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'Leads to arbitration': Why isn't Tirana's 'incinerator' seized according to Dumani

Politiko 2023-03-31 22:07:55

'Leads to arbitration': Why isn't Tirana's

The head of the Special Prosecutor's Office, Altin Dumani, made it clear on Friday in a meeting with journalists that the institution he leads has not yet taken action to seize the Tirana incinerator due to a possible arbitration lawsuit - an argument similar to this one. of the government that continues to pay the concessionaire company.

Asked by BIRN why the Prosecutor's Office did not act for Tirana in the same way as with the concession projects in Elbasan and Fier, Dumani answered that: "there are companies after companies and the real owner must be found, because it leads to arbitration".

The head of SPAK also stated that the investigations have shown that the ownership of the Tirana incinerator company is company after company and therefore more time is needed to find the connections. Also, he admitted that one of the companies prosecuted had shares in the Tirana incinerator project, but added that for the others it has not yet been possible to prove links to illegality and that the prosecutor must first ascertain the illegalities and then take responsibility.

However, Dumani said that it is up to the prosecutor of the case to make decisions regarding the progress of the investigation, while adding that investigative actions are being carried out with great intensity.

The concession contract for the construction of the Tirana incinerator was signed by the Albanian government in 2017 with the company Integrated Energy BV SPV, after similar projects previously built in Elbasan and Fier. But almost 6 years after the signing of the contract, the incinerator has not yet been built.

Integrated Energy BV SPV is owned by the company Geogenix BV registered in the Netherlands, while its ownership is still unclear.

In a report of the Ministry of Finance regarding the progress of the concession contracts published in November 2022, reports on the value of the investments made in the controversial concession of the urban waste field of Tirana were missing, although it was evident that the Municipality of Tirana and other municipalities have performed 100% of the contractual obligation for payments in favor of the companies.

I pyetur mbi hetimet në lidhje me ish-zv.kryeministrin Arben Ahmetaj, Dumani tha se kishin gjetur prova në kontrollet e kryera në banesat e personave të lidhur me të, por çdo gjë ishte në verifikim e sipër. Ai sqaroi se janë dërguar letërporosi në disa shtete, disa prej të cilëve kanë kthyer përgjigje, ndërsa letërporositë e tjera janë ende në proces.

The incinerator scandal started in 2014 with a government decision to declare an environmental emergency, as a justification for granting the Elbasan incinerator concession. The same group of companies then received a concession for the Fier and Tirana incinerators. The first two concessions have been confiscated by the prosecutors, while the investigations for the Tirana incinerator, the largest of the three, officially continue. Two dozen officials and businessmen have been arrested or wanted for the case, including former Minister of Environment Lefter Koka and former Socialist MP Alqi Blako. Reporter.al