Businessman Davide Pecorelli extradited from Italy after faking his death in Albania

This Thursday, Italian citizen Davide Pecorelli was extradited from Italy to Albania, who is suspected of the criminal offenses of "Fraud", "Grave Violation", "Destruction of Property by Fire" and "Illegal Crossing of the State Border".

According to the decision of the Puka Judicial District Court, he has been ordered to be placed under "prison arrest." Pecorelli was taken into custody in Rinas by the Operational Forces of the Prisons Directorate and is being sent to the institutions for the execution of criminal offenses.

The decision to extradite Pecorelli was made by the Italian Minister of Justice, Carlo Nordio, after the Court of Appeal in Perugia gave the green light for the businessman's extradition in May last year.

The Italian businessman is accused of faking his death in the city of Puka to escape debts, while refusing to appeal the decision to extradite him to Albania after he was put in handcuffs.

"The minister's decision surprises me. I accept it, but I am seriously worried about my four children, two of whom are minors, my 90-year-old father and my 60-year-old brother, both with disabilities. But I think I will not appeal, I prefer to go to Albania," he told investigators in Italy.

In April last year, the Shkodra court sentenced him to 4 years in prison. The businessman from Umbria disappeared in January 2021 in Puka, where the car he had rented was found burned, with skeletal remains inside.

While Albanian and Italian authorities investigated the incident, Pecorelli was hiding in Vlora, where he lived in hiding for some time.

When everyone thought he was dead, Davide Pecorelli turned up on a raft near the island of Montecristo. When he was found at sea aboard a raft, Pecorelli had with him a map, a pickaxe and a shovel, probably to search for the alleged treasure. He had even rented a garage where he was supposed to store the valuables.

The map showed several points on Montecristo Island, but the attempt to reach it failed due to damage to the raft.

The 45-year-old Italian, after burning his car in Puka and allegedly placing skeletal remains from a nearby cemetery in it, is suspected of traveling to Tuscany aboard a bus with pilgrims after spending a period in a community near Medjugorje. (A2 Televizion)