The former number two of Tirana Mortgage became a concrete oligarch within a few years and this metamorphosis of Shkëlzen Betaj has no reasonable explanation other than the one hidden behind the closed files in SPAK’s drawers.
Betaj used to sign off on property transfers throughout the region, influence the most sensitive real estate deals, and move documents that changed hands without leaving a trace.
Now this man signs contracts for towers worth hundreds of millions of euros, the capital of his companies is 100 thousand lekë and the financial balance sheets are completely missing. The question that no one dares to ask out loud in the government offices is simple: with what money are all these projects financed, when their source is nowhere to be found in any official document?
Illegal betting, call centers, drug trafficking and tenders/ Who is behind it?
Shkelzen Betaj/
The authorities have started verifications against the properties and files registered in the ZVRPP Tirana during Betaj’s mandate and his business partners are now coming under the scrutiny of investigators. His towers continue to rise one after another, the cement is poured without stopping and the numerous files that connect this network with illegal betting, drug trafficking, fraudulent call centers and manipulated tenders continue to wait in the drawers. Let’s see what towers this man from Tirana to Velipojë is building and who is behind these inexplicable investments.
Shkëlzen Betaj was the deputy director of the Tirana Mortgage and in this position he signed and directly influenced the alienation of properties throughout the region, creating an entire network of bargains and agreements under the table. Properties changed hands, documents were stamped quickly and deals were closed without asking anyone, while Betaj accumulated knowledge and contacts that would later serve him to enter the world of giant construction.
Public positions were not enough for Betaj, he wanted to become an “oligarch” and here he is now with five tower projects, a network of companies connected like a chain, and a portfolio of assets that has no connection to his former salary as an official.
Illegal betting, call centers, drug trafficking and tenders/ Who is behind it?
25-story tower in the heart of the embassy block
Betaj’s first major project is being built between Rruga e Kavajës and Rruga e Durrës, right in the embassy block, an elite area where every square meter of land has incalculable value. The tower will have 25 floors and it is planned to have shops on the ground floor, offices on the first two floors, a four-story hotel and then numerous apartments that will come to the market at frightening prices.
The companies behind this project are “Ultra tek sh.pk” of the Sinanaj brothers and “Lunor sh.pk” of Shkëlzen Betajt, a company founded only three years ago and which has not declared any financial balance sheet as to where it got the money for this investment.
The man who until a few years ago was a mortgage official and received a state salary, today finances a tower worth millions of euros without showing a single cent and no one asks him where he got the funds from, not the KKTU, not the ministries, not SPAK, which has had the files in a drawer for a long time.
Illegal betting, call centers, drug trafficking and tenders/ Who is behind it?
Taylor of Tirana, the illegal betting tower
The second and most controversial project is being built in the Ali Demi area, just 1 kilometer from the SPAK building, and is called “Taylor of Tirana”, a tower that sources directly link to money earned from illegal betting. Data shows that this tower was born after Tom Doshi’s circle was in partnership with the head manager of illegal betting and the land was secured by the betting group itself, while then Doshi’s circle entered the KKTU to obtain the permit and secure the investment.
The initial company “EL&EL Construction” was registered in June 2025 in the name of Elda Betaj, Shkëlzen Betaj’s wife, and Elis Sinani, Andi Sinanaj’s wife, but this company was nothing more than a temporary structure set up only to hold the construction permit. On October 17, 2025, the shares of this company were transferred to Gjoka Ndërtim and G88 sh.pk of Daniel Garunja, a former candidate for deputy of the Social Democratic Party, and in the official documents as “consentors” Shkëlzen Betaj and Andi Sinanaj appeared. The apartments in this tower are offered at a price of 2000 euros per square meter, but sources point to a parallel scheme where some of the apartments are priced below the official limit in order to attract immediate down payments and circulate money outside the banking system, without control, without taxes, without a trace.
Illegal betting, call centers, drug trafficking and tenders/ Who is behind it?
In October 2024, Shkëlzen Betaj and Andi Sinanaj created ” SIAN BUILDINGS ALBANIA ” with a capital of only 100 thousand lek, a figure barely enough to pay for a technical expertise, but within a year and a half this company emerged as the developer of three giant projects.
SIAN’s first project is a 26, 31 and 35-story multifunctional building in Tirana, entered into the KKTU in April 2025, the second project is being built on “Mustafa Xhabrahimi” street with 3-8 floors, while the third is an 18-story complex in Velipojë with a swimming pool and tourist infrastructure, entered into the KKTU on April 17, 2026.
This rapid transformation from a symbolic capital of 1 thousand euros to investments estimated at hundreds of millions has no other explanation than that shown by the investigative files, where flows of dirty money from betting, drugs, call centers and tenders flow into these construction projects.
The company “Ultra-Tech”, controlled by the Sinanaj brothers and closely linked to Betaj, had in 2024 a turnover of 363.5 million lek and a pre-tax profit of 16.9 million lek, while its capital had increased to 12.35 million lek, an impressive performance for a company that does not have a long history in the market. In 2025, this company secured the permit for the “The 44” project on “Dritan Hoxha” street, and in it Andi Sinanaj, Kreshnik Sinanaj and Adriatik Sinanaj share the quotas, creating a strong network of control over the construction market in the capital.
Illegal betting, call centers, drug trafficking and tenders/ Who is behind it?
The “Godfather” of Bargains and Dirty Money
Behind all these companies and projects stand some key names, with Shkëlzen Betaj and the Sinanaj brothers being the public faces, but who really directs these investments and who sets the rules for sharing the profits is the question that everyone is asking in silence. Sources from the field and the BKH files tell of Tom Doshi, the chairman of the Social Democratic Party, who, after leaving illegal betting to leave the market to an important character in the underworld, has directed the money gained towards gigantic constructions. Each participant in these projects will receive his share, but the rules for the role of each are set by Tom Doshi himself, who acts as the “godfather” of this network and determines who gets what and to what extent.
SPAK has the files, the towers continue to rise
The investigation into this group is not a carefully guarded secret, because the BKH has investigated and sent the materials to SPAK, while the information is directly related to the files of illegal betting and vote buying in the 2025 elections. The authorities are now verifying the properties and files registered in the ZVRPP Tirana during Betaj’s mandate and this operation includes all his business partners, but the towers continue to rise without being hindered by anything. Cement is poured every day, apartments are sold and money is circulated and cleaned, while no one has been stopped and no one has been asked where the funds for these gigantic investments came from.
Illegal betting, fraudulent call centers, drug trafficking and rigged tenders are the sources that feed the Betaj towers and its entire network, while the former number 2 of Hipoteka in a few years became one of the most powerful names in construction in the country without having to show any financial balance. The towers above the ground are growing without stopping, the files in SPAK’s drawers have been waiting for a long time. It remains to be seen whether the investigation will remain simply a bureaucratic exercise without any consequences or will turn into justice, but until then the Betaj towers will continue to dominate the skyline of Tirana and Velipoja, hiding the true story of dirty money under their foundations. / Pamphlet