TIRANA, Feb. 6, 2024 – In an lengthy television interview from exile in Switzerland, Albania’s former deputy prime minister, Arben Ahmetaj, has made startling accusations of massive corruption at the top of the country’s ruling Socialist Party, involving misuse of public funds in waste management and other taxpayer-funded projects.
The interview marks the first time that detailed allegations of schemes to siphon millions of euros in taxpayer funds are coming from within the top circle of Albania’s dominant party in power for over a decade, with Ahmetaj pointing the finger directly at Prime Minister Edi Rama and Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj.
Ahmetaj, who played key roles in SP’s government, including as finance and economy minister, is currently wanted by Albanian justice system and faces charges related to the same schemes which he now says he was made a scapegoat for by Rama.
Ahmetaj also indicated he had given evidence on his allegations to foreign governments. He confirmed the veracity of accusations previously made by Albania’s opposition involving hundreds of millions of euros of public funds going to build three waste incinerators, including a large one in Tirana, which is being paid for, but has never been built.
Ahmetaj’s explosive claims, made during a recent televised interview with Syri TV, brought questions not only to the integrity of top officials but also the independence and efficacy of the country’s judicial system, particularly SPAK (Special Prosecution Against Organized Crime and Corruption).
He accused SPAK’s prosecutors of operating under conflicting interests, as he painted a picture of himself as “a sacrificial lamb,” chosen by Prime Minister Rama to bear the brunt of legal scrutiny while larger issues of corruption remained unaddressed.
Ahmetaj said the lives of him and his family have been threatened several times, and that he is not in Albania because he does not believe he would get a fair trial. He said he was ready to go to trial in a Western country instead.
-Ahmetaj points finger to top SP leaders-
During the interview, Ahmetaj presented a comprehensive case in which he directly implicated Prime Minister Edi Rama and Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj in corrupt practices, particularly in relation to the waste incinerator scandal. He argued that Rama wielded significant power in pushing forward controversial projects, including the incinerators, despite objections raised by Ahmetaj and others on grounds of financial feasibility.
Ahmetaj also accused Prime Minister Rama of nepotism in the construction of another project, EKO Park, suggesting preferential treatment for family members in the company that stood to benefit, including Rama’s own stepdaughter, another charge that had previously been made by Albania’s main opposition Democratic Party.
Ahmetaj also raised serious doubts about the impartiality of SPAK, alleging direct interference from Prime Minister Rama in its operations. He highlighted instances where SPAK failed to investigate high-profile cases adequately, focusing instead on trivial matters like household expenses.
He said that the Socialist governance started out well but has deeply deteriorated over the years, starting with what he said was a tolerance of massive cannabis cultivation by the government, a claim that is again the first time heard coming from someone who worked within the Socialist ruling elite.
The unfolding events following Ahmetaj’s revelations will undoubtedly shape public perception and demand swift action from authorities. The credibility of SPAK, in particular, hangs in the balance as it faces mounting pressure to address allegations of political interference and selective prosecution, analysts have pointed out.
-If full truth come out, people will be ‘horrified’, Ahmetaj says-
Ahmetaj’s narrative offers a critical perspective on the workings of the Albanian government and the justice system.
Ahmetaj repeatedly stated in the interview that if the case of the Tirana incinerator was fully investigated, Albanians would be “horrified”, as he suggested the very pinnacle of power in Albania is involved.
Ahmetaj and his lawyers point out that he is not being investigated by SPAK as accused of corruption in the incinerator affair. SPAK’s charges relate to investigation into his unjustified wealth.
As independent experts in Albania point out, if the wealth of every member of government, high official or member of parliament is thoroughly investigated, they would likely all end up in jail under similar charges.
Independent political analysts also argue that it is not the case that Ahmetaj did not profit from the state. He is widely perceived to be a “thief of state resources,” however, he is bringing “proof of one of the largest corruption scandals in Albania, where the prime minister himself is involved.”
Armand Shkullaku, an independent analyst, compares Ahmetaj’s case to that of Tommaso Buscetta, an Italian mobster who turned witness against Italy’s mafia and linked Italian political elites before being sent to witness protection in the United States.
“He left to save his own skin and became a big asset to prosecutors,” Shkullaku told Albanian media, pointing out to Ahmetaj not as an innocent man, but as someone who can repent and become a witness to fully investigate corruption in Albania.
-Media corrupted too, Ahmetaj says-
Directly accusing government-friendly Albanian media of corruption, Ahmetaj said he gave the interview for Syri TV, a media with strong ties to Albania’s main opposition Democratic Party, because as far as he knew it was one of very TV stations not to receive funding from the people behind the incinerator project.
Commenting on the interview, prominent journalist Enver Robelli said Ahmetaj raised serious allegations against Rama, Veliaj and journalists close to them for illegal financial gains from the incinerator schemes.
“With the exchange of accusations and counter-accusations, it is impossible to determine the guilty party and whether there is a single culprit for this mega-scandal. But one thing is certain: in the case of the Tirana incinerator alone, 130 million euros from the state budget have been spent. And the incinerator has not been built at all,” Robelli told Albanian media. “Whose pockets ended up with 130 million euros? Without a thorough investigation of this case, the discovery of the culprits, and their punishment, the new justice system and SPAK risk becoming nothing more than a fairy tale. If the Tirana case is investigated properly, not only will the government collapse, but the state itself will also be undermined.”
Another top commentator and government critic, Fatos Lubonja, said the allegations will likely cause new rifts in the ruling majority. According to him, the problem lies with SPAK, which has not gone to the root of the investigation.
“The scandals are much bigger than that of Ahmetaj. The incinerators themselves are the scandal. The problem for me is SPAK. It has not gone to the root of the problem and will not go to the root. The root of the problem is the system itself and Edi Rama,” Lubonja told Albanian media.
-Controversial ties to Russian funds made-
Additionally, Ahmetaj alleged improper relationships between Rama, Veliaj and a Kosovo-born Swiss businessman Blerim Hoxha that Ahmentaj said holds a significant stake in the incinerator project.
Former opposition MP Belind Këlliçi, who has been one of the most prolific investigators of the incinerator’s affair, noted that Ahmetaj’s revelation shows that suspect “Russian money” was involved in the affair too.
“Blerim Hoxha enters this story after May 2022 through his company and owns 40% of the shares in the Tirana incinerator, and the actions that have been carried out there that go all the way to fiscal heaven are amazing. Icare Group is a company that includes three individuals who are Marigona Metaj, Blerin Hoxha and Christof Dagbord and the latter are involved in the ARMO refinery and sent it for scrap. Metaj and Dagbord own companies Tosk Energy and Bylis Energy which are financed by Russian companies blacklisted by the US. Tirana’s incinerator is financed by a Russian company, so Russian money comes in,” Kelliçi told Albanian media.
-Ahmetaj confirms ties to controversial businessman-
For the first time, Ahmetaj admitted his friendship with Mirel Mërtiri, the businessman that, according to prosecutors, was behind the three waste treatment plants in Elbasan, Fier and Tirana, but whom Ahmetaj said he had not done any favors for and who has been sidelined by “the real owners” of the shell companies behind the incinerators, which he indicated are the politicians that approved them. Ahmetaj added that he had nothing to do with those procedures.
The Elbasan and Fier incinerators have since been confiscated by SPAK, while the Tirana one is not yet even under construction, even though millions of euros are being paid to it due to contractual obligations by Albanian municipalities, including the two largest, Tirana and Durres.
Ahmetaj said he considered businessman Mërtiri a “victim” in relation to the Tirana incinerator.
“He is no longer the owner, they have taken it from him, they have ruined him to take over his business,” Ahmetaj said, referring to some changes in the ownership of the company Integrated Energy, which took over the right to build the incinerator.
-Asylum in Switzerland-
Albania’s parliament, in July 2023, was asked to authorize his arrest, and Ahmetaj has been out of the country since.
He implied that he was not living in hiding in the country where he currently resides and that he had been granted official status by the authorities of that country, likely asylum rights.
“Since Jan. 1, I have been living in a house owned by the municipality of the city where I officially reside,” said the former deputy prime minister.
Media with close ties to the Albanian government have since released his home address in Lugano, Switzerland.
He denied having fled to avoid arrest. “I did not flee. Nobody allowed me to leave, and nobody helped me. When I learned that my immunity was sought, it was July 8 or 9, I was out of Albania on vacation. I refused to return because everything was politically motivated,” Ahmetaj said.
-Ahmetaj’s fall from grace took months-
Ahmetaj is a prominent Albanian political figure who had for years served in top positions close to Prime Minister Rama, notably as Minister of Finance and Minister of Reconstruction following the 2019 earthquake.
Recently losing his mandate as a Socialist member of parliament, Ahmetaj faces charges of corruption, non-declaration of assets and money laundering by SPAK.
Before that he was sidelined by Rama, step by step. First kicked out of government and then out of party leadership.
Prosecutors say they have revealed close ties with two businessmen — Klodian Zoto and Mërtiri — who were originally awarded the state’s waste treatment concessions in Elbasan, Fier and Tirana.
SPAK says Ahmetaj influenced the concession procedures, a charge he denied in the interview.
