The Tirana Prosecution Office has completed investigations and sent 13 people for trial, including 10 officials and inspectors of environmental institutions, who are accused of abuse of office and falsification of documents, in relation to illegally issued environmental permits.
The investigation revealed a collaboration scheme between public officials and private companies operating in the field of hazardous waste treatment.
Three company administrators are accused of making false declarations about technological equipment for waste sterilization, obtaining public contracts and environmental permits without meeting legal criteria.
Officials are suspected of having conducted fictitious inspections and tolerated serious violations, while one of the companies won over 30 tenders in the period 2017–2022.
Prosecutor's Office Announcement
They allowed companies to operate in violation of environmental permits and did not conduct inspections, the Tirana Prosecution Office sends 13 people to court, including 10 officials.
The Prosecutor's Office at the First Instance Court of General Jurisdiction in Tirana completed the investigations and sent 13 people to trial, including 10 inspectors and officials of environmental institutions for the criminal offense of 'Abuse of duty', allowing violations in the field of environmental protection and the treatment of hazardous hospital waste.
As part of the expanded investigations into criminal case no. 1255/2024, which was registered following the report of investigative journalist SK, all official documentation was reviewed, statements were taken, and material and photographic evidence was verified on the ground and administered.
The investigation revealed a wide-ranging scheme of forgery and abuse of office, which included cooperation between private entities and public officials, and as a result, the following citizens were charged with the criminal offense of forgery of documents (Article 186/3 of the Criminal Code):
• EM, administrator of “VR Shpk”
• E.Sh., administrator of “E.. Shpk”
• L.Sh., administrator of “S.... Shpk”
These citizens are accused of making false declarations about technological equipment for waste sterilization, used to obtain public contracts and environmental permits in the absence of real capacities.
Also, ten inspectors and officials of environmental institutions were charged with the criminal offense of abuse of office (Article 248 of the Criminal Code): J.Sh., EP, AM, ND, TP, BS, AK, BL, IB, and KA.
They are suspected of having conducted formal inspections, accepting manipulated documentation and failing to verify the real conditions of the installations on the ground. The data analysis showed that, during the period 2017–2022, the entity “VR.” has benefited from over 30 tenders, using incorrect and missing equipment at the site of the activity, in violation of the legal criteria for type A and B environmental permits. This investigation highlighted serious problems in the implementation of environmental standards, the lack of effective controls and suspicious cooperation between private interests and supervisory authorities.
All persons involved enjoy the presumption of innocence, until a final decision by the competent court.
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