Kosovo police shut down Serbian bank branches

"The Kosovo Police, following reports from financial monitoring institutions, such as the Financial Intelligence Unit and the Central Bank of Kosovo, together with the Tax Administration of Kosovo, based on the authorization of the competent prosecutor, is conducting a police operation in six locations of four municipalities in the north of Kosovo, which are the so-called Treasury of the Post office Savings Bank (Banka Postanske Stedionice) and its five other subsidiaries, which have acted illegally in this area of the Republic of Kosovo,” the media quoted a police press release as saying.

It added that the operation was done in coordination with the judiciary and relevant institutions.
"The purpose of the police operation is to establish order and legality, where six units of the so-called illegal Post office Savings Bank, in the north of the country, have been closed with the authorization of the competent prosecutor," the police said.

Senior police spokesman Veton Elshani said that the operation was launched over suspiction of illegal activities.
The KoSSev portal said the bank branches which were closed down were due to pay out pensions and social security payments from the Serbian government.

The Kosovo government banned the use of the Serbian Dinar which was widely circulated in the northern municipalities.