ASK: Initiated 293 procedures related to the use of public resources in the election campaign

The Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (ASK) has initiated 293 procedures related to the use of public resources in the election campaign, of which 123 were aimed at controlling monthly spending limits and 101 related to employment, the institution announced.

It is stated that the procedures were initiated after the KAS controlled 20.164 submitted documents of the authorities, which contain analytical cards on social benefits and budget spending, travel orders and the like.

After checking the documentation, the agency sent 604 warnings to taxpayers, and gave 49 opinions on the requests of authorities, as well as 576 legal advice and clarifications.

"Out of 293 procedures, the most (123) were initiated with the aim of controlling monthly spending limits, followed by employment (101)," the statement said.

It is stated that the Agency carried out 11 controls of authorities in the field, and published all the minutes from those field controls on its website.

As they explained, the minutes are published after all the controls have been carried out and after the initiated processes have been completed.

The Agency said that the control of ten political subjects, that is, the documentation of all their activities during the election campaign, is in progress.

"The control of all 706 contributors to political entities is also underway. "Based on submitted invoices and contracts, as well as performed controls, 168 activities of political entities were recorded, i.e. expenses in the amount of EUR 777.221," the announcement says.

ASK, as they said, published all price lists for media advertising that arrived within the legal deadline, as well as those that arrived after the legal deadline, so that the interested public, and above all political subjects, would have full insight into that documentation.

"The agency is monitoring and will initiate misdemeanor proceedings against law-abiding parties that it finds have provided media advertising services to political subjects, but have not submitted the price list to this body within the deadline or at all," the institution said.

According to them, the Agency acted on all 118 complaints that were submitted to it during the campaign due to suspicions of violation of the Law, and in the shortest possible time in all cases where the conditions were met, it made first-instance decisions.

"So far, 51 first-instance decisions have been made, and in other cases, the proceedings are ongoing," the announcement says.

KAS, as stated, through the full transparency of its work and the publication of received documents on its website, has enabled the interested public to have an insight into the documents submitted to that body, which relate to the financing of the election campaign and the use of public resources.

"The data that are made public about this through the media, in large part, are precisely the data that the Agency has made public," the statement added.