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The Regions This Week
March 17, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 6
Southeast Europe Moldovan prosecutors indicted four former
central bank officials. The four are suspected of helping to launder $22bn through Moldova’s sec- ond largest bank Moldinconbank.
Bosnia & Herzegovina will not be allowed to participate in Eurovision this year due to pub- lic broadcaster BHRT’s outstanding debts to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The finan- cial situation of BHRT had been deteriorating for years.
The best bid for a 25-year concession to oper- ate Serbia’s largest airport will be revealed by the end of August. The tender for the Aerodrom Nikola Tesla (ANT) concession attracted 27 com- panies from countries including China, France, Russia and Turkey.
Mothers in Montenegro have gone on hunger strike in protest against the government’s deci- sion to cut benefits for mothers of three or more children. The Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) introduced generous benefits for mothers of three or more children ahead of the 2016 general elec- tion, but these were later slashed.
Russia and Turkey will create a joint investment fund to which each country will commit $500mn. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and Turkiye Wealth Fund (TWF) inked the agreement in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who was on a visit to Moscow.
Fugitive Romanian businessman and MP Sebas- tian Ghita has reportedly been located in Serbia, three months after he was last seen. Ghita, who is being investigated in connection to several cor- ruption scandals, is a close friend of former PM Viktor Ponta.
Moldova’s Agriculture Minister Eduard Grama has been arrested on the orders of National Anticorruption Centre (CNA) prosecutors. Grama
is suspected of taking bribes in relation to a lease contract.
Dutch investments in Turkey are not at risk from the recent diplomatic row between the two coun- tries, according to Turkish EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik. However, Ankara has threatened the Netherlands, one of the top investors in Turkey, with economic sanctions as tensions escalated.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama appointed four new ministers in a mini-reshuffle. The move was intended to ease tensions with the opposition Democratic Party, which is threatening to boycott Albania’s June general election, but opposition leaders said it was insufficient to address their concerns.
The US department of state included Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Serbia in its list of major money-laundering countries. Financial in- stitutions from the three countries have allegedly been involved in currency transactions involving significant proceeds from drug trafficking.
The US corporation Sensata Technologies opened its largest global testing facility in Bulgaria. The NYSE-listed company is one of the world’s leading providers of sensing, electrical protection, control and power management solutions.
Montenegro’s government signed a deal with Greece’s Energean Oil & Gas on a concession for offshore oil and gas exploration. This is the sec- ond offshore exploration contract after the agree- ment signed with Eni and Novatek in February last year.
The International Court of Justice dismissed
Bosnia’s appeal against a 2007 judgment in a genocide case against Serbia. The appeal was filed at the request of Bakir Izetbegovic, the Bosniak member of the tripartite presidency, but was not approved by the other two presidents.