Wrote: Etrit Rexhepi
A video material has been published with the caption "Skripta" claiming that the case of cooperation between the companies of Martin Berishaj, Kosovo's ambassador to Croatia, and the company "GEN-I Belgrade", investigated by the Slovenian prosecution, has been handed over to the Serbian prosecution with the justification that Berishaj possesses Serbian citizenship.
This claim was published on July 10 on the TikTok platform by an account named "newsilir", through a video which bears the logo of "Klan Kosova" television.
But what is the truth?
Hibrid.info has found that the Slovenian prosecution has transferred the case to the Serbian one, after assessing that there is a suspicion of a criminal offense of abuse of official position, which is alleged to have been committed by a Serbian citizen. However, at no point is it confirmed that the person in question is Martin Berishaj.
In the audio of this content published on TikTok, it is stated that the Slovenian prosecutor's office has completed the investigation regarding the cooperation between Ambassador Berishaj's companies and "GEN-I Belgrade", and has transferred the case to the Serbian prosecutor's office, as it is suspected of abuse of position by a Serbian citizen. However, the audio does not mention that this citizen is Berishaj.
Hibrid.info has found the authentic video published on the official channel of "Klan Kosova" television on Youtube (see here).
The video, published on July 9, lasts 2 minutes and 40 seconds, unlike the version published on TikTok, which does not exceed 1 minute and is titled "Martin Berishaj's case passes into the hands of the Serbian Prosecution Office".
This material from "Klan Kosova" also confirms the conclusion of the investigation into suspicious money transfers from the company "GEN-I Belgrade" to two companies of Martin Berishaj, by the Slovenian prosecution and the decision to transfer the case to the Serbian authorities. The report emphasizes that the decision was made after it is suspected that the criminal offense of abuse of position was committed by a Serbian citizen and within the territory of Serbia, but does not confirm that the person in question is Berishaj.
Since the news presented in the video and the information contained in it are based on reporting by Slovenian state television, hibrid.info has verified the official website of this medium and found the relevant article (see here).
After translation, it was understood that the article published on this issue has the title "Gen-i transfers to Martin Berishaj: The prosecution has established suspicion of abuse of position".
The content states that, in this case, suspicion of abuse of position in economic activity by a Serbian citizen who is in Serbia is being investigated. Because Serbia does not extradite its citizens and the crime is suspected to have been committed on its territory, the case has been handed over to the Serbian authorities for criminal prosecution. No further details are given due to the investigation and protection of personal data.
Summarized and translated statement of the prosecution, extracted from the article:
"In the case in question, the suspicion of committing the criminal offense of abuse of position or trust in economic activity, pursuant to Article 240 of the Criminal Code KZ-1, is being investigated. After the completion of the preliminary investigative procedure, a suspicion has emerged that the criminal offense was committed by a person who is a citizen of Serbia and is located on the territory of the Republic of Serbia. Since the Republic of Serbia does not extradite its citizens and since there is a suspicion that the criminal offense was committed on the territory of the Republic of Serbia, where the prohibited consequence also occurred and where all relevant evidence is located, it was necessary to forward the case to the competent authorities of the Republic of Serbia with a request for criminal liability. We cannot provide you with more information due to the interests of the investigation and the protection of personal data."
However, this content does not directly confirm that Martin Berishaj has Serbian citizenship. In fact, the article reports that he is being investigated in Kosovo on suspicion of money laundering (see here) and it is shown that Berishaj also has Slovenian citizenship (see here).
Further, the article states that Martin Berishaj is being investigated for suspicions of abuse of position or trust in economic activity, specifically for suspicious transfers of over 2 million euros that the company "GEN-I Belgrade" made to two of his companies named MB Consulting (one in Kosovo and one in Montenegro), during the time when the "GEN-I" group was led by the current Prime Minister of Slovenia, Robert Golob.
Analyze:
The claim that the case in which Martin Berishaj, Kosovo's ambassador to Croatia, is being investigated, has been transferred to the Serbian prosecution because he is a Serbian citizen, not confirmed
The Slovenian prosecution says the crime is suspected of being committed by a Serbian citizen on Serbian territory, without identifying the suspect.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses the content as "Fact Manipulation" and "Unverified Content".
Reasoning:
“Factual manipulation” is a rating given to informational content that uses facts known to be accurate but interprets them in a distorted manner. These reports typically use accurate information to draw incorrect conclusions or claims, thereby misleading consumers of media content about the actual meaning of the facts presented.
The "Unverified" rating is given to those informative contents that do not provide sufficient information to confirm the claims made in the report, and which could not be verified due to certain circumstances (speed, lack of sources) during the publication of the content.