Until yesterday, part of the decision-making tables, Belinda Balluku seems to have now entered the menu of Edi Rama’s government. The first signals have been given by the media close to the government.
Top Channel just attacked Belinda Balluku with a story that signals a clear change of course towards the former deputy prime minister.
The report focuses on contacts with the construction company Balfin for the “Green Coast” project and with architect Alban Eftimiu of the “Atelie 4” studio, two entities whose communications are found in the SPAK file for villa no. 188 on the coast. (VIDEO HERE)
“In the SPAK investigation file, Balluku’s name appears in some of the communications about the villa. In another document, for the pool works, the note ‘POOL ARBER ABAZI (DHERMI) + BELINDA’ is found, with a value of 25 thousand euros,” Top Channel reports.
Unlike before, when it has maintained a sterile stance on Balluk’s affairs or when it has pampered the former energy minister with interviews and promotional chronicles, Top Channel this time openly raises the question: “Why is SPAK delaying Balluk?”.
National television also emphasized the luxury of the former deputy prime minister’s assets, choosing in one of the main headlines the message “25 thousand euros just a swimming pool”, accompanied by another headline “Silence for Balluk’s villa”.
Edi Rama gave the first signs of a change in approach towards Balluk’s immunity in an interview with Rudina Xhunga a few days ago. The Prime Minister said that he was not defending his former deputy, while he justified the majority vote in Parliament last year by claiming that the judiciary had exceeded its powers by interfering in the executive branch.
“She has an issue with justice there, neither do I, and no one is defending her, there she is defending herself as far as she is concerned,” Rama said.
Lapsi.al reported earlier that SPAK’s new request for Balluk’s arrest, addressed to Parliament, is a matter of days.
This request is expected at a time when the criminal position of the former deputy prime minister has been significantly aggravated. SPAK merged several criminal proceedings into the “Balluku” file, while the list of accused persons and companies has been expanded. Among them are former subordinates of Balluku and businessmen who are suspected of having benefited from public tenders in exchange for bribes and favors.
Balluku is accused of “Violation of equality in tenders”, committed in collaboration, “Hiding assets”, “Passive corruption of high-ranking state officials” and “Money laundering”, the latter more than once.
The investigation began with the Llogara Tunnel tender, but then expanded to a series of major infrastructure procedures. SPAK accuses Balluku of violating equality in tenders in eight cases, including the Llogara Tunnel, the works at Shqiponja Square and several lots of Tirana’s Ring Road.
Subsequently, the case was further aggravated by findings related to assets that SPAK suspects Balluku received as bribes.
In June, the Prosecution announced that the former Deputy Prime Minister allegedly received a villa worth 145,000 euros in Dhërmi from the company “Eurocol”, in exchange for favoring the company in a tender during the time when Balluku headed Albcontrol. According to SPAK, the property was hidden through a money laundering scheme, which also involved former footballer Igli Tare.
Investigators then seized a second villa, this time in the “Green Coast” complex in Palasa. The property was formally registered in Tara’s name, but SPAK claims it was “indirectly owned” by Balluk.
According to the investigation, the luxurious works of the villa and swimming pool, with a value that according to estimates ranged from about 289 thousand to 411 thousand euros, were paid for by “Alko Impex General Construction” of businessman Arbër Abazi. In the same period, this company benefited, together with “2T”, the tender of 2.2 billion lek for Lot 7 of the Grand Ring Road.
SPAK alleges that the tender was rigged under Balluk’s instructions and that the payment for the villa’s works was a reward for favoring the company. Among the evidence collected are seized communications, financial documents and emails from architects, including direct communications with Balluk about how the villa should be designed.
In the spring, the socialist majority led by Edi Rama blocked SPAK’s request to pave the way for the security measure against Balluk.
The decision brought strong international reactions. The embassies of Germany, Britain and the Netherlands, as well as the European Commission, demanded that SPAK be able to investigate high-level corruption without political obstacles, directly linking this standard to the European integration process.
Rama reacted sharply to international pressure. He declared that SPAK does not have “carte blanche” to arrest politicians and defended the decision of his majority in Parliament.
But now the situation seems to be changing. Lapsi.al sources said that SPAK is expected to knock on Parliament’s door for the second time. And this time, on the table is no longer just the initial tender dossier, but a broader investigation, with accusations of corruption, money laundering, concealment of assets and two villas that the Prosecution claims are products of corrupt benefits. (Lapsi.al)