* Prosecutor indicts Kosovo's PTK chief for damaging firm
* Kosovo customs chief separately charged with wrongdoing
* Cases investigated by EU police and justice mission
(Adds indictment against customs chief)
By Fatos Bytyci
PRISTINA, June 8 (Reuters) - EU prosecutors in Kosovo have indicted seven people including the heads of state-owned telecom and customs for damaging their companies and abusing official positions, an EU mission official said on Wednesday.
The head of Kosovo's state-owned telecom firm, PTK, and four others were charged with damaging the company just days after Kosovo shortlisted two bidders for a controlling stake in PTK.
PTK's chief executive, Shyqyri Haxha, and its board chairman, Rexhe Gjonbalaj, were accused of "entering into harmful contracts, abusing official position and misuse of economic authorisations," said Blerim Krasniqi, a spokesman of the European Union police and justice mission, or EULEX.
Three others who charged were from a local company.
The main charges focus on a license issued to Kosovan private company Dardafon to operate a "mobile virtual network" using the network and technology of PTK to offer its services.
Local media said the deal had damaged the public telecom firm.
In a statement, PTK said it was "surprised" by the charges against company officials and added that it would cooperate with the prosecutors of the EULEX mission, which has some executive powers in cases of war crimes, corruption and organised crime.
Later in the day the mission said that it has also indicted Naim Huruglica, general director of Kosovo customs, and Lulzim Rafuna, another high customs official, during an investigation regarding a large importation of tobacco by four Kosovo tobacco companies in December 2008.
"This importation took place immediately prior to an increase of the excise duty which came into effect in January 2009. Such activity is deemed unlawful," Krasniqi added.
These charges are another blow for the government of Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci after the International Monetary Fund said last week that it had ended a 108 million euro stand-by arrangement with Kosovo, the poorest country in Europe.
The IMF acted after the government deviated from its agreed programme by increasing public sector wages this year.
High levels of crime and corruption, a small market of 2 million people and ethnic tensions between the majority Albanians and minority ethnic Serbs have kept foreign investors away since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008.
Last July police arrested Central Bank governor Hashim Rexhepi, accused by the prosecution office of "abusing office, accepting bribes, tax evasion, trading in influence and money laundering."
He was sacked three months later and is awaiting trial.
PTK is the most profitable company in Kosovo, a country with around 1.2 million mobile and 100,000 landline subscribers.
Deutsche Telekom <DTEGn.DE>, acting through its partner in Croatia, and Telekom Austria <TELA.VI> are in the running to buy a 75 percent stake in PTK. The next tender is yet to be announced.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
