Two days ago, the State Treasury transferred a payment of 331.1 million lek or about 3.6 million euros to the account of the Timak Defence company.
According to the invoice description, the reason for the transaction was the purchase of technical transport vehicles on behalf of Military Unit 4001, a logistics and supply structure of the Armed Forces, which operates under the Support Command.
But this is just the latest payment in an aggressive series of transactions that began 10 months ago. Since then, the state budget has transferred more than 31 million euros in payments to this company’s account for the purchase of anti-drone systems and vehicles. So, the Albanian government is paying Timak Defence 3.1 million euros every month.
This is a bigger business than the Tirana incinerator, in financial terms three times bigger. But where does the money go?
Timak Defence was founded exactly one year ago today, on August 13, 2025, as a public-private partnership. The Albanian government holds 20 percent of the shares through the public company Kayo, while the other 80 percent is owned by the Timak company.
Timak has two owners. Arjeta Puca owns 51 percent of the shares, while 49 percent is held by Israeli with Albanian citizenship Ron Yefet.
Consequently, the shareholding structure of Timak Defence is as follows; the government has 20 percent of the shares, Arjeta Puca has 40.8 percent and Yeffet holds the remaining 39.8 percent.
The billions that came out of nowhere
Until the summer of last year, Timak was a mediocre company, with no connection to the arms business and 100 percent owned by Arjeta Puca. But everything changed in mid-June, when Ms. Puca decided to sell 49 percent of the company’s shares to Ron Yeffet for 49 thousand lekë, or a little more than 500 euros at today’s exchange rate.
It is not known who the godfather of this “marriage” was, but seeing what happened later, it is not too difficult to imagine.
After Yeffet entered as a shareholder in the company, Timak was selected by Kayo to create the joint venture Timak Defence. And billions began to flow furiously, from taxpayers’ pockets to the company’s accounts.
In a way, what has happened is magical. The parent company of Timak Defence, Timak, last year realized only 950 thousand euros in total turnover. But its daughter company Timak Defence is going for around 40 million euros a year. All billed from the budget.
In short, Timak Defense is the classic and purest case of crony capitalism, where the government determines who it will make rich.
Timak Defence has a monopoly on supplying the army with equipment and drones. So the money it sucks from the state budget does not come from public competitions, but is practically a direct privatization of the budget.
But this is a case that probably no one will dare to approach. aSPAK.
A friend for the head
Ron Yeffet is currently being sued in Miami court for fraud by a former energy trader named Mark Faist.
Mr. Faist claims that Yeffet took $8.6 million by deceiving him that the money would be invested in real estate projects in New York and would generate large profits.
But Faist’s lawsuit contains very interesting details, explaining why he fell prey to the fraud he claims.
“Yeffet invited Mr. Faist and his wife on a trip to Paris aboard his private jet. During the trip, the group visited the Palace of Versailles and the Faist couple were introduced to some of Yeffet’s most impressive contacts: the Prime Minister of Albania and the Albanian Ambassador to France and Monaco. These introductions were carefully selected to reinforce Yeffet’s image as a man of extraordinary global influence and great influence in business,” the lawsuit filed by Faist’s lawyer states.
The lawsuit also contains other details about how the gentlemen were received with escorts in Albania. But Mr. Yeffet has not denied for a moment during the ongoing legal process his acquaintance with the Albanian Prime Minister.
After all, who would deny a friendship like this? 3.1 million euros per month./ kapitali.al