Kosovo's anti-corruption tsar, appointed in early 2010 to root out endemic graft in the young Balkan state, has been arrested on suspicion of corruption.
Nazmi Mustafi, the head of the Anti-Corruption Task Force, was arrested with another person last night on the orders of prosecutors from the European Union's police and justice mission in Kosovo.
Organised crime, endemic corruption and bouts of ethnic violence are deterring investors and stifling development in Kosovo which declared independence from Serbia in 2008, after backing from Western nations.
The Kosovo daily Zeri reported that Mustafi was suspected of sending associates to elicit bribes from people under investigation by his Task Force.
"This is a blow for the prosecution system in Kosovo," state prosecutor Ismet Kabashi said in a statement.
"I have information that there are other cases involving the same issue, with the same prosecutor, so I publicly call on all those with evidence or information in this case to help us and come forward," he said.
Without naming Mustafi, the EU mission, known as EULEX, said two people had been arrested on suspicion of abuse of official position and trading in influence.