Former health minister Ferid Agani and former Health Ministry secretary general Gani Shabani were indicted in one of Kosovo's most prominent corruption cases, facing charges of abusing their positions to divert public funds toward two private hospitals. Following years of legal proceedings and a retrial, Agani and Shabani were acquitted due to insufficient evidence to substantiate the claims against them.

An alleged corruption scheme involving government officials and medical professionals came to light through an investigation launched by the state prosecutor’s office in June 2014. By October 2014, police had detained several doctors and healthcare workers suspected of redirecting patients from the public healthcare system to undergo medical treatment at private hospitals, allegedly in exchange for cash kickbacks. The treatments under scrutiny primarily involved cardiac care, and the alleged misuse of public funds allocated for the provision of stents – devices used in cardiology – led to the case being named Stenta. The investigation initially targeted 116 individuals and 4 legal entities, however for 56 of these individuals, the investigation was dismissed, as they did not meet the legal requirements to be included in this indictment. Meanwhile, despite being a suspect in the investigation, Ferid Agani was re-appointed as minister of the environment.

On 15 June 2016, the special prosecutor's office of Kosovo filed an indictment against 60 individuals and 4 legal entities, which included doctors, high-ranking health officials, employees and shareholders from private hospitals. The indictment alleged that the suspects had directed patients from public healthcare institutions to private hospitals and diverted public funds to fully cover treatment costs at these private facilities. This scheme reportedly benefitted the private hospitals by millions of euros at the expense of the state. Former health minister Ferid Agani and former secretary general of the Ministry of Health Gani Shabani were the two most prominent suspects named in the indictment. Following the indictment, Agani resigned from his ministerial post.

According to the indictment, amended on 18 April 2019, there was substantial evidence suggesting that, between April 2012 and December 2015, Ferid Agani and Gani Shabani, in cooperation with two other suspects, committed the criminal offence of abuse of official position or authority. They allegedly redirected government funds to two private hospitals, bypassing public procurement laws, to arrange for patient treatments at these facilities. The indictment claims that they authorised payments, using public funds, to cover the full costs of patient treatments in these hospitals, exceeding the legal coverage limit of 70%, applicable to certain cases.

Specifically, Agani and Shabani concluded cooperation agreements between the Ministry of Health and two private hospitals, allocating funds for patient treatments at these facilities. Shabani, acting in his official capacity, signed these agreements with International Medicine Hospital (IMH) and Intermed EDA, without conducting the tender procedures required by public procurement laws. Meanwhile, Agani, as minister of health, failed to prevent the signing of the agreements and influenced Shabani to proceed with them.

Through these actions, they enabled patients to receive Ministry of Health funded treatment in private institutions.

Furthermore, according to the accusations, after concluding the agreements, they continued to misuse their official position. The two suspects deliberately failed to provide invasive cardiology equipment to the University Clinical Center of Kosovo (KKUK). Instead, in collaboration with suspects Ali Hocaoglu and Borche Petrovski, they directed public funds to the amount of €4.5 million to the private hospitals. The prosecution claims these arrangements violated Kosovo’s procurement laws and caused significant financial loss to the public budget.

The trial in the Stenta case began in October 2016. During the proceedings, Again and Shabani pleaded not guilty to the charges. On 26 February 2018, due to the high number of defendants, the Stenta case was split into three parts. Stenta 1 addressed Agani and Shabani’s actions, Stenta 2 targeted more than 40 doctors accused of accepting bribes to refer patients to private hospitals, while Stenta 3 involved private hospital owners and healthcare providers.

On 24 April 2019, the basic court in Pristina issued the first-instance verdict in the Stenta 1 case. Ferid Agani and Gani Shabani were found guilty of abusing their official positions to unlawfully benefit the private hospitals through public fund payments. Agani was sentenced to two years and six months in prison, while Shabani was sentenced to two years in prison.

Then, on 24 December 2019, the guilty verdict was annulled by the court of appeal and the case was returned to a first-instance court for retrial. The court of appeal concluded that the first-instance ruling contained violations of the criminal procedure provisions, and that the factual situation was established incompletely and incorrectly.

The retrial in the Stenta 1 case began in October 2021. During the proceedings, Agani denied any violation of the public procurement law, stating that the cooperation agreements signed with private hospitals were aimed at regulating relations between the Ministry of Health and the private sector.

On 29 July 2022, prosecutor Florie Shamolli revised the indictment, stating that subsidies given to the private hospitals for treatments were not subject to procurement law, and adjusted the estimated damages from €4.5 million to €11,450. This revision marked a significant shift in the scope of the alleged financial misconduct.

On 01 August 2022, the basic court in Pristina acquitted Ferid Agani and Gani Shabani due to insufficient evidence. On 12 June 2023, the court of appeal confirmed the acquittal and rejected the prosecution’s appeal as unfounded. The appellate court found no procedural violations in the first-instance verdict and noted that the prosecution did not establish the defendants' specific responsibilities nor demonstrate how they exceeded their powers.

The Stenta 1 case highlights several challenges faced by Kosovo in prosecuting high-level corruption, such as prolonged legal procedures, delays and poorly constructed indictments. This case underscores the slow pace of justice in Kosovo's courts as well as the ongoing issues of accountability, transparency and ethical management in public service. Concerns about transparency, resource allocation and integrity in the healthcare system persist, along with the lack of effective penalties for government officials who have faced legal proceedings.