Parliament approves amendments to law on police personnel vetting. Parliament approved the amendments proposed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs on the law on the vetting in the Ministry’s subordinate bodies. According to the Minister of Internal Affairs, the amendments were designed to produce a speedier and more resolute process, while also reducing the latter’s financial costs.

Chair of SP Parliamentary Group calls for stricter rules on political parties’ finances to avoid ‘suspicious funding’. Socialist Party Parliamentary Group Chair called for amendments to the law on political parties to avoid what he said was the suspicious funding received by the Democratic Party by Russian sources, amounting to over $1 million. Moreover he called on Tirana prosecutors to fully shed light into this affair. In addition, he called for the harshening of criminal sanctions on the crimes against police officers.

Albania made little progress but on the right path toward thwarting money laundering and financial crimes in 2018, according to U.S. State Department’s 2019 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report. The Report’s Volume II on Money Laundering and Financial Crimes says the Government of Albania made no significant progress toward thwarting money laundering and financial crimes in 2018: “Albania remains vulnerable to money laundering due to corruption, growing organized crime networks, and weak legal and government institutions. Recent justice reforms, vetting of judges and prosecutors for corruption and ties to organized crime, and the creation of a police task force targeting organized crime activities have created a positive trajectory for Albania to address money laundering and financial crimes”.

PACE monitors welcome the launch of reforms and call for concrete results. “The Armenian authorities are acutely aware of the extremely high expectations of the population for change. It is therefore important that the reforms now being formulated lead to concrete and tangible results,” said the co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for the monitoring of Armenia, Yuliya Lovochkina (Ukraine, SOC) and Andrej Šircelj (Slovenia, EPP/CD), following a visit to Yerevan from 12 to 14 March 2019. “We welcome the many major reforms being prepared, concerning the independence of the judiciary, the adoption of a new criminal policy and the creation of institutions specifically dedicated to fighting corruption and discrimination, and equally welcome the stated intention to develop these policies in an inclusive manner,” they said.

Code of Conduct for officials involved in government procurement approved. The document approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on 19 March 2019 aims to prevent corruption and regulate conflict of interest situations in the process of public procurement. Commitment to the rule of law, loyalty, honesty, impartiality, public trust, confidentiality, professionalism and personal responsibility and cultural behaviour are described as the standards of behaviour required for officials involved in public procurement.

Financial Monitoring Service continues series of trainings for reporting institutions. The Financial Monitoring Service (FMS) continued capacity building activities for reporting institutions as part of its annual training plan. On 5-7 March, training sessions on XSD and XML-based reporting formats were carried out for compliance officers of the banks. The trainings provided implementation guidance to the reporting entities in preparation and submission of reports to the FMS.

Belarus and Azerbaijan to step up cooperation in fight against crime. Chairman of the Belarusian Investigative Committee and Azerbaijan's Prosecutor General signed a cooperation agreement. The agreement defines the main areas of cooperation between the two agencies in the fight against crime, including organised crime, terrorism and corruption. The parties also agreed on conducting training and professional development of personnel dealing with pre-trial investigations and research in the mentioned areas.

IMF publishes a Selected Issues Paper on Bulgaria. The paper published on 22 March 2019 highlights key governance challenges and corresponding reforms. These relate to the fight against corruption, the judiciary, fiscal governance including public procurement and state owned enterprises’ (SOE) governance, and anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT). The paper found that despite many reforms since EU accession, public perception of weak judicial independence and widespread corruption has changed little. Based on experience-based indicators, corruption appears to have improved throughout the course of the EU accession and shortly after, but deteriorated after 2010 and remained high.

Deputy leader of the ruling party in Bulgaria quits Parliament over property scandal. Tsvetan Tsvetanov, deputy leader of the ruling party in Bulgaria, quit the parliament in Sofia on 27 March after a media investigation revealed he had bought a luxury flat for a fraction of its normal price. The scandal, now referred to in the media as “ApartmentGate”, emerged as the result of an investigation by the newly created branch of Radio Free Europe in Sofia and the anti-graft watchdog Anti-corruption Fund. “I have nothing to be ashamed of,” Tsvetanov said, adding that he was only leaving the parliament in solidarity with the other GERB ministers who had “done nothing wrong, but took moral responsibility”.

The Government of Georgia has adopted its foreign policy strategy for 2019-2022, which covers a wide range of issues that the country aims to address in the next four years. Strategy represents a qualitatively new and highly legitimate national document as it has been prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in close consultation with Georgian diplomatic missions abroad, government structures and representatives of Parliament and civil society.

Georgia in U.S. Narcotics Control Strategy Report. The U.S. State Department’s 2019 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report says that bulk cash smuggling and money laundering are highly likely in Georgia. The document covers the developments of 2018 and provides an overview of drug control and anti-money laundering efforts undertaken by several dozen countries across the world, including Georgia.

Georgia and Eurojust sign cooperation agreement in criminal matters. The document provides for quick and efficient exchange of information and evidence between Georgia, EU Member States, and third States that have also concluded a cooperation agreement with Eurojust.

Kosovo* Law Institute: corruption remains unpunished in the country. A report from the Kosovo* Law Institute has concluded that during the last three years, no senior official was punished regarding involvement in corruption. According to the report, the scale of non-punishment of corruption is worrying. Corruption at the senior level remains a serious problem. British Ambassador in Kosovo* claimed that despite all investments from International Community, such a high percentage of non-punishment of senior officials involved in corruption is troubling.

Asset declaration process for senior public officials has begun. Regular asset declaration processes for senior public officials began on 1 March 2019. In accordance with the law, public officials are required to submit their asset declarations to the Anti-Corruption Agency by 31 March. The asset declaration is mandatory for all senior public officials, with the exception of those who took office after 1 January of the ongoing year. Failure to declare or false declaration of assets by senior public officials constitutes a criminal offense sanctioned by the provisions of the Criminal Code.

State Department: Kosovo* still faces corruption issues in governmental structures. In the annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices issued by the US Department of State, it is emphasized that Kosovo* continues to face corruption in government structures. The report notes a number of problems during 2018, including threats and violence against journalists and minority members of law enforcement, as well as the return of persons who meet the refugee standard in the countries of origin. The Report stated: "in some cases the government took steps to punish law enforcement officials or other institutions who had committed violations. However, civil servants, members of the opposition, civil society and the media remain convinced that government officials are involved in corruption without the fear of being punished in accordance with the law.”

Justice Department repatriates forfeited funds to the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic. The U.S. Department of Justice repatriated stolen assets to the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic arising from the corruption and theft of government funds by the prior regime of Kurmanbek Bakiyev and his son Maxim Bakiyev, as announced on 1 March 2019. So far, approximately $4.5 million of the funds have been collected and are approved for repatriation of the $6 million ordered to be forfeited will be repatriated. These funds will be deposited in the account of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic. In a joint statement by the Kyrgyz Republic and the U.S. State Department, the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic confirms that the repatriated assets will be used for the benefit of the Kyrgyz people, with a focus on social projects and anti-corruption and transparency.

Moldova ranks 83th out of 126 countries in the Rule of Law Index. The World Justice Project published the new Rule of Law Index, where countries are measured against eight factors, including corruption and criminal justice. The Republic of Moldova received a very low score for corruption, which is reported to be widespread in the Parliament, Government and Judiciary. In general, the ranking did not change from 2018.

Integrity Council approves the annual activity report of the National Integrity Authority. The Head of the National Integrity Authority presented the annual activity report to the Integrity Council. After an internal discussion and online public consultations, the report was approved by the members of the Integrity Council, commending its quality. Consequently, the document will be presented to the Parliament.

Businessman sent to court for money laundering. The former manager of the gas stations network “Tirex-Petrol” was sent to court to face money laundering charges. Allegedly, when buying shares of another company in the same sector, he laundered proceeds coming from illegal activities. The defendant pleaded guilty and refused any connection with the money laundering case of the former Member of Parliament, Veaceslav Platon.

Corruption: a law to protect whistleblower public servants. The government announces a law for the protection of public servants who report corruption and another one to revise the legal framework for asset declaration. The Code of Criminal Procedure already provides for "protective mechanisms applying to citizens in general, but this law contains a provision that specifically applies to civil servants", the minister argued. Because of their position, this category of whistleblowers is in "direct contact" with illegal situations, especially in "public procurement", he explained.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission (CNAC) is expected to be at the centre of the work of the Government Council as it will be discussing the implementation of the prerogatives of this body for monitoring the national anti-corruption strategy. Active since November 2017, the Commission will have to take stock of its work approximately one month after Morocco's rating has improved at the international level.

North Macedonian court jails 16 former government officials over 2017 protests. A North Macedonian court has sentenced 16 people to prison over their role in the violent protests and the invasion of the country’s parliament in 2017. Among those sentenced was the former interior minister and former director of the Office For Public Security Mr Mitko Cavkov, who was sentenced to 18 years in prison for “terrorist endangerment of the constitutional order and security.” The others, including police officers, members of civil organisations and citizens, were sentenced between 7 and 15 years in prison each. The sentences came after the violence that broke out in Parliament in 2017 when about 200 protesters poured into the building in response to the election of a new speaker, an ethnic Albanian Talat Xhaferi.

Romania's president calls referendum to back anti-graft reform. On 28 March, President Klaus Iohannis called a national referendum for 26 May, seeking to thwart a drive by Romania’s ruling Social Democrats (PSD) to weaken anti-graft legislation. Thousands of Romanians protested across the country last month after the PSD government passed an emergency decree that critics said chipped away at prosecutors’ independence in one of the European Union’s most corrupt states.

Approved without public debate, the decree was the latest in a slew of legislative and personnel changes by the PSD since they took power two years ago that have raised EU and U.S. concern for the rule of law in Romania. “The PSD continues the assault on justice since coming to power,” the centrist Iohannis told reporters on 28 March.

Romania’s Justice Ministry promotes new changes to justice laws. On 22 March, the Justice Ministry sent to the Superior Council of Magistracy for reviewing a list of amendments to the Criminal Code, to the related procedures (Law 135/2010) as well as amendments to law 78/2000 on corruption offenses.

One of the amendments to Law 135/2010 gives Social Democrats (PSD) leader Liviu Dragnea the chance to appeal the case in which he received a two-year suspended prison sentence, which is final. Specifically, one of the amendments provides that cases judged by five judge-panels (set up in the past under irregular procedures, the Constitutional Court decided) can be appealed even if the final sentence was issued and the case was closed - an option that is not possible at this time.

EU Commission, Parliament Criticize Romania for Backsliding on Rule of Law. The European Commission has criticized Romania for backsliding on the rule of law and warned Bucharest to treat fairly Laura Kovesi, the country's former anti-corruption chief who is a front-runner to become the EU's first-ever anti-fraud prosecutor.

Foreign investors worsened the assessment of the business climate in Russia. According to the international communications agency FleishmanHillard Vanguard and the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the number of foreign investors, who positively evaluate the business climate in Russia, decreased 3 times in 2018, from 33% to 10%. The share of investors who did not notice any changes was 40%. At the same time, 55% of respondents negatively assessed the Russian entrepreneurial climate. This is twice as much as in 2017 (22%). More than 100 companies from the Fortune 500 list participated in the survey. Among the problems that businessmen encounter in Russia, foreign investors named corruption (about 60%), lack of qualified personnel (40%), tax administration (40% vs. 20% in 2017) and the quality of public administration (20% against 1% in 2017 year).

State Duma deputy Vadim Belousov was detained for a bribe of three billion rubles (42 million Euros). According to investigators, in the period from 2010 to 2014, Belousov, together with the former governor of the Chelyabinsk region, received a bribe from the head of a holding (unspecified) for providing patronage. As a result, the holding’s organisations won auctions in the field of road maintenance, and persons controlled by bribe givers were appointed to the posts of directors of state-owned enterprises. Nevertheless, the court decided to refuse the petition of the investigator to arrest the deputy.

The prospects for combating corruption in Russia were studied by the Foundation for the Protection of National Values (FPNV). According to the results of the survey conducted by FPNV, 37% of adult Russians are convinced that corruption can be eradicated. The greatest confidence was shown by respondents who rated the level of corruption in the country as medium (the proportion of positive responses within this group was 43%), the younger generation (44%), in particular, young people with higher education (50%). Citizens whose family income allows them to freely purchase food, clothing and household appliances, but not enough to make large purchases, such as buying a car (43%), demonstrated a high conviction of the possibility of an end to corruption. About 30% of respondents believe that the political leadership wants to overcome corruption, but is unable to do so. 31% believe that the authorities can, but do not want to eradicate corruption. Another 17% believe that representatives of the political establishment cannot and do not want to put an end to this problem.

Tunisia removed from the European Union’s proposed “grey list” of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions. The Minister of Finance, Ridha Chalghoum, welcomed Tunisia's withdrawal from the EU's "grey list”. He said that "this withdrawal reflects the commitment of the Tunisian government and its serious work to rectify the situation", underlining "the efforts made to also remove the country from the FATF list of countries highly exposed to money laundering and terrorist financing".

National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) calls for amendment of Law of Ukraine “On High Anti-Corruption Court”. According to NABU, there’s an urgent need to amend the Law of Ukraine “On the High Anti-Corruption Court.” Such an amendment would concern the provision which stipulates that the appeals against sentences of the first-instance courts made before the establishment of the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) not be considered in the Appeal Chamber of the HACC. Instead, they are to be considered by appeal courts of general jurisdiction. According to NABU, this provision strips the prosecution and the defence the right to have decisions reviewed by an independent judicial body in proceedings that have been investigated by the NABU over the past three years.

Ukraine’s High Council of Justice approves candidates for High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC). Motions were submitted to the President by the High Council of Justice for the appointment of a total of 38 persons as HACC judges on 18 and 28 March. The President has 30 days from the time of submission to file a respective decree.

International partners ask Ukraine to postpone review of illicit enrichment provision. The IMF, the U.S. Ambassador and the Head of the EU Delegation in Ukraine sent a letter to the Parliamentary Committee on Law Enforcement asking it to postpone review of 13 draft laws on criminal liability for illicit enrichment, citing the need to improve all the initiatives registered in the Parliament.