While refusing to appear in court, the Chairman of the Democratic Party’s Reestablishment Group, Sali Berisha, declared that the ongoing process concerning the former “Partizani” sports complex case “isn’t just about Sali Berisha and his family”. He stated that the process initiated by the Special Anti-Corruption Structure (SPAK) encompasses epochal reforms within the Democratic Party.
During a weekly press conference, Berisha emphasized that “Prime Minister Edi Rama has essentially declared war on the opposition”.
Berisha characterized the process as the most politically charged of the century. He highlighted that it transcends his personal situation, affecting the Democratic Party’s broader institutional reforms and its struggle against political malfeasance.
The decision to employ value letters during the privatization process, prioritizing former owners after the fall of communism, was hailed by Berisha as a great achievement of the democratic governance of the country and according to him should not serve as an argument that he favored anyone or undertook the initiative for corruptive affairs.
Berisha reminded that many former communist countries have used value letters as a mechanism to provide citizens with a stake in the privatization of state-owned enterprises.
Berisha also outlined how the privatization vouchers, another facet of the process, played a role in the distribution of privatized properties and enterprises in the past, helping the persecuted to boy properties and even factories.
Charges against former Prime Minister Sali Berisha and his daughter’s husband, Jamarbër Malltezi were detailed by the Special Prosecution Against Corruption and Organized Crime, following Malltezi’s arrest on the evening of October 21, 2023.
SPAK stated that Berisha had undertaken specific actions as Prime Minister and took concrete actions to adapt legal procedures and sub-legal acts to favor five family owners within the “Partizani” sports complex, where his son-in-law was a direct beneficiary.
Investigators suspect criminal acts of passive and active corruption by high-ranking state officials in collaboration, as well as money laundering connected to criminal activity or organized crime in collaboration, during the privatization of the “Partizani” sports complex.
SPAK emphasized that Berisha actively exerted administrative control as Prime Minister to apply pressure and issued specific orders for the completion of privatization procedures, favoring Malltezi among others.
Additionally, SPAK declared that Berisha actively ensured the availability of various state administrative structures for Malltezi to facilitate the privatization of state property.
Regarding the “Partizani” sports complex case, SPAK arrested Jamarbër Malltezi at Rinas Airport on October 21.
Meanwhile Sali Berisha and Fatmir Bektashi as the contractor in the sports complex, have been prohibited from leaving the country.
The Special Court of First Instance for Corruption and Organized Crime in Tirana issued preventive seizures on various immovable properties of Malltezi, bank accounts, and founding capital shares in various companies.
Malltezi is suspected of passive corruption in collaboration with his father-in-law, Sali Berisha, exploiting his power as Prime Minister to profit from the privatization of lands and sports facilities, changing the zoning from sports to residential areas, substantial gains as an investor from “Homeplan” ltd without actual investment, and illegal gains.
While in collaboration with contractor Fatmir Bektashi, Malltezi is suspected of money laundering by posing as an investor in construction work on apartment buildings without evidence of investment. It includes financial actions, fragmented transactions, or cash transactions to hide the illegal origins and gain more than 5 million euros.
Bektashi is also suspected of active corruption involving high-ranking state officials in collaboration with Malltezi, providing him with substantial unlawful benefits for construction on sports lands.
They are suspected of laundering proceeds of criminal activities, concealing the true origins of Malltezi’s irregular monetary gains and presenting them as legitimate business income.
The 26,000-square-meter “Partizani” sports complex, owned by the military, was replaced within a few years by an apartment complex. Investigators suspect that passive and active corruption by Sali Berisha, Jamarbër Malltezi, and Fatmir Bektashi paved the way for this transformation.
While Berisha has characterized this case as a “pure political attack by Prime Minister Edi Rama”, SPAK has also accused high-ranking officials of the Socialist government.
These include former Deputy Prime Minister Arben Ahmetaj, former and current members of parliament, former ministers and deputy ministers, and former mayors, from whom Prime Minister Edi Rama has distanced himself. He stated that everyone must face justice for the allegations against them, and the Socialist Party doesn’t serve as an advocate’s office for anyone.
