TIRANA, June  2 /ATA/- By Maela Marini/ Minister of Justice, Ulsi Manja, stated on Friday that during 2022, SPAK has  prioritized investigation of criminal offenses related to the corruption of high officials, focusing mainly on the sector of public funds.

While reporting to the Parliamentary Committee on Laws, Manja spoke about the work done by SPAK and the General Prosecutor’s Office during 2022.

While reporting to the Parliamentary Committee on Laws, Manja spoke about the work done by SPAK and the General Prosecutor’s Office during 2022.

“We encourage the Special Prosecutor’s Office to focus on the fight against organized crime and its assets, despite the significant progress in seizure of ill-gotten proceeds,” he said.

The minister said that the fight against organized crime should be seen from a different perspective, as it has a significant impact on increase of public trust in the justice system.

Regarding the independence and accountability of the prosecutor in the pursuit of criminal prosecution and investigation, Manja emphasized that the control of  prosecutors over the officers of the Judicial Police has stepped up.

“In 2022, the number of proactive investigations has also increased. In the fight against corruption, the General Prosecutor’s Office and SPAK have increased their active role through initiated investigations and by conducting proactive investigations and using special investigation tools for criminal offenses in the field of corruption,” he said.

Manja emphasized that 2022 saw an increase in confiscations imposed by the court on the assets of organized crime, at the request of the prosecutor.

“There are 167 registered proceedings in the field of organized crime. There is no increase compared to 2021, there are only 3 more proceedings,” he said.

Regarding criminal offenses against terrorism, Manja said that there is a decrease in the number of registered cases with 8 cases less.

/sm/