The First Instance Special Court against Corruption and Organized Crime upheld the former deputy Interior minister’s house arrest sentence and turned down a request for less severe punishment.
The former government official, Rovena Voda, is being investigated by SPAK for allegedly exerting illicit influence toward public functionaries – something Voda has rejected – in hiring with Florida Beu.
Euronews Albania read the prosecution’s folder detailing a timeline on all the activities that led to the criminal prosecution of the former deputy interior minister, as well as two other citizens, while another official from the Public Administration Department is also believed to be involved.
Euronews Albania journalist Eni Ferhati said that the Prosecution introduced evidence, including ground footage and phone recordings dating February 2020, where Voda is seen on three separate occasions meeting with Florida Beu, to whom she had promised a job in the public administration, while Majlinda Hasani appears to have served mainly as a mediator between the two.
Audio recordings reveal that the defendants offered the deputy Interior Minister €1,000 bribe, but from their dialogue, it appears that she was not satisfied with the sum as she expected double the amount in order to get the job done.
Two days after, Beu and Hasani met Voda at the Interior Ministry and started collecting the necessary paperwork in order to apply as an expert near the Interior, Justice, and Finance ministries, in a total of 11 state institutions.
Voda also received a gift, a Samsung smartphone believed worth €600, as she didn’t like Iphones – claims that are supported by video footage according to SPAK.
Their last meeting took place at the Port of Durres. Voda was allegedly taken there by her driver and the ministerial car. That is the spot where the Prosecution accuses Voda of having accepted a crate of fish as a gift from Beu, whose family owns a fishing boat.
The port’s entry and exit data show that the ministerial car remained at the port for 1 minute, only to leave shortly after with the crate of fish.
It results that Beu did not win any of the eleven posts she applied for in the public administration.
According to Criminal Code, the charges raised by SPAK can land from a 6-month prison sentence up to 3 years for those offering the bribe, and 4 years to those accepting it.
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