This is the moment when Erion Veliaj for the first time left his office in the Municipality of Tirana, not only as the first citizen of the capital, but also as an arrested person. The arrest warrant against him was approved by the Special Court, at the request of SPAK, which accuses the three-time mayor of "corruption" in 9 cases and of "money laundering".
Without handcuffs, Veliaj convinced the BKH agents and police officers to go with them. He used his electric vehicle to go to the security block, in whose cells he will remain at least until he faces the Special Court for verification of the measure.
The same court decision approved a "house arrest" measure for Veliaj's wife, Ajola Xoxa. She is accused of "corruption", "money laundering" and "failure to declare assets".
SPAK also convinced the court for a security measure of "prison arrest" for businessman Elman Abule and security measures of "compulsion to appear" for businessmen Gentian Sula, Meriman Palushi, Fatmir Bektashi, Sokol Kryeziu and Shkëlqim Fusha, accused of "active corruption of high-ranking officials and local elected officials."
According to an official SPAK communication, Mayor Erion Veliaj and his wife, Ajola Xoxa, have devised, created and put into operation a mechanism that aimed and achieved the appropriation of public funds of the Municipality of Tirana.
According to the investigation, Mayor Veliaj, with his signature, has approved in several cases the distribution of public funds and construction permits to several commercial companies closely linked to him. These public funds have then ended up in several non-profit organizations, limited liability companies, natural persons controlled de jure and de facto by his wife, citizen Ajola Xoxe, as well as individuals close to the latter, creating a suspicious and complicated network of transactions.
The corrupt scheme created, according to SPAK, has caused money from the municipality's budget with Veliaj's signature to be transferred directly to his wife, and consequently to himself, through NGOs controlled by her, have been transferred through sponsorships from commercial companies that have obtained building permits or public funds, have been transferred as real estate, specifically in the villa in Qerret, and have also been spent on large purchases by the mayor's wife.
According to SPAK, through several commercial companies and NGOs controlled by the mayor's wife, but also a company owned by Elman Abule, income of around 110 million lek has been generated.
The investigation also revealed that over a period of 4 years, Ajola Xoxa, alone or through close associates, spent nearly 87 million new lek on online purchases, clothing and jewelry. It turns out that Xoxa did not declare any of these expenses, nor her participation in the board of an NGO, which generated a lot of income.
For this investigation, SPAK announced on Monday the seizure of a villa in Qerret, 869 thousand euros in two of Xoxe's accounts in second-tier banks, and the amounts found in a safe during the SPAK inspection, 95 thousand euros, 15 thousand dollars and 665 thousand lek.
At the same time, SPAK announced that it has registered an investigation against SP MP, chairwoman of the Laws Committee, Klotilda Bushka, for the criminal offense of "actions that hinder the discovery of the truth." (A2 Televizion)
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