The Deputy Auditor General meets the UN Office representative to talk about the importance of the cooperation on the fight against fraud and corruption

The Deputy Auditor General, Bezad Halilaj, and the Acting Director of the Anti-Fraud and Legal Affairs Department, Natyra Kasumaj Ahmeti, received in a meeting the Regional Advisor (Anti-corruption) in the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Mr  Constantine Palicarsky on Friday.

The Deputy Auditor General briefed the guest about the mandate of the Kosovo National Audit Office and its structure, particularly focusing on the way the office operates in regard to the fight against corruption and potential fraud as well as the cooperation at the inter-institutional level with the justice bodies. Mr Halilaj pointed out that, despite the fact that the NAO remit is not primarily on the fight against fraud and corruption in general – according to the international standards, the applicable laws and the professional ethics of the auditor – the issue of handling possible fraud and corruption occupies a very important place in the operations of NAO.

The Regional Advisor (Anti-corruption) in the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Mr Constantine Palicarsky talked about the importance and purpose of the cooperation between the Kosovo National Audit Office and the UN Office as well as the participation in regional events on the cooperation between the Supreme Audit Institutions and other Anti-corruption Institutions.

This cooperation includes the organisation of joint events, such as seminars or other activities dedicated to the Kosovo authorities aimed at building the capacities and increasing the cooperation between the institutions the objective of which is to fight corruption in Kosovo.

Such events aim at bringing together representatives of the law enforcement institutions, such as the Stare Prosecution Office and Anti-Corruption Agency as well as international experts and other anti-corruption bodies, to discuss on how to strengthen cooperation and coordination between the anti-corruption bodies and the National Audit Office.

The senior advisor, Mr Palicarsky, expressed the willingness of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on finding various forms of assisting the National Audit Office in strengthening its capacities and competences to tackle and address matters of fraud and corruption in the public sector.  Both parties agreed to further align the activities on finding the forms of cooperation in this area.