Who are the Israeli businessmen who pay for Edi Rama's private jet trips?

Earlier this year, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama traveled to Israel on a private plane, accompanied by his wife and a close delegation, to participate in the International Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism.

In addition to meetings with Israeli leaders, part of the visit was a speech that Edi Rama gave in the Israeli Parliament, otherwise known as the Knesset.

"I am still not entirely sure that I am actually standing on the floor beneath my feet, the floor from which the most honored guests of this State have addressed this Chamber. I must say that I find it difficult to believe that I deserve such extraordinary appreciation," the Albanian Prime Minister opened his speech.

In Albania, official government announcements, as well as media outlets close to it, heralded Rama's speech as historic.

"And if Mossad has not fully informed you, I am informing you that my knees are shaking," Rama told Israeli MPs.

But Edi Rama's frequent visits to Israel are fueled by secret lobbying, as well as occult financing. While the government was vigorously promoting the great honor bestowed upon Edi Rama in Israel, the investigative network BIRN discovered that the Albanian prime minister traveled to Israel on a private jet seized by former cryptocurrency billionaire Sam Bankman Fried, an American entrepreneur convicted of fraud and money laundering.

BIRN officially asked the prime minister who paid for the luxury plane he flew to Jerusalem on. But to no avail.

“The trip to Israel also had understandable special security elements and transportation was part of these elements,” he said, through a spokeswoman. “The expenses were not covered by the Albanian government,” Rama replied, without specifying who had covered them.

The Israeli government also did not respond to a request for comment from BIRN on whether it was the one that paid for the Albanian prime minister's flight to Tel Aviv.

But now the secret has been revealed. Kapitali has learned that the super-luxury Bombardier 500 jet, with which Edi Rama traveled to Israel and returned to Albania, was paid for by Tzachi Nachmias, an Israeli businessman whose wealth is estimated at 1.5 billion euros.

The mere fact that the Albanian prime minister accepts funding from private foreign actors is enough to be a major scandal that should set the entire state in motion. But in this case, there is even more.

Tzachi Nachmias is an Israeli tycoon with interests in information technology, data center construction, and real estate. In some of his companies, he is a partner with Sani Sanilevich, a name not unknown in Albania.

Mr. Sanilevitch is Albania's honorary consul in Israel and a close friend of Edi Rama, to the point that the Albanian prime minister has been invited to his private farm in Israel. In parallel, Sanilevitch is rapidly building a large network of business interests in Albania.

He is a shareholder in the first digital bank in Albania. Similarly, Israeli media have reported that Sanilevich is planning to build a hospital in Albania, a data center, and a seaside resort. 

It is not known whether Sanilevich's investments in Albania include his partner, who paid for the Albanian prime minister's plane. But in Israel, Sanilevich and Nachmias do billions of dollars in business together.

Sanilevich Real Estate and Enterprises, controlled by Sanilevich, and Effie Properties, controlled by Nachmias, each own 50% of a large, income-generating real estate project in Neve Neeman Park in Hod Hasharon. This is a project for an office building worth about 175 million euros, which can also be expanded.

Edi Rama's occult lobbying in Israel is gradually coming to light, as media in Israel and Albania reveal details step by step, from the private visits the prime minister made to his friends in Israel, to the dubious funding he receives from them.

But these financings do not come without cost for Albanians. Since the same businessmen are making large investments in Albania. Kapitali.al