Diploma fraud investigations, Khushi: I did not receive gifts

The former minister of education, Evis Kushi, has reacted to the accusations where it was said that together with the former deputy minister Albana Tole, they took bribes to guarantee the activation and favorable conclusion of the accreditation procedure of the "Wisdom" University College in Tirana .

Through a post on social networks, Kushi justified himself by saying that the Ministry of Education and Sports is not part of the accreditation process of universities or study programs at any step of the process.

She also writes that as the head of the Ministry of Education for the period September 2020 - September 2023, she has never exchanged courtesy gifts for celebration greetings with such symbols.

" Regarding some abuses made by some media during today, on the investigations of the Italian file on frauds with diplomas of the University of Wisdom, I want to clarify that:

In the file there is a paragraph that says:

 "It is worth mentioning that in continuation of the gifts Catalano Lucia and Cianci Savino try to prepare and give symbolic gifts as part of the Christmas party for the ambassador, representatives of the embassy, ​​ministers, deputy. minister, the head of the cabinet, the matriculation office and the accreditation office".

I want to share my position with the public opinion that the Ministry of Education and Sports, as an institution and in my case as the former head of this institution, MAS is not part of the accreditation process of universities or study programs at any step of the process.

Accreditation of educational institutions is done by an independent board of local and foreign experts, chosen through an open competition. As the head of this institution for the period September 2020 - September 2023, even though doubts are raised in the media, I have never exchanged courtesy gifts for celebration greetings with such symbols ," writes Kushi.

Scandal with diplomats

The judicial authorities in Italy have revealed the scandal for the issuance of fake certificates and diplomas by the "Wisdom" University College in Tirana. The media in the neighboring country have published other details, which show how the Albanian officials were corrupted to allow the accreditation of this educational institution.

"Wisdom" University College in Tirana was owned 100% by Albanians, but later it passed to the Italian citizen Savino Cianci, who appointed the citizen Leonardo Catalano as administrator.

Two of the suspects bribed an Albanian government official to "guarantee the activation and favorable conclusion of the institution's accreditation procedure". According to the investigation coordinated by the Prosecutor's Office of Trani in Italy, the file shows the director of ASCAL, Aquila-Shqiponja Telhaj, former minister Evis Kushi and former deputy minister Albana Tole.

For professor Shqiponja Telhaj, the file states that she was bribed with an expensive "Louis Vuitton" bag worth 1,200 euros. During a dinner, the director of the Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education received an expensive gift from the leaders of "Wisdom" College.

"... for the exercise of his functions as the Chairman of the Accreditation Council of the Quality Assurance Agency in Higher Education ASCAL, a governmental body of the Albanian Government appointed directly by the President of the Council of Albania, which corresponds to the activation and completion of favorable to the accreditation procedure of Wisdom University, during a dinner they gave Aquila Telhaj, a public official invested with functions similar to those of the officials of the Ministry of the University, a Louis Vuitton brand women's bag worth 1200.00 euros", it is stated in files of the file of the Italian Prosecutor's Office.

This institution, which in our country acted as an institution of higher education, has been proven to distribute fake diplomas and certificates to Italian citizens who intended to enter the administration. These citizens paid 8,000 euros for fake papers.

 

Likewise, Savino Cianci and Leonardo Catalano, the sole owner and administrator of the "WISDOM" University College in Tirana, are suspected of corrupting the former Minister of Education Evis Kushi and her deputy, Albana Tole.

During an episode, on the eve of Christmas, Savino Cianci and his wife, Lucia Catalano, who presented herself in magazines as the head of the "Wisdom" University College in Tirana, prepared and distributed gifts to the highest managers of the Ministry of Education in Albania.

"Lucia Catalano and Savino Cianci do their best to prepare and deliver gifts for the Christmas holidays to: Pietrangeli (ambassador), Lucia Cuçiarelli and Carlo Intaschini, Evis Kushi, Albana Tole...", states other honors in the documents published by Italian media.

Another episode reported in the investigators' papers concerns a brand new Maserati luxury car. To "clean" the money, Marco Lombardi bought a Maserati Levante on behalf of Cianci and Catalano's Cs Consulting Group srl.