Mirela Kumbaro is the only minister to have survived every government cabinet reshuffle under Edi Rama during his four terms in power.
Although Ms. Kumbaro’s signatures appear in at least 30 suspected corruption scandals, including suspected environmental crimes, waste trafficking, construction in protected areas, red-flag tenders and more.
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Lawyer Lenoard Karaj has raised questions about how Kumbaro amassed her wealth. Speaking on Ntv Television, he said that in 2013 Kumbaro declared one house jointly owned with her husband, while today she owns nine apartments.
“How is it possible that when Ms. Kumbaro submitted her asset declaration in 2013, she had one house together with her husband, while today her declaration says—look at this, this is all I will say, and don’t finish it?
I finished it. An apartment of 128 square meters, an apartment of 95 square meters, an apartment of 119 square meters, an apartment of 108 square meters, an apartment of 87 square meters, an apartment of 69 square meters, an apartment of 92 square meters, an apartment of 55 square meters, an apartment of 103 square meters—nine apartments which, if I take a common average of €100,000 for each, as if they had been given to Ms. Kumbaro, her husband and her family, amount to €900,000 to €1 million.
Is it possible for this lady to tell me how she acquired these?” lawyer Leonard Karaj said.
Kumbaro summoned by SPAK
Kumbaro was questioned several months ago over the demolition of the “Qemal Stafa” stadium and the destruction of the bas-relief that was a “Special Cultural Monument of First Class.” It was demolished in 2016, and the Special Prosecutor’s Office (SPAK) appears to have opened the case nearly 10 years later. Prosecutor Ols Dado is handling the case.
The name “Mirela Kumbaro” has also emerged in other serious scandals destructive to culture, the environment and tourism, as well as involving financial and property damage of nearly €2 billion, according to audits by the Ministry of Finance, allegedly caused by decisions and orders she made in deals she arranged.
Her name emerged in connection with the division of 50 hectares of parkland in the Butrint area, which was allocated for a resort with apartment buildings, villas and hotels, as well as the handover of the Butrint center to a salami company, which built a hotel, restaurant, kebab shop and parking lot there.
The name of Minister Mirela Kumbaro emerged in connection with the theft of 138 works of art, culture and history dating from 1500 to 1900. They were removed from the Heritage Center, the National Museum and the Art Gallery between 2015 and 2017 on the orders of Mirela Kumbaro, when she was culture minister, supposedly for restoration and exhibitions inside and outside Albania, but they were never returned.
ILDKPKI, the “bunker” hiding officials’ assets.
Questions about Mirela Kumbaro’s wealth and how she went from declaring one house in 2013 to owning nine apartments today, based on the information cited by lawyer Leonard Karaj, have once again drawn attention to the institution that is supposed to guarantee transparency regarding the assets of senior officials: the High Inspectorate for the Declaration and Audit of Assets and Conflicts of Interest (ILDKPKI). Rather than serving as an effective mechanism for monitoring the wealth of politicians and public officials, the institution has been criticized for a lack of transparency and weaknesses in verifying declarations.
Precisely when questions arise about the assets of officials who have held important positions for years, it becomes essential for financial declarations to be accessible and for checks to be thorough and effective.
Beginning in 2018, with more than half a million euros in funding from USAID and the European Union, an electronic system was established that was supposed to make asset declaration forms available online. The project was presented as a step forward in transparency, but the publication of declarations continues to face problems: the institution’s website frequently goes down, and obtaining documents remains difficult even when official written requests are submitted.
According to criticism of the institution’s functioning, ILDKPKI verifies only a small portion of the forms, does not conduct sufficient risk analysis and did not identify a single conflict-of-interest case during 2024. Meanwhile, the few complaints filed have primarily involved former officials or individuals at lower levels, while scrutiny of the assets of senior officials remains a weak point.
Under these circumstances, the lack of transparency and effective verification makes it even more difficult to obtain answers to questions such as those raised by lawyer Karaj about Kumbaro’s assets. If declarations are not made easily accessible and assets are not effectively scrutinized, the public is left without the ability to understand how the wealth of officials who have exercised power for years was acquired. /Gazeta sot
