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SPAK, still looking for money from Tirana's 'ghost incinerator'

Politiko 2025-01-20 19:48:54

The head of the Special Prosecution Office, Altin Dumani, said during a communication with journalists on Monday that the Special Prosecution Office was continuing its investigations to find the beneficiaries of public money from the controversial Tirana incinerator contract. Dumani also stated that some of the beneficiaries had been discovered last year, although the restraining orders had not been executed.

Since the Tirana incinerator was placed under seizure in August 2023, an administrator has been appointed by the state and payments are made on behalf of the Agency for the Administration of Seized and Confiscated Assets. Dumani stated, among other things, that part of the investigation is also the manner in which the Tirana incinerator contract was implemented.

The concession project for the Tirana incinerator has cost Albanian taxpayers more than 100 million euros, although the work remained half-completed and the incinerator was never built. In December 2023, the Special Court imposed security measures on 15 officials and businessmen involved in the affair, including former Minister of Environment Lefter Koka, former Socialist MP Alqi Bllako and the Director of Public Works at the Municipality of Tirana, Taulant Tusha, who were arrested.

In August 2023, SPAK ordered the seizure of the Tirana incinerator company, arguing that preliminary investigations had revealed the ultimate owners of the masked chain in the Netherlands, businessmen Klodian Zoto and Mirel Mërtiri, who were internationally wanted for active corruption and money laundering for the other two incinerators, Elbasan and Fier.

In July 2024, SPAK announced the issuance of eight more arrest warrants for laundering around 20 million euros through fictitious invoices from the Tiarana incinerator, but none of the suspects were arrested.

Arrest warrants were issued for Dashamir Ymeraj, the owner of a fictitious company involved in the tax evasion scheme; Denisa Tollkuçin, one of the directors of “Integrated Energy BV SPV” sh.pk; Endrit Habilaj, director of a media company; Renardo Nallbani, Ilir Dedja, administrator of several companies in Switzerland and the foreign citizens involved in the affair, Giusepe Ciaffaglione, Marc Lapat and Michael Druijts.

The prosecution explained then that the persons involved are considered part of a structured criminal group, which, according to the findings of the investigation, resulted in having laundered 20 million euros. The money laundering was carried out continuously starting from the moment of the conclusion of the concession contract, using various mechanisms and forms set up by the organizers of the group, with participants Albanian and foreign citizens, who acted in cooperation in the special form of the structured criminal group. At the head of the group, SPAK identified controversial businessmen Mirel Mërtiri and Klodian Zoto, both wanted and convicted by the Special Court in the cases of the construction of the incinerators of Fier and Elbasan.

The incinerator scandal began in 2014 with a government decision to declare an environmental emergency as justification for granting the Elbasan incinerator concession. The same group of companies later received concessions for the Fier and Tirana incinerators. Two dozen officials and businessmen have been arrested or wanted in connection with the cases. Reporter.al