By Boldnews.al
The government seems to have reached the goal of blocking all investigations that the prosecution has launched on scandals of senior officials, including government ministers “Rama”. Faced with vomiting pressure, massive departure, or “stain of shame,” prosecutors have been put on the government’s hoe by not investigating any scandals, although the consequences for the state budget are too severe.
There are a number of sensational files that are either sealed or dragged into dusty drawer tanks, which did not dare to investigate even a common administration or government official. Examples of this are numerous and Boldna.al will try to bring to the readers a series of files that are blocked only as a result of the so-called justice reform pressures.
Prime Minister Edi Rama’s first move a few months before the adoption of the reform was his communication with at least 20 prosecutors who learned to have contacted them personally. They were invited to attend a heartfelt meeting with the country’s prime minister who promised you that after the adoption of the reform they would have “big jobs” to do. Prosecutors are considered to be selected to fight corruption, but this is done only with the consent of Prime Minister Rama. And in fact it did. The package of constitutional amendments was adopted with full unanimity by the Albanian Parliament and after that began the adoption of several laws, including what is known as the law of “Vetting”. Faced with such a situation, prosecutors who were under pressure to leave arbitrators from office have shut down or stalled a number of important investigations.
CEZ agreement scandal
Energy Minister Damian Gjiknuri was criminally charged by the Supreme State Audit for a $ 460m damage caused to the state budget by the settlement of the government’s deal with the CEZ company.
But the General Prosecutor’s Office suspended the investigation in June, despite the SAI arguing that the arbitration agreement had caused the Albanian state a galloping damage. The SSA’s Juries considered the injured and incomplete investigations as long as, according to them, no additional documentation was administered.
While prosecutor ArbenKraja, who investigated the file, insisted that during the investigative actions it proved that the Albanian state has not brought any economic consequence. Founded without any support from the prosecution, the SSA requested the Supreme Court to reopen the investigations into the “CEZ” file, but this claim also crashed.
Concessions in Health
In December, the Anti-Corruption Unit at the Serious Crimes Prosecutor’s Office registered a criminal proceeding for suspicious health concessions.
The investigation into health concessions was launched at the Prosecutor’s Office following the publication of a series of articles by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN and the Investigim.al agency. The hemodialysis concession, worth $ 86 million, for the sterilization of $ 100 million worth of surgical equipment and the free check up concession were at the center of the investigative group’s verifications.
In October 2015, BIRN investigated the winner of the hemodialysis concession company Evita Sh.pk, which benefited the major part of the $ 10-million-made $ 86-million contract. The origin of this company was a modest coffee bar in the city of Berat, but the Ministry of Health found that the American Hospital was thereafter. The latter was involved in a series of scandals on the hemodialysis process, the worst in July, where 4 people died after a fallen fire in the premises of this private hospital.
The sterilization concession of surgical equipment, worth $ 100 million, is another big file that is in the Prosecution offices. According to a BIRN investigation, the modest company of the Albanian emigrant in Italy, IlirRrapaj, won 40 percent of this contract, as part of the Italian consortium led by “Servizi Italia”.
The 120 million-euro free medical control concession, acquired by the marketing & distribution company, with experience in tobacco and alcohol trading, is also part of the investigations filed with the prosecution.
Tapping device
In May, the General Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into unauthorized and unauthorized devices to carry out interception. The scandal was discovered by MAPO newspapers, and within a few weeks the Tirana Prosecutor’s Office requested “suspension from office” for the General Director of Police, HakiÇako, for consuming the criminal offense “Abuse of Office” following the investigation of suspicions about the existence of a tapping equipment, administered by the State Police in violation of the law.
HakiCako was accused of not taking the measures legally required to provide access, administration and use of a specific “IMSI Catcher” device, which was brought to Albania by the Italian authorities. This equipment had entered the territory of our country without being subject to a temporary customs procedure and, moreover, without having received the appropriate authorization from the General Prosecutor as the sole licensing authority for the use of such means.
But the Court of Appeal dismissed the Prosecution’s request by returning to the post of General Director of State Police HakiÇako while the investigations for this equipment were pending and without result.
Meanwhile, the prosecution never commenced investigations against Interior Minister SaimirTahiri for wiretapping, even though he was in charge of the head of state.
Part of the dusty files is that of a deputy minister who has been under investigation by the Serious Crimes Prosecution but is now pending and is not known how it will end. The prosecution to be ok with the government has focused on investigating judges and prosecutors, while no other official is involved in the investigation.
