Feim Pulaj, a businessman from Prizren, has been linked by Swiss media to an unbuilt hotel in a Swiss resort that is under investigation over the disappearance of millions of euros.As reported by the Swiss daily Blick, Pulaj is suspected of being one of the investors in the hotel, whose legal owners are not known. Pulaj is under investigation in Kosovo as a suspect in a multimillion-euro fraud case.
According to the outlet, Feim Pulaj, a Kosovo citizen from Prizren, lived in Switzerland for a long period and operated there as a businessman. The Prosecutor’s Office in Prizren accuses him of tax evasion during the construction of the luxury Lakeside hotel in Vërmicë, Kosovo, through the issuance of fictitious invoices.Pulaj is suspected of issuing at least 23 invoices totaling more than 18 million euros to create an artificial money cycle.
Investigations reveal that the hotel is part of the Ruvercap complex. Pension funds, cantonal banks and other institutional investors had invested hundreds of millions in the funds of Ruvercap Investment AG. The money has disappeared. The Zurich Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that the Misani case is part of an ongoing criminal investigation.The Ruvercap case is expected to be widely discussed in the coming months. The Zurich Prosecutor’s Office has announced that it will soon file charges. Currently, proceedings are underway against five individuals suspected of being connected to the companies involved.The accusations include embezzlement, breach of trust and forgery.“During the investigation, a request for legal assistance was submitted to Serbia,” confirmed the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Zug.
Among the accused is a man of Balkan origin who was arrested in Germany. Although he was extradited to Switzerland, he has since been released.What Pulaj is accused of and his accusations against ATKAt the beginning of 2024, the Prosecutor’s Office raised suspicions that Pulaj had used 23 allegedly fictitious invoices worth around 18 million euros to request a VAT refund of 2.8 million euros.
For this reason, he and 12 officials of the Kosovo Tax Administration (ATK) were arrested and pre-trial detention was requested for them. The prosecution file stated that his actions had also caused direct damage to the state budget, although this has not yet been proven.
Shortly afterward, Pulaj himself made a claim. He publicly stated that ATK chiefs and inspectors had demanded a 900,000-euro bribe — around 30% of the refund amount — in order to resolve his case without consequences.
In an interview with Insajderi, he said he had been threatened with the words:“You will spend 4–5 years going around prosecutors’ offices and courts if you don’t pay this amount.”The name mentioned in this affair was also that of Nijazi Asllani, Deputy Director of ATK, who, not alone, had previously been reported criminally for abuse of office, although earlier cases had been closed by the prosecution without a final outcome.
