Businessman Luan Muça has publicly responded to the conflict with Vasil Bedinaj, the owner of a hotel in Radhimë. In a statement, Muça gives his version of the confrontation, claiming that it concerns a property dispute and that he met with Bedinaj in an attempt to resolve it.
Muça says that a firearm was pointed at him and the family members accompanying him. He also calls on the police to fully investigate and clarify the incident.
Full statement by Luan Muça:
“I have remained silent until now because, given the situation I was in, it was impossible for me to speak, and I believe the public has the right to hear the truth directly from me.
Since 2019, I have decided to undertake an investment in the Palasë area. During this period, I purchased 97,000 m² of land in Palasë from numerous local landowners. During this period, I was forced to purchase most of the land twice.
On 15 July 2021, I applied for and obtained strategic investor status, based on a project designed by the international firm EEA (Emre Arolat Architecture).
In 2022, for part of this area (26,000 m²), I applied for the first-phase construction permit for a five-star hotel under an international brand.
In 2024, the permit was formally issued, and I began construction work on this internationally branded hotel.
Also in 2024, I submitted an application for the second phase of this project.
By chance, through social media, I discovered that a permit had been granted on land that I had purchased and for which investor status had been granted under the EEA Studio master plan. In fact, various units, apartments and villas were already being advertised for sale.
Following this, I contacted the National Territorial Development Agency (AZHT) to obtain further information on the matter. After communicating with them, I was informed that all documents submitted by the parties would be verified and that, until the verification process was completed, the construction permit would not be formally issued.
About an hour later, I received a phone call from Vasil Bedinaj, who asked me not to raise my claims regarding my property with AZHT. During that phone call, we agreed to meet in Orikum, at Mr Bedinaj’s hotel, to discuss the situation. (I first met Mr Bedinaj about a year ago, when he came to the construction site where I am building in Palasë and requested a meeting with me regarding certain claims he had about the property boundary. When I arrived there, Mr Bedinaj was not alone but was accompanied by a large number of armed men.)
So, accompanied by members of my family, I went, at his invitation, to his business premises.
After we met in Orikum and sat down at a table, as soon as I began explaining my claims, Mr Bedinaj escalated the situation by putting forward his own claims while swearing and using offensive language.
Although this is not clearly visible in the CCTV footage that Mr Bedinaj presented to the public, at that moment he called armed men who were positioned at various locations around his premises.
At that point, the situation deteriorated, and I realised that Mr Bedinaj had not invited me there to clarify the matter but rather to create yet another scandal. For that reason, I stood up and left.
As we were leaving Mr Bedinaj’s premises, the men he had called opened fire on us. In light of the above, I call on the State Police to fully investigate this incident and identify all members of the group who fired the shots.
I was very surprised that, during this situation, Mr Bedinaj had the composure and took the time to circulate false reports through all the media outlets over which he had influence, claiming that I had attempted to extort money from him, while also distributing CCTV footage from the angles of his choosing.
In recent days, I have learned that this is not the first time Mr Bedinaj has manipulated public opinion regarding his disputes. He attempted to do the same in my case.
Strangely and paradoxically, the only people who believed this were State Police officers, who detained me for 72 hours on charges of attempting to extort Mr Bedinaj.
I cannot speak about myself, as I have never done so before, because I have always believed that people should be judged by their work and their actions.
I believe the public is familiar with the work, brands and companies we have created both within Albania and abroad.
Modestly, I can say that I am the founder and developer of a conglomerate of companies operating across four continents, including the United States and India, as well as countries such as Italy, Senegal, Tunisia, Egypt and, of course, the Balkans, with a multimillion annual turnover.
In this context, the notion that I would attempt to extort money from a man in shorts who gets into fights every year with some tourist, police officer or beachgoer is a malicious fantasy created by a group of people who believe that by stealing other people’s property, you can make money, portray yourself as an honourable man and call yourself a businessman.
Finally, I am ready to make available to the public and the media every document referred to in this statement.
Luan Muça
Delta Corporation”
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