In March 2015 Agron Mustafa, former CEO of Kosovo Telecom (KT), signed a contract with Paykos L.L.C. to distribute and sell prepaid mobile services and products under the Vala brand, primarily electronic top-ups and codes for scratch cards. The agreement aimed to expand Kosovo Telecom's, sales network by establishing 2,000 new sales locations. However, years later, the contract came under scrutiny for allegedly causing over €6.7 million in financial damage to the state-owned company.

According to Telecom documents, Paykos was contractually entitled to a 9.7 per cent sales commission per transaction, a higher rate than in previous agreements. Furthermore, between 2015 and 2017, Mustafa signed additional annexes and agreements that increased the commission rate, leading to significant financial losses for Kosovo Telecom. The most damaging modification occurred in March 2016, when a Memorandum of Understanding raised the commission rate by 18 per cent. By May 2021, the financial loss attributed to this change reached €2.5 million. Another annex allowed Paykos to purchase scratch cards at a 35.4 per cent commission. This high commission was justified by claims that the cards were old stock. However, Telecom argued that the cards had little purchase value and could have been destroyed instead, which would have significantly minimized their losses.

In June 2020, Kosovo Telecom's new management, filed a criminal report alleging that the contract and its annexes harmed the company's finances. This led to an investigation and in May 2023, the Basic Prosecutor’s Office in Priština indicted Agron Mustafa for the criminal offense of 'Concluding a Harmful Contract'. The indictment alleged that, as CEO of Kosovo Telecom, Mustafa knowingly altered the contract terms to benefit Paykos at Telecom's expense, ultimately causing a financial loss of €6,796,732.

The case faced procedural delays. Kosovo's Criminal Procedure Code mandates that an initial hearing must occur within 30 days of an indictment's acceptance, yet Mustafa's first hearing did not take place until January 2024 - eight months later. At this hearing Mustafa pleaded not guilty. His defence team argued that the prosecution lacked evidence and had violated legal procedures by suspending the investigation in 2022 and engaging foreign experts unlawfully.

Despite these objections, , the Basic Court in Pristina confirmed the indictment in March 2024. Mustafa’s defence appealed this decision, but the Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal in August 2024, allowing the trial to proceed. Court sessions resumed in fall 2024 with witness testimonies and evidence review (see here and here).

Separately, the arbitration court ruled in December 2023 that the Paykos must pay Kosovo Telecom €1.4 million, while Telecom was required to pay Paykos €850,000.

Agron Mustafa was also charged in a separate case, but in December 2022, a second-instance court acquitted him and two other former Kosovo Telecom executives of corruption charges.

The case highlights the financial and reputational damage caused by questionable public contracts. The alleged mismanagement of public funds undermined the state-owned operator’s financial stability and eroded trust in public enterprises, which are expected to serve citizens' best interests. Additionally, the prolonged legal proceedings highlight systemic vulnerabilities in Kosovo’s ability to handle corruption cases involving high-level public officials. The mismanagement of public funds underscores the need for stronger oversight of future contracts concluded by public institutions and state-run companies.