New transcripts revealed from secret communications on the SkyECC network between the individuals under investigation, Alfred Hamzai and Ardian Zykaj, bring to light an extremely serious scene of the combination of organized crime, money laundering in construction and an attempt to capture one of the largest media outlets in the country, Top Channel television.
At the center of this agreement, where millions of euros and powerful investors are discussed, the name of Besnik Myftari, a director of Top Channel, appears as a connecting bridge and all-powerful guarantor, to whom members of the Aruba group refer in wiretaps as Beso or Besua.
Communications from November 2020, which Zoom.al was able to see, show that the “Aruba Group”, whose leader was Artur Shehu, was not only aiming to invest drug money in construction in Tirana, but also to buy media influence to become untouchable.
On November 7, 2020, Ardian Zykaj wrote to Alfred Hamzai explaining the scheme of how the purchase of a 300 m² plot of land at the former “Juvenilja” restaurant in Tirana, for just 100 thousand euros, would turn into a profit of millions of euros in construction. But the biggest benefit was the media exposure.
“And the television with Beso is absolutely top. Be completely untouchable, derman. And the television and the website are as you wish, derman said. We are on Beso’s side” – Zykaj writes to his friend Alfred Hamzai.
The plan moves forward rapidly. On November 23, 2020, Zykaj reports that he has concluded the meeting with the “Caprico boys”, brothers Adrian and Erjon Rama, to divide the percentages of the land. In fact, to show that everything was coordinated, the group begins to move the first official money through banks to begin the capture of the media structure.
“I spoke to Beso. We will make a bank payment for the television,” Zykaj writes.
The role of Besnik Myftari – Beso: “Asi under the sleeve” who speaks directly to Rama
From the entire wiretap dossier, Besnik Myftari (Besua) turns out to be not simply a collaborator, but the absolute guarantor of the operation, the man who opened the doors of construction permits at the highest state levels and who, as emerges from the communications, is suspected of having direct access to Prime Minister Edi Rama.
According to the messages, Myftari was the one who calculated the profits, assured the structured group that the permits were guaranteed, and brought messages from the head of government.
Green light from Rama: From the beginning, the group felt safe because Besua had received confirmation from the prime minister:
“Yes, Besua, I assure you that it will be built there. That’s what Rama told him. And the land there is worth it because it will earn a lot in construction,” Zykaj continues.
Besoja gives guarantees. When it comes to the demolition of “Juvenilja” and the construction of the large palace, Zykaj reassures Hamza that support is guaranteed.
“Yes, yes, Besua intervened so that it would be built… he did the math for me. Besua Garant comes out.”
From “Juvenilja” to Palasa: “We get permission, we talk to Rama directly”
Besnik Myftari’s (Besos) influence was not limited to the “Juvenilja” project. He appears in wiretaps as the man who moved large amounts of investor capital and guaranteed construction permits directly from the prime minister’s office for the most strategic areas of the southern coast, such as Palasa.
On November 23, 2020, Zykaj reveals another important conversation with Myftari.
“And Besua told me one thing. Very important: I have some very strong investors and I speak with Rama directly. We are getting permission for the land in Palasa” – the communications continue.
In March 2021, the fruits of Beso’s interventions become a reality. The land purchased with the money from the “envelopes” left at the counters (as described on page 23 of the file) is officially included in the construction permit.
“Besua had included in the permit that land that appears in our name. We played bingo there, I think. And Besua entered it to show that he got the permit from Rama,” – results from the conversations in SkyEcc.
These SkyEcc communications reveal the frightening scheme of how an important part of the economy in Albania functions. While in public there is talk of strategic investments, behind the scenes, traffickers treat construction permits in Tirana and the coast or shares in national television stations as loot to be divided by percentage, using direct acquaintances with the government as a guarantee to transform the millions of euros gained from drugs into other laundered millions. / Zoom.al