58. What sanctions are provided for political finance infractions?

Law on Financing of Political Entities, Article 19, paragraph 8; and Article 21.

19.8.  If the auditors conclude that the Political entity did not fully cooperate the Office shall investigate the auditor’s conclusion of non-cooperation. If the non-cooperation conclusion is confirmed the CEC upon the recommendations of the Office shall issue a decision to deprive the said entity from benefiting from the Fund for Support of Political Parties that is allocated from the Budget of the Republic of Kosovo for the following year.

21.1. The Office shall impose fines in accordance with the provisions of this law, to Political Entities and to its responsible persons, candidates for mayors of municipalities, other independent candidates and any other legal or natural person found in violations of this law and laws and other relevant sub-legal acts.
21.6. Political entities shall be fined from four thousand (4,000) EUR up to forty thousand (40,000) Euros for any of the violations.
21.12. Decisions of the Office on imposing fines are final and enforceable.
21.13. The amount of the fine imposed depends on the gravity and the type of violation.

The Office has the authority to levy fines on political entities, which can range from 4 thousand to 40 thousand euros, depending on the nature and gravity of the violation. Fines may also be imposed on individuals responsible for political entities, mayoral candidates in municipalities, independent candidates, or any other legal or natural person found in breach of the provisions of the law on financial control. Importantly, the imposition of a fine or any other sanction by the Office does not preclude the application of criminal penalties or other consequences.
The funds collected from these fines are transferred to the Budget of the Republic of Kosovo.

Moreover, if political entities do not fully cooperate with the auditors, the Office has the authority to suggest to the Central Election Commission (CEC) to make a decision to withhold the benefits from the Fund for the Support of Political Entities allocated in the following year from the Budget of the Republic of Kosovo for the entity in question.