Updated

Kosovo prosecutors have brought abuse of office charges against an ethnic Serb government minister and two associates.

They said in a statement Wednesday that Minister for Communities and Return Dalibor Jevtic and two associates allegedly authorized the use of a public vehicle by a private company, a radio station in a Serb-populated area of the country.

The charge carries a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment.

The defendants have not commented on the charges.

A Kosovo cabinet official says Prime Minister Isa Mustafa always has released from duty ministers who are under criminal investigation "to let justice do its job independently."

The official requested anonymity because the case is under investigation.