TIRANA, Albania (Tirana Times) November 11, 2025.
The criminal charges filed against Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister Belinda Balluku over the Llogara Tunnel project have pushed Albania’s flagship justice reform into uncharted territory, bringing prosecutors closer than ever to the core of Prime Minister Edi Rama’s government.
The Special Prosecution Office Against Corruption and Organized Crime, SPAK, has indicted Balluku on charges of violating equality in public tenders in connection with the €190 million Llogara Tunnel, a 5.99-kilometer strategic road link on the country’s southern coast. Prosecutors allege that tender rules were unlawfully changed after the annulment of an earlier procedure, excluding a lower-priced Albanian bidder and favoring a Turkish company.
According to the case file, SPAK is also investigating the supervision contract, awarded to a consortium led by “Hill International NV” and “Net Group” sh.p.k. Prosecutors say technical criteria for the supervision tender were drafted with input from company representatives in cooperation with former Albanian Road Authority director Evis Berberi, who is accused of using fictitious invoices and hidden ties to beneficiary firms. Together, the alleged scheme in construction and supervision is presented as a single mechanism designed to predetermine winners and misuse public funds.
The investigation goes beyond procurement formalities. Documents cited by prosecutors indicate that foreign supervisors raised early alarms in 2022 over missing steel in concrete, deviations from approved designs and failures to fully observe safety standards, including ventilation and fire protection systems. If confirmed, those findings could turn the case from a suspected corruption affair into one with potential public safety implications.
Balluku, one of the most powerful figures in the cabinet and long seen as a key political and administrative ally of Rama, denies wrongdoing. Unlike other senior officials previously targeted by SPAK, she remains in office and is not subject to any security measure. That decision has fueled accusations of double standards and revived questions over whether the governing Socialist Party is willing to allow the justice reform it championed to operate without political interference.
Opposition leaders have branded the Llogara affair “the gravest corruption scandal” of Socialist rule and are calling for the resignation of both Rama and Balluku. Former prime minister Sali Berisha and other opposition figures argue that a project of this scale, approved and promoted as part of the government’s strategic infrastructure agenda, could not have been manipulated without political cover at the highest level.
Rama has limited himself to saying he does not comment on ongoing investigations. His silence in sharp contrast with his earlier, vocal defenses of former Interior Minister Saimir Tahiri or Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj when they came under scrutiny has been widely read by analysts as a sign of political vulnerability. Some legal and political experts suggest Balluku may have “only executed” a government decision, while the contested choices on the tender’s annulment and redesign may have originated higher up the chain of command.
Government messaging has so far been cautious. Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Elisa Spiropali has repeated that “there are no untouchables,” but has not explained why Balluku continues to serve while other suspects in past SPAK cases were suspended, detained or politically isolated far earlier in the process. The contrast has sharpened perceptions that senior figures closer to the ruling inner circle enjoy greater protection.
The case hits at a delicate moment for Albania’s justice reform, launched under strong European Union and United States backing to dismantle entrenched impunity among political and judicial elites. Since 2013, several high-level officials have faced prosecution or jail including Tahiri, former deputy prime minister Arben Ahmetaj, former ministers Ilir Beqaj and Lefter Koka, and recently Mayor Veliaj but those cases, while significant, were still seen as orbiting the prime minister’s circle rather than penetrating it.
By targeting Balluku, SPAK is now testing whether the “new justice” is prepared to follow evidence into the executive’s command structure, or whether informal red lines remain in place.
In parliamentary terms, the investigation alone is unlikely to topple the government. The Socialists control 83 of 140 seats and can withstand pressure unless there is a major internal split. But politically, the indictment deepens erosion of trust in a leadership already criticized over election standards, concentration of power and previous corruption scandals.
Diplomats and civil society groups are watching closely. A determined, transparent process that treats Balluku like any other defendant could strengthen the credibility of SPAK and reassure EU partners that justice reform is taking root. A stalled case, selective leniency or overt political bargaining, analysts warn, would reinforce the perception that even reformed institutions remain constrained when investigations touch the top of the pyramid.
For now, the Llogara Tunnel once promoted as a symbol of modern infrastructure and tourism development has become a litmus test of whether Albania’s anti-corruption drive can withstand pressure at the highest levels of power. The outcome of the Balluku case will resonate far beyond a single project, shaping public confidence in the rule of law and the real limits of political accountability in Tirana.
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