Belinda Balluku is being investigated for three cases by SPAK, here are the charges against the former deputy prime minister and how many years in prison she risks.
Renowned lawyer Adriana Kalaja has issued strong accusations against former deputy prime minister Belinda Balluku, confirming that she is being investigated by the Special Prosecution Office (SPAK) in three major corruption cases: the “Bankers” affair, the “Albcontrol” scandal and the issue of “Roads” public tenders and construction permits. While she was invited to a television studio, Ms. Kalaja denounced that the Special Prosecution Office is repeatedly violating the 6-month legal deadlines for the investigation, delaying the procedures to pave the way for her amnesty in court.
According to the lawyer, by requalifying and adding criminal offenses related to the control of 10 billion euros in tenders and real estate, the former senior official risks a record sentence of up to 35 years in prison. Below we are reflecting parts of the interview with lawyer Kalaja, while recalling that recently, dramatic new developments have aggravated the legal positions of the former Minister of Transport and Energy, Belinda Balluku. Last week, the Special Prosecution found that Belinda Balluku predetermined the fate of all the tenders of the Grand Ring Road in Tirana.
Specifically, on Friday, July 31, 2026, SPAK officially communicated the status of the defendant, former Deputy Prime Minister and former Minister of Infrastructure, Belinda Balluku, for the tenders of the remaining 6 lots, after she had previously been charged for lot no. 4 of the Ring Road and the Llogara Tunnel. With this decision, Balluku is now charged with violating equality in a total of 8 tender procedures, with a total value exceeding 600 million euros. Although she was notified to appear at SPAK at around 10:00, where a group of protesting youth were waiting for her, Balluku appeared with her lawyer at around 14:00.
In addition to the new charges, Balluku was also informed of the extension of the investigation by 3 months, the same as her two former subordinates, Gentian Gjyli and Erald Elezi. Initially, Belinda Balluku was taken as a defendant on October 31, 2025 only for the Llogarija tunnel, a tender worth 190 million euros. SPAK then announced that it was officially accusing the then minister for the 20 million euro tender for lot 4 of the Grand Ring Road, while the investigation into this entire major project continued.
For the seven tender procedures of the Grand Ring Road, SPAK has conversations between Belinda Balluku and her subordinates, found mainly from the phone of the head of the ARRSH Ervis Berberi. SPAK says in the file that the evidence has shown that Belinda Balluku, being in the capacity of Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, although formally delegating powers to her subordinates, personally followed the tender procedures, from the preparatory phase, submission and evaluation of offers, and until the moment of signing the contract with the winning economic operators. Meanwhile, the investigation for corruption and money laundering continues, related to two tenders worth over 1 million euros at the time when Balluku was the General Director of “Albcontrol”. SPAK says that the tenders were given in violation to a construction company, and Balluku took a bribe of a villa in Dhërmi worth 145 thousand euros, which has been seized by decision of the GJKKO.
Excerpt from the interview:
Kalaja: First of all, thank you for the invitation, I feel very appreciated that I come at the end of the season, in fact a fantastic season for all of television, but especially for your show that I have been truly honored to be a part of at every moment. Meanwhile, I hope that Mr. Braho’s tent… will not be planted on Olta Xhaçka’s beach, because he has it, and she had a lot of problems because I don’t know where he claims to be from, from the mountains or from the plains.
And the other thing is that, in fact, the problem for me consists more in these umbrellas that they leave open or take with them to open at a certain moment, because the day will come when there will be no umbrella to cover them from the sun, from the rain, from the storm, which awaits very soon not only the entire majority, but also certain SPAK prosecutors themselves for the actions they have committed in violation of the law and the constitution.
I have denounced it some time ago, that in the information that I have, and also from the statement that I made before SPAK, regarding the Bankers case, a case that was actually initially denounced by Plugu, where I received information that not only is this case to be commended, it is moving forward at a rapid pace. On the other hand, I understood that against Mrs. Balluku or the defendant Balluku, that in fact these do not deserve the word madam, they were being investigated in three directions.
The first direction is where the defendant was declared, the other issue is the Bankers issue, and a very important issue that I also have information about that is being investigated in depth is the Albcontrol issue. So, the issue where Belinda Balluku was the manager at Albcontrol. I think this is an attempt just like for Erion Veliaj and I will explain why I have this opinion.
Journalist: It fell today without touching Rama.
Kalaja: Yes. That is, to touch all the evil elements of Belinda Balluku…
Journalist: The individual.
Kalaja: First, without going to Rama, because the construction permits are being investigated, we will go to Rama. If many other tenders are being investigated, we will go to Rama. So the same strategy has been chosen with Erion Veliaj, where according to the information I have, the property is also being investigated. Now, it is said that inspection orders have been issued for 4 objects. Now the question that we, all Albanian citizens, should ask, regardless of which side we are on, is how can 4 out of 300 apartments be selected? Because SPAK should explain to us once and for all, is it true that there are 300 apartments in the name of Belinda Balluku? Because if we do a simple, honorable calculation, with only 1 million euros of tender, a tender given in Albcontrol in 2014…
Journalist: Former Anta.
Kalaja: …former Anta, Belinda Balluku has benefited from a villa worth 146 thousand euros, huh? Which is hidden in the name of X and Y so that we don’t have to deal with specific names. Meanwhile, meanwhile, during the time she was head of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, she tendered 10 billion euros. So it was the ministry with the largest budget, or 67% of the budget of all of Albania.
Now how much does the account fall with 10 billion euros of tenders? This is the minimalist account that SPAK should make by investigating the wealth, but above all by following the money. I think that SPAK is not doing it and I have my reservations because we do not have extensive information. The honorable law Flavio, but also in the interest of citizens, states that at the moment a criminal report is registered in the name of the person…
Journalist: The subject.
Kalaja: …of the subject, then SPAK has 6 months. Not 6 months and 7 days, not 7 months or 10 months as SPAK did. So if Belinda Balluku was notified or received the status of defendant on November 30, 2025, then according to the law on April 30, on April 30 I calculated, the file should have gone to court. Either for dismissal, or for trial. These are the alternatives, they are not in the choice of the prosecutor or the judge. It says within 6 months the file should be closed, it dismisses it, it passes it for trial, it is a matter of SPAK’s decision-making.
Meanwhile, meanwhile, we have an extension of the deadlines on July 31st. It will be announced if it was done two days ago. Now the question I have: is there an attempt to violate the procedure in order to amnesty him to come to court due to violations of the procedure? Because even the SPAK prosecutors themselves have seen that with the evidence they have, he cannot be amnestied? I expect this answer from SPAK, but we will leave it to time.
In my view, there is a serious violation of procedure because as I said, if they were before the criminal offense where it is not proven that they were consumed by Belinda Balluku, then the case could go for a break. While the SPAK prosecutors themselves have stated that there is a requalification of criminal offenses, there is an increase in criminal offenses, they emphasized that these criminal offenses could also lead to her being sentenced to 35 years.