Albania and Francesco Becchetti have a history of international trials. The battle between them took place at the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
After a long battle in the courts, Albania lost the court case against the Italian businessman Francesco Becchetti, regarding the compensation he sought for the closure of Agon Channel Tv in 2015, which means that Albania will now have to pay him the amount of 110 million euros to Becchetti.
The Albanian government hints that the battle started with Becchetti in 2015 is still open, refusing to accept defeat. Becchetti, on the other hand, always responds to the government whenever he is mentioned, and the last case was on April 14, 2023.
“You are fully aware that everything you have done these 10 years against me is illegal, but what surprises me is the wave of returning the truth that is hitting you like a tsunami” – writes Francesco Beccheti.
Despite the effort to keep away this issue with a large weight in the budget, the data show that Becchetti himself is fulfilling his mission, in countries like Belgium and Austria, by blocking about 50 million euros of assets that are in Albania’s account.
“There are data that ALBCONTROL’s accounts have been seized. There is information from official sources confirmed that an Austrian studio in Vienna has blocked 25 million euros that are in favor of the Albanian state. We must bear in mind that the assets that are blocked serve the commercial purposes of the Albanian state. So, in other words, if Becchet doesn’t prefer to choose Albania to directly execute his decision, he will go to other countries that are members of the Convention, and will block and seize assets in the value that is intended to fulfill the obligation as a decision measure. The decision is 110 million euros in principal, but there are also interests that increase every day and Becchet’s battle to collect this money will not be easy” – said Fatos Lazimi, former member of the Court of Arbitration, ICC Paris in a interview for the show Money, on Euronews Albania
