From Boldnews.al
The discovery of the “5D” corruption scheme and the arrest of Mayor Erion Veliaj were accompanied by tectonic movements in the Municipality of Tirana, changing almost the entire high-level management of the main local institution in the country.
These “movements” appear to have disrupted the financial relationships between former important local executives and several companies considered their “satellites”.
In March 2021, a technology market company, “3i Solution”, was announced the winner in a tender worth around 750 thousand euros, developed by “Tirana DC”, a public company owned by the Municipality of the capital.
The object of the tender was “computerization of work processes for 48 months.” Previous media reports have raised suspicions that this tender had sufficient elements of conflict of interest.
One of the owners of the private company, Ervis Smakaj, was considered a close associate of the deputy mayor of the municipality at the time, Arbjan Mazniku, who also held the position of Chairman of the Administrative Council of “Tirana DC”.
However, both businessman Smakaj and Mazniku, who is currently a member of Parliament from the Socialist Party, have publicly denied having any connection to each other and that they “agreed” on the 750,000 euro tender for “Tirana DC”.
The doubts, for the moment, have remained only at the media level, while the financial reports between “3i Solution” shpk and “Tirana DC” have reached their lowest point, at a time when the Municipality’s management staff has been almost completely changed.
Complaint: “Tirana DC does not give us money”
In March 2026, the company “3i Solution” filed a request with the Tirana Court to issue an execution order for several unpaid invoices. In the request, Ervis Smakaj claims that the public company “Tirana DC” has not paid three invoices, for a total value of around 160 thousand euros.
In the court documents consulted by ” Boldnews.al ” it is stated that “Tirana DC must pay ” 1. Tax Invoice No. 31, dated 13.12.2022, in the amount of 2,858,562 lekë; 2. Tax Invoice No. 60, dated 29.12.2023, in the amount of 5,277,345 lekë; and 3. Tax Invoice No. 114, dated 02.10.2025, in the amount of 7,696,129 lekë “.
According to the private company’s claims, ” these tax invoices have not been liquidated by the debtor party (Tirana DC), despite its fulfillment of obligations and despite repeated requests for payment of the obligation . “
The Tirana Court considered this request on August 5, 2026 and decided to declare incompetence, since the request for issuing an execution order, i.e. the order obliging the debtor “Tirana DC” to pay the unpaid invoices, must be addressed to the Administrative Court.
The judge in the case argued that the case falls within the administrative sphere, as the alleged financial disagreement is between a private company and a public company.
However, while the matter is expected to be reviewed in the Administrative Court of First Instance, the case is concrete evidence that the seismic waves of “tectonic movements” in the leadership of the Municipality of Tirana also affect third parties, who once had significant access to the local institution.