses to approve controversial judicial reforms. On 2 May, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis refused to approve a package of judicial reforms proposed by the government, which according to the European Commission threatens the judiciary's independence. The Social Democrats used their parliamentary majority to push the three bills in the package through in December despite large street protests across the country and no impact assessment being done. “These laws do not conform to the national constitutional framework or to the relevant European standards," Iohannis said in a televised statement. "This is why I've decided to send them to the Constitutional Court and to refer the matter to the Venice Commission," he added, referring to an advisory body of the Council of Europe composed of independent experts. Iohannis said the package would weaken the status of prosecutors, risk obstructing justice and enact structures liable to intimidate magistrates.

55 % of Russians have noticed success in the fight against corruption, according to the survey conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM). 47 % consider arrests of government officials as evidence of ongoing fight against bribery. According to VCIOM’s head Konstantin Dolgov, the number of Russians considering the anti-corruption campaign successful has been growing over the years, but high level of corruption still remains a challenge for the authorities.

The State Duma adopted the bill introducing control over expenditures of former government officials. The bill proposed by the Russian President and adopted by the State in the first reading introduces control over former government official’s expenditures to ensure that they are consistent with the income they received while occupying the post. The bill imposes control over the expenditures of those former officials who were obliged to submit information about their expenditures as well as those of their spouses and underage children while occupying the post. According to the bill, the expenditures of former officials will be monitored during the first six months after their resignation or dismissal.

New Head of Russia’s Audit Chamber named the fight against corruption in the finance sphere among his key priorities. Alexei Kudrin, former Finance Minister and new Head of Russia’s Audit Chamber highlighted the fight against corruption as a key activity area. Following his confirmation to the post, Mr Kudrin stated that ‘the fight against corruption should be focused not only on catching criminals red-handed but, most of all, on creating the mechanisms to prevent corruption, to reduce the opportunities for it to a minimum.’

Commissioner for Information of Public Importance Says BIA Deterring Him from Investigating Politicians. Information on criminal procedures labelled “strictly confidential” including investigations opened against top government officials, have been placed out of reach of the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance, Rodoljub Sabic, by decision of the Security and Information Agency (BIA). For undisclosed reasons, BIA procrastinates security verification of long-term commissioner Sabic, which is why he still cannot obtain a security clearance to access this information.

Serbia Makes Former Belgrade Mayor New Finance Minister. Former Belgrade Mayor Sinisa Mali will take over as Serbian Finance Minister after he was voted into office by the MPs of the ruling parties. Mali has been involved in numerous controversies, having been accused of concealing his ownership of apartments on the Bulgarian coast, of plagiarising his PhD thesis, and of manhandling a journalist – as well as of involvement in the controversial demolitions work in Belgrade's Savamala area.

Government sets up a coordination body to deal with GRECO recommendations. The Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said that the body was set up in response to GRECO’s decision to launch a procedure against Serbia for failing to implement its recommendations on the fight against corruption among MPs, judges and prosecutors. While attending the first meeting of the Coordination Body, the Prime Minister pointed out that the work of this body is extremely important because the fight against corruption is among government’s priorities. The Coordination Body is comprised of representatives of the Anti-Corruption Agency, the National Assembly, the High Judicial Council, the State Prosecutors Council, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Former Macedonian PM Gruevski sentenced to two years in prison. On 24 May, court sentenced the former Macedonian Prime Minster Nikola Gruevski to two years in prison for unlawfully influencing interior ministry officials in the purchase of €600,000 car. The ruling was a first-instance verdict and Gruevski may appeal the sentence. The court decision was based partly on audio material from the phone-tapping scandal dating back to 2015, after the judge had determined the evidence was admissible as it was in the public interest. This case also involves former Interior Minister Gordana Jankuloska, who served under Gruevski until his resignation. Jankuloska’s case is being tried separately and is still on-going.

Court Acquits PM Zaev of Bribery Charge. On 21 May, Skopje’s Criminal Court acquitted Prime Minister Zoran Zaev of soliciting a bribe of 200,000 Euros from a businessman in his home town of Strumica to help privatize the public land – a case in which Zaev claimed he was politically framed by the previous government. “I am happy about the acquittal and that I finally proved my innocence and received justice,” Zaev said.

EU allocates 300 milllion Euros support to Tunisia. The 14th session of the Tunisia-EU Association Council was concluded by announcing the allocation of additional support in the form of donations to the Tunisian economy during the current year, worth EUR 300 million.

EU put Tunisia on the black list as a safe haven for tax evasion but then moved it to the grey list, and on another black list of the countries most prone to terrorism risks and money laundering.

Government to review anti-terrorism, anti-money laundering laws. Tunisia's Justice Minister said that the government is heading towards reviewing the anti-terrorism and anti-money laundering laws in line with domestic and international legislation.

Ukraine takes into account international recommendations on establishment of specialised anti-corruption court. According to President Poroshenko, Ukraine had taken into account most international recommendations in the latest draft law to create an anti-corruption court. A long-delayed tranche of loans from the International Monetary Fund’s $17.5 billion aid-for-reforms program hinges on parliament approving the bill, but it has not been clear if the latest version of the law guarantees the court’s independence in line with external guidance. Delayed implementation of reforms and backtracking on changes to the energy sector have held up the disbursement of international funding that Ukraine needs to help finance peak payments on its foreign currency-denominated debt in 2018-2020.