TIRANA, Aug. 17, 2023 – In a significant move that follows years of public accusations on ruling party officials, Albania’s Special Structure Against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) has made several arrests connected to a contentious hospital sterilization concession granted eight years ago.
Among those arrested were former Deputy Minister of Health Klodian Rrjepaj and business owner Ilir Rrapaj, who are facing charges of abuse of duty, forgery, and fraud. SPAK issued eight arrest warrants in total, including all officials that were members of the tender approval commission.
Former Finance Minister Shkëlqim Cani has been summoned by SPAK to shed light on his hesitant stance before the contract’s approval. He is considered to possess pertinent knowledge of the case.
The 10-year concession, valued at nearly 100 million euros, was awarded to SaniService, a consortium led by Ilir Rrapaj’s company Investital LLC, in collaboration with Italian firms Servizi Italia, Tecnosanimed and U.Jet S.r.l.
The Public-Private Partnership contract primarily involved sterilization of surgical instruments.
Former Health Minister Ilir Beqaj, a high level ruling party official, who had frequent interactions with businessman Rrapaj, provided testimony to SPAK regarding the sterilization matter. Beqaj has dismissed suspicions of corrupt favoritism in the contract, but he has been the focus of the opposition’s accusations on the matter.
The opposition as a whole had been asking SPAK to look into the case, urging a thorough investigation, but some opposition representatives said today’s arrests did not go high enough, accusing Beqaj and Prime Minister Edi Rama of being tied directly to the case.
Back in 2016, the Prosecutor’s Office declared that the sterilization contract lacked criminal elements and closed the case. However, after three years, the newly established SPAK reinitiated the investigation following a report from the Hashtag Movement, a citizen group that has recently become a political party.
Endri Shabani, the movement’s head, expressed support for SPAK’s ongoing inquiry, emphasizing that “the Albanian people have been waiting for justice for far too long.”
The sterilization concession had been marred by suspicions, controversies, and revelations from the outset. Rrapaj, who founded his company Investal LLC in Pristina, Kosovo, while residing in Italy’s Umbria region, led a small construction firm.
Further suspicions arose about the contract’s value, which was based on a specific number of surgical operations, potentially inflating costs for the state budget.
The winning company was entrusted with a modern sterilization center built at the Mother Teresa Hospital, financed by the government. However, the facility was never operational.
