Maldivian parliament launches Kosovo bribe investigation
The National Security Committee of the Maldivian parliament has launched an investigation into allegations of a bribe taken by the country's government officials to recognize Kosovo as an independent state.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Thursday, March 19, 2009
According to the Minivan News website, the Committee, which will try to dermine whether an act of corruption was committed in this case, comprises parliament speaker Mohamed Shihab and several other members of that body.
During the investigation, the employees of the Maldivian Foeign Ministry will be questioned and official documentation examined.
According to the writing of the media in that island country situated in the Indian Ocean, , the government officials allegedly received a two million dollar bribe from controversial Kosovo Albanian businessman Behgjet Pacolli, leader of the New Kosovo Alliance (AKR), to recognize Kosovo independence, which made the Maldivian president launch the investigation.
Pacolli was in Egypt last week, where a conference of the Arab League was held, "to lobby for independence".
He told Pristina-based Albanian language daily Express that "three countries should recognize Kosovo by the end of March, one of them being Qatar".
