Former Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha said Saturday that prosecutors have indicted him on charges of corruption and money laundering related to land deals involving real estate in Tirana.
Berisha, 79, said the public prosecutor’s office, which handles cases against high-ranking officials and serious cases, had ordered him not to leave the country.
Berisha also said that his son-in-law Jamavar Maltej, 50, was arrested on the same charges at Tirana International Airport. Berisha said both he and Maltej are innocent.
“I declare these accusations to be completely baseless and purely and completely political accusations by (current Prime Minister) Edi Rama,” he said at a press conference late Saturday.
Rama did not immediately respond to Berisha’s claims.
The Special Prosecutor’s Office against Corruption and Organized Crime said Berisha’s son-in-law used his position as prime minister to privatize land in Tirana owned by the Ministry of Defence, return it to its former owners, and immediately He claims that he sold it at a low price. to Mr. Maltej, who built an apartment on the land.
The accusations came three years after Interior Minister Taulant Bala, then head of the ruling Socialist Party’s parliamentary group, sent a file to the public prosecutor’s office detailing the charges against Mr. Maltej and Mr. Berisha.
Berisha served as Prime Minister of Albania from 2005 to 2013 and as President from 1992 to 1997. He was re-elected as a Democratic Party member in the April 2021 parliamentary elections.
In May 2021, the U.S. government banned Berisha and his immediate family from entering the country due to their alleged involvement in corruption. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Berisha had engaged in corrupt practices during his tenure as prime minister from 2005 to 2013, saying he “used his services for his own benefit and against political allies and family members.” He used his power to enrich himself.”
Blinken also accused Berisha of interfering with “independent investigations, anti-corruption efforts, and accountability measures.” He said Berisha’s “corrupt practices have undermined Albania’s democracy.”
Since then, Berisha’s main opposition party, the Democratic Party, has been in turmoil, with various factions fighting over the party’s leadership and legal registration.
The fight against corruption has been post-communist Albania’s Achilles’ heel, with major implications for the country’s democratic, economic and social development. Berisha is the fourth Albanian official to be banned from entering the United States on suspicion of involvement in corruption.
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