From Boldnews.al
The former administrator of the company “Bankers Petroleum”, Leonidha Çobo, accused of creating a massive money laundering scheme, has won a tender worth around 1 million euros, developed by the Albanian Development Fund, a structure headed by Dritan Agolli.
Çobo’s company, “Tetra”, which he owns together with entrepreneur Genc Likoskëndaj, also included in the “Bankers” file, has been declared the winner in the procedure ” Construction of multimodal mobility nodes, Region 3&4: Improving parking performance through the addition of technological equipment “. The limit fund for the procedure was 94,620,680 lek or 990,792 euros.
The result was announced on August 5 of this year. Another operator, “2N” Ltd., also participated in the tender. This company was disqualified, after the Albanian Development Fund assessed that it did not meet the qualifying criteria.
The winning company, “Tetra” shpk, was established in 2007 and one of its founding partners is Genc Likoskëndaj. Over the years, the company has changed its shareholder structure several times.
In 2023, Likoskëndaj owned all the shares of the electronics company. In June of that year, Genc Likoskëndaj sold 20 percent of the shares to Leonidha Çobos for a value of 80 thousand euros.
The new shareholder, Leonidha Çobo, was involved in the field of private expertise, having previously held the position of Administrator of the oil concession company, “Bankers Petroleum”, for a long time, from which he left in 2020.
The “Bankers” Scandal
In July 2025, the Fier Prosecutor’s Office publicly announced that arrest warrants had been issued for directors and former directors of the private company, “Bankers Petroleum”, following an investigation into ” Concealing income”, “Laundering the proceeds of a criminal offense or criminal activity”, “Abuse of office ” and ” Failure to perform duties by tax authorities “.
The prosecution also said at the time that ” the company’s general director, Hongping Xiao, and former director Leonidha Çobo were arrested, while 7 other security measures issued by the Fier Court were executed. The prosecution announced that five people, mainly with foreign citizenship, were wanted .”
According to the Fier Prosecutor’s Office, the company Bankers Petroleum and its executives were responsible for evading obligations in the amount of “millions of euros.” ” The investigation so far has shown that the company “Bankers Petroleum Albania Ltd”, from 2004 to the end of 2024, has been at a loss, which has meant that the Albanian state has not benefited from any income from this activity for 20 years .”
Further, this case was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Special Prosecution Office (SPAK). While investigations are being conducted into a structural criminal group, the persons arrested in July last year, including Leonidha Çobo, are being investigated at large.
Çobo, the “key person” in the Bankers affair
Within the documents, prosecutors have listed a series of names of people and companies that are suspected of being put at the service of “Bankers”.
The initial basis of the investigation was the suspicious activity of several companies, linked to the former administrator Leonidha Çobo. Further actions also raised suspicions about a series of companies and studios, which have benefited from millions of euros from “Bankers”.
In a previous report, ” Boldnews.al ” mentioned all the names of individuals and companies suspected of being involved in the money laundering scheme.
Among the cases mentioned in the investigative file are the reports between Leonidha Çobos and Genc Likoskëndaj, the duo that has already been announced as the winner of the 1 million euro tender developed by the institution led by Dritan Agolli.
Prosecutors say that Leonidha Çobo, after leaving “Bankers”, founded a financial consultancy office, through which he is suspected of “laundering money” illegally generated during his activities at the oil concession company.
Among other things, the investigative file states that: ” Leonidha Çobo-Physical Person ” has invoiced around 15 million new lek to the entity “CCS” shpk, with a business in the field of technological equipment and with owners Genc Likoskëndaj , Arjan Bare and Blerind Mehmeti” .
Prosecutors suspect that these invoices are fictitious, as Çobo has no expertise in the field of information technology. On the other hand, their suspicions are also strengthened by the fact that Leonidha Çobo and one of the shareholders of “CCS” shpk, Genc Likoskëndaj, are partners in another entity, “TETRA” shpk.
Even from the entity “Tetra” shpk, where Çobo turns out to be a shareholder with 20 percent, it turns out that he has invoiced 18 million new lek for expertise.
In 2024, Leonidha Çobo registers “LC Consulting” as a separate commercial entity. Tax Administration data shows that “Leonidha Çobo-Person Fizik” has invoiced consulting services for the entity “LC Consulting”, also owned by him, in the amount of 12.5 million new lekë.
Also, with the new entity, “LC Consulting”, Leonidha Çobo invoices consultancy services in the total amount of 78 million lek for “Tetra” shpk, where he himself is a shareholder with Genc Likoskëndaj.