Sali Berisha millions of dirty dollars to get a US visa and lobbying to remove the “non-grata”, the Democrat leader hides the source of the money he paid “Latif” and the lobbying company
Former Prime Minister and leader of the Democratic Party, Sali Berisha seems to have spent millions of dollars suspected of being dirty to get a US visa and remove the “Non-Grata” status. A few days ago, the US Department of State (DASH) gave him the green light, revealing that Berisha is allowed to enter the United States of America (USA). But in the meantime, he still turns out to be “Non-Grata” on Washington’s “black list”, as this penalizing decision has not been touched even a millimeter. About this great paradox and the hot lobbying contracts, the Democrat leader Berisha was asked yesterday by journalists during a dramatic press conference. He appeared embarrassed as never before, publicly breaking down under the barrage of strict questions. The Albanian political scene has been shaken by a real earthquake after these testimonies that shock the Democratic Party.
The opposition leader failed to clarify the real source of the funds that are flowing across the ocean. The new dynamics of the confrontation clearly show that the noose is tightening around the opposition’s dark finances. During yesterday’s confrontation, Berisha was faced with a strong contradiction that destroys his entire defense narrative. When asked pointedly who paid the colossal amounts of lobbying, he was forced to admit that the money came from a foundation that helps the Democratic Party. “That lobbying, whoever paid for it, is a foundation that helps the DP and has undertaken to defend the cause of the DP,” Berisha declared to reporters yesterday. But this assertion contradicts his earlier statements, where he vowed that the fight against the US State Department was a strictly personal battle. Journalists pestered the Democratic leader, reminding him of his promise that he would never involve the party’s finances in his private troubles with Washington. Panicked, he tried to justify himself by saying that returning to the leadership of the DP changed the circumstances, but without managing to remove the heavy shadows of suspicion.
Behind the Scenes
The Special Prosecution Office (SPAK) has already begun verifications of lobbying contracts worth $6 million, discovered in April 2025. This investigation has raised the red alert over possible money laundering and the deliberate concealment of the true source of wealth. Analysts suspect that the real figures moved could be up to $20 million, transferred through dark channels. Any allusion to transparency was dropped, while the DP chairman refused to give specific names of the donors who are financing this costly image operation. At the center of this “international scandal” are well-known names from the world of lobbying and campaigns in the US. The secret contracts include the powerful American strategist, Chris LaCivita (known in political circles as “Latifi”) and Carlos Trujillo’s company “Continental Strategy”.
The daughter of Paul Manafort, the convicted former Trump campaign manager, is also present behind the scenes, which proves the aggressiveness of Berisha’s lobbying. The leading Democrat openly admitted that he lobbied hard after the change of administrations in the US, deliberately avoiding the Biden administration. The first fruit of this multi-million dollar pressure came just a few days ago with the granting of a visa, but this success remains half-hearted and extremely fragile for the leader of the Albanian opposition. Official sources confirm that severe sanctions for major corruption, undermining democracy and obstruction of justice since 2021 still remain in force on his head. However, this shows that the political battle has heated up to the maximum, while the question of who the millions of dirty dollars belong to continues to remain unanswered. This serious lobbying affair risks definitively destroying the remaining credibility of the leader of the Democratic Party, Sali Berisha, before international partners.
What happened?
Meanwhile, we recall that in the official announcement published by the US Department of State, Sali Berisha and his family members continue to appear as persons declared “non-grata”. Despite the fact that Berisha did not reveal the name of the foundation that lobbied for him in the US, a contract of 6 million USD was previously made public in the media, signed by the Secretary General of the Democratic Party, Flamur Noka, with the American lobbying company “Continental Strategy”. In this contract, Nuredin Elez Seci, a 72-year-old Tropoja resident, former head of sports in the Tropoja Executive Committee until 1992, currently residing in New York, appears as a financial guarantor. He has assumed responsibility for collecting and paying the millionaire lobbying, which provides for monthly payments of 250 thousand dollars for a 24-month period. In fact, on April 24, 2025, the day the contract was signed by Flamur Noka, the advance payment of 750 thousand USD for the first three months was also paid.