The Special Court for Organized Crime and Corruption in Albania handed down a verdict on Monday, sentencing Joana Duro, the General Secretary of the Ministry of Health, to a four-year prison term.

Duro had been arrested in June alongside another official and two representatives from a private company, all charged with corruption. Due to a streamlined legal process, her original sentence of 4 years was reduced to 2 years and 8 months in prison, coupled with a five-year prohibition on holding any public office.

The arrest unfolded on June 2, just a day after the Ministry of Health announced the winning bidder for the tender overseeing the reconstruction of multiple healthcare centers in Tirana and Durrës.

Joana Duro was apprehended in the act, according to the Special Prosecutor’s Office, at her office. Inside, authorities discovered 330,000 Albanian lek (slightly over 3,000 euros), an amount roughly equivalent to half of the tender’s value. Prosecutors contended that these funds were provided to her as a bribe.

Vladimir Topi, the proprietor of the winning company, had reportedly given the money to his company’s engineer, Silvi Shehu, who in turn, had established contact with a ministry official, Laura Sheto, who subsequently delivered the funds to Duro.

Sheto and the representatives from the private company received a reduced sentence of 8 months in prison, down from the initially proposed 1 year, as a result of the expedited trial. Their charges revolved around allegations of active corruption.