The number of conflict of interest reports filed in the first quarter of 2026 increased by nearly 2.5 times compared to the same period last year, the National Audit Office announced. Most of them are for municipal councilors, mayors and school principals.
For the period from January 1 to March 31, 2026, the “Conflict of Interest“ Directorate received and processed 246 reports, with 137 of them being filed between February 16 and the end of March. For comparison, for the first quarter of 2025, 100 signals were submitted, and for the entire half of the same year, a total of 182 signals were received and processed.
Since February 2026, with a change in the Law on the National Audit Office, the audit institution also performs part of the activities of the closed Commission for Combating Corruption. Among its new responsibilities are the acceptance and verification of declarations of assets and interests of persons holding public positions, as well as the acceptance and processing of signals from citizens who have data on a conflict of interest for persons holding public positions.
In the first quarter of 2026, a total of 123 decisions were adopted on the admissibility of received signals. In 26 of them, it was decided to initiate proceedings, and in 4 of the proceedings, conflicts of interest were established.
For the period from February 16 to March 31, 2026 alone, the institution adopted a total of 69 decisions in relation to signals of conflict of interest, with proceedings and checks for incompatibility being initiated in 14 of them. Conflicts of interest have already been established in three cases - for two mayors of municipalities and one municipal councilor.
The trend of submitting more signals for municipal councilors and mayors continues, but the number of signals for directors of educational institutions, as well as for representatives of the executive and legislative branches, is increasing.
The Commission for the Confiscation of Illegally Acquired Property (KONPI) has been notified in four cases.
The signals submitted to the National Audit Office, which contain data on other violations, are sent to the relevant competent institutions, such as the Anti-Corruption Agency, the Inspectorates of the Supreme Judicial Council and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, ministries, the National Audit Office, Regional Education Departments, etc.
The data from signals concerning the unlawful expenditure of budget funds are entered into a special register, the information from which serves as the basis for preparing the Audit Program of the National Audit Office for the following year.