Following the investigations into Timak Defence, another company involved in military industry projects is Advanced Arms Technology (AAT).
According to an investigation by the Plug program, the creation of this company was supported by decisions of the Council of Ministers and negotiations between the state-owned company KAYO and the private entity UNO18.
Të lidhura
None found
This is precisely the company to which Minister Ermal Nufi referred during an interpellation, saying that it was sending weapons to conflict zones.
Following the interpellation, the Democratic Party submitted a request for information to Ermal Nufi and received several answers that shed even more light on this affair.
The Plug program will analyze this data below in order to understand from the outset how Ron Yeffet entered the arms trade and how he was favored, as it will be established that everything was premeditated.
One of the companies Nufi said was supplying weapons to conflict zones is Advanced Arms Technology. The company appears to have been established in November 2025.
KAYO owns only 20% of the shares, while UNO18, owned by Ron Yeffet and Arjeta Puca, owns 80%. Today, this company, which according to Nufi was trading weapons in hot spots, has only two employees: Arjeta Puca as administrator and a warehouse worker.
The company’s establishment originated with a decision by Edi Rama himself and his government. Decision No. 449 of the Council of Ministers, dated July 31, 2025, paved the way for negotiations with UNO 18 to establish Advanced Arms Technology.
COUNCIL OF MINISTERS DECISION
“ON APPROVING THE TERMS OF NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN THE STATE-OWNED COMPANY ‘KAYO’ JSC AND A PRIVATE COMPANY FOR THE PRODUCTION AND TRADE OF SMALL- AND MEDIUM-CALIBER WEAPONS AND DRONES”
It decided:
To approve the terms of negotiations between the company “KAYO” JSC and a private company, with the aim of creating a joint-stock company for the production and trade of small- and medium-caliber weapons and drones, registered in the Republic of Albania, in accordance with the legislation in force governing commercial companies and under the terms established in this decision. The company “KAYO” JSC shall negotiate and accept a stake of no less than 20% of the shares in the joint company it will establish with a private company.
As in the case of the creation of Timak Defence, there was no competitive procedure for the creation of Ron Yeffet’s second company, because UNO 18 had apparently read the minds of the Council of Ministers, KAYO and Pirro Vengu. We will not mention Ermal Nufi here, since, according to the wiretaps, Yeffet speaks of him as if he were his subordinate.
As Edi Rama would later establish through the Council of Ministers’ decision, Ron Yeffet had previously submitted a request to KAYO for cooperation in the production of weapons and drones.
According to Decision No. 449, paragraph 4, KAYO was required to ensure that the private company provided at least the following:
4. During the negotiation process, the state-owned company “KAYO” JSC shall, in every case, secure from the entity with which it is negotiating, at a minimum:
a) an investment worth no less than €50 million;
b) technological production or assembly lines for small- and medium-caliber weapons and drones, according to the operational needs of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Albania and other security structures;
c) a distribution network for the products in the event of export.
Thus, during the negotiations Ron Yeffet was required to secure a €50 million investment, production lines and a distribution network in the event of export.
What stands out is that, unlike Decision No. 322 on the establishment of Timak Defence and Decision No. 291 on the establishment of Guna Tactical, which specify that the investment must be completed within three years and also set a minimum number of employees, the decision establishing AAT, the arms-production company belonging to Rama’s friend Ron Yeffet, sets neither a deadline for completing the investment nor a specified number of employees. Put more simply, the obligation to make the €50 million investment was left to the investor’s discretion as to when it would be carried out, opening the way for Ron Yeffet to begin cooperation and operations with his hands in his pockets.
What makes the situation even more serious is that the decision sets no criteria concerning either the shareholder’s integrity or a detailed background check in the countries where he has operated. We are talking about the arms industry in a NATO member state. We mention this because, as we will see below, Ron Yeffet’s background was not properly checked, even through another Council of Ministers’ decision that will be analyzed later.
On November 19, 2025, Advanced Arms Technology was registered with the National Business Center, hereinafter referred to as AAT, with UNO18 holding 80% and KAYO, naturally, holding 20%.
Plug analyzed all the documentation submitted to this institution for the registration of AAT.
According to the founding act, the company’s primary purpose was the production of weapons and the supply of the Albanian armed forces and security institutions, followed by the trade of these weapons abroad.
However, Decision No. 15, dated October 31, 2025, was also filed with the National Business Center. It bears the signature of Ermal Nufi in his capacity as chairman of the Supervisory Board of KAYO JSC.
DECISION
APPROVAL OF THE REPORT OF THE NEGOTIATING GROUP ESTABLISHED BY INTERNAL ORDER NO. 47, DATED 07.08.2025, OF THE ADMINISTRATOR OF “KAYO” JSC, WITH THE FOLLOWING OBJECTIVE: “ON ESTABLISHING THE NEGOTIATING GROUP FOR NEGOTIATIONS WITH UNO18 FOR THE PRODUCTION OF SMALL- AND MEDIUM-CALIBER WEAPONS AND DRONES FOR THE ARMED FORCES AND OTHER SECURITY STRUCTURES,” IN IMPLEMENTATION OF COUNCIL OF MINISTERS’ DECISION NO. 449, DATED 31.07.2025, “ON APPROVING THE TERMS OF NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN THE STATE-OWNED COMPANY ‘KAYO’ JSC AND A PRIVATE COMPANY FOR THE PRODUCTION AND TRADE OF SMALL- AND MEDIUM-CALIBER WEAPONS AND DRONES.”
Following the approval of Decision No. 449, dated July 31, 2025, KAYO administrator Ardi Veliu established the negotiating group through Order No. 47, dated August 7, 2025, to negotiate with UNO 18.
It decided:
1. To approve the report of the negotiating group established by Internal Order No. 47, dated August 7, 2025, of the administrator of “KAYO” JSC, with the objective: “On establishing the negotiating group for negotiations with UNO18 for the production of small- and medium-caliber weapons and drones for the Armed Forces and other security structures,” in implementation of Council of Ministers’ Decision No. 449, dated July 31, 2025, “On approving the terms of negotiations between the state-owned company ‘KAYO’ JSC and a private company for the production and trade of small- and medium-caliber weapons and drones.”
According to the document filed with the National Business Center, the members of the Supervisory Board are citizens Aleks Marku, Gjergji Methoxha, Ilda Malile, Grestian Poçi, Eldi Çondi and Ervin Feti.
Plug sought information about these individuals, which showed that Aleks Marku served as legal director at the Durrës Port Authority during the period when the institution was headed by Piro Vengu. During that period, he was a member of the Supervisory Board of the public company created for the Alabar project in Durrës. Later, when Piro Vengu was appointed Minister of Defense, Marku was appointed secretary-general of the ministry and, at the same time, a member of the Supervisory Board of KAYO. According to the latest information, his phone was seized by SPAK as part of the investigation into the KAYO case. From 2009 to 2014, Gjergji Methoxha served as an adviser to the Albanian delegation to NATO. From 2018 to 2023, he was director of NATO and EU policies at the Ministry of Defense. From October 2023 to 2026, he served as director of defense policy, and in June 2026 he was appointed adviser to the Speaker of Parliament. His wife, Irini Shira, served as legal adviser at the Ministry of Defense in 2021 and was later selected, for distinguished service, as a legal adviser to the Special Appeals Commission, where the final vetting of the justice system was carried out.
Ilda Malile held several positions at the Ministry of Economy and Finance. From 2018, she was employed by OSSHE and the Ministry of Culture, and from December 2025 she served as secretary-general of the Ministry of Health. In September 2025, the Tirana Prosecutor’s Office concluded its investigation and charged her as chairwoman of the Supervisory Board of the state-owned company AGROKREDIT JSC. She was charged while also heading the Health Ministry under the signature of Evis Sala. Gertian Poçi is a member of the Armed Forces. Eldi Çondi began his career by applying in 2020 through the Socialist Party’s “The Deputy We Want” platform. He later held several positions, the most prominent being adviser to Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku. Since 2024, he has served as chief of staff to Finance Minister Petrit Malaj. Ervin Feti is a member of the Armed Forces. The document shows that the negotiating group’s report bears the signatures of four of the seven members of the Supervisory Board.
The signatories are:
Ermal Nufi
Aleks Marku
Eldi Çondi
Ervin Feti
The document was not signed by Gjergji Methoxha, Ilda Malile or Grestian Poçi, while the secretary who signed the decision was Ardit Hysa, a trusted associate of Ermal Nufi who, following Nufi’s appointment as Minister of Defense, was appointed secretary-general at the ministry.
But let us return to our investigation into the arms trade.
Through letter No. 1874 prot., dated April 28, 2026, the Democratic Party submitted a request for information to Minister Nufi. Among other things, it requested not only information about Timak Defence and AAT, but also that the negotiation reports between KAYO and the private companies be made available.
The letter asked:
1. Does citizen Ron Yeffet have previous experience in arms production?
2. Does citizen Ron Yeffet own companies with experience in arms production? Where do these companies operate and what is their annual turnover?
3. During the interpellation, you stated that “Advanced Arms Technology produces weapons, and these weapons, as I said once again, are currently being used in conflicts somewhere, not fictitious patents.” In other words, you informed the Members of the Albanian Parliament that AAT had produced weapons and ammunition and had already signed contracts with other countries, and that these weapons had been exported to places where conflicts are taking place TODAY. Do you confirm what you said during the session?
4. What is the quantity of weapons produced?
5. Where is the factory that produced them?
6. What is the investment in the factory’s technology and how many employees does it have?
7. When and where did the first export take place?
In flagrant violation of the law, even though 100 days had passed since the 15-day deadline set by law, a second letter was sent on August 18, 2026. After 130 days had passed, the Democratic Party, in accordance with Article 99/1 of the Rules of Procedure of Parliament, contacted Niko Peleshi to intervene immediately and compel Ermal Nufi to comply with the law and respond to the request. Ermal Nufi finally decided to respond on September 21, but, of course, said nothing, providing no answer to the 31 questions submitted and making no documentation available. In the letterhead, which identified only the minister and none of the relevant directorates, Ermal Nufi stated:
“AAT was registered with the National Business Center on November 19, 2025. The creation of the company constitutes one of the initial steps in the realization of the cooperation, prior to the installation of the production lines, in accordance with the business plan agreed between the parties. The AAT project was conceived to develop military arms production capabilities in Albania. As part of the cooperation, the private partner undertook the investment and the provision of the technology, intellectual property and know-how necessary to carry out the project. The process of preparing and finalizing the project, including the development of production capabilities, is continuing in accordance with the agreed plan and the relevant legal requirements.”
Thus, Nufi makes clear once again that AAT was established to PRODUCE weapons domestically for the Albanian Armed Forces, not to buy them in SUDAN, package them as Albanian and sell them abroad. Nufi continued:
“Regarding the financing of this cooperation, KAYO has made no investment in the project and has not made public funds available for this purpose. The private partner may finance the activity through means permitted by the legislation in force. During the negotiations with UNO 18, the party’s financial capacities and resources were assessed, among other things, on the basis of the banking documentation and cooperation agreements submitted. I emphasize that no investment was financed with public funds. Actual production depends on the private parties, which have borne the financial burden.”
Thus, Nufi states that Ron Yeffet submitted banking documentation to prove his financial capacity. However, if we examine the balance sheets of all of Ron Yeffet’s companies in Albania, they either have no activity or have minimal profits that do not come close to the value of the €50 million investment. Under these circumstances, no Albanian financial institution could have issued a guarantee for the €50 million investment without strong political intervention. The financial documentation Yeffet submitted during the negotiations will be part of SPAK’s investigation, since he either has no profitable assets in Albania or has been accused of fraud involving millions of dollars, as in the case of Mark Faist in Florida, where he is accused of extorting $8 million.
Nufi continued:
“With regard to the production and trade of military products, all activities are carried out within the conditions and limits established by the relevant licenses and are subject to the control procedures provided for under Albanian legislation. To date, AAT has neither produced nor traded military products.”
With this paragraph, Nufi says that AAT did not smuggle weapons from SUDAN, but that I deceived the Members of Parliament during the interpellation in April 2026.
The deception of ministers in the Rama government is no longer news, but what is now being concealed is extremely serious.
“AAT has been granted a license by the Defense Industry Agency ‘for the trade, storage and transport of military arms.’ The licensing was carried out in accordance with Law No. 87/2024 and Council of Ministers’ Decision No. 793, dated December 19, 2024.”
Thus, Nufi informs us that Ron Yeffet’s AAT was licensed by the Albanian state not to produce military arms, but to trade, store and transport them.
In other words, Rama’s friend Ron was given the right to buy and sell weapons wherever he wished, store them here in Albania and transport them. In short, the suspicions of arms trading from Sudan become even stronger, since this entity was licensed specifically to buy and sell weapons, not to produce them.
At the beginning of the program, we presented documentation signed by Nufi and Veliu showing that AAT’s primary activity is the construction of a military arms production factory in the country and, afterward, the supply of our armed forces. Once domestic demand was met, AAT would also be able to export weapons Made in Albania. Plug continued investigating the legislation governing this license by examining the specific criteria. As specified in Ermal Nufi’s letter, AAT was granted a license to trade, store and transport military arms based on Council of Ministers’ Decision No. 792, dated December 19, 2024.
DECISION No. 793, dated December 19, 2024
ON LICENSES AND AUTHORIZATIONS ISSUED BY THE DEFENSE INDUSTRY AGENCY
1. Within the framework of activities involving the trade, storage and transport of military arms, the Defense Industry Agency issues:
a) a license for the trade of military arms, which grants the licensed entity the right to carry out economic activity that, through sales and purchases, seeks to transfer military arms from the producer to the end user, directly or through intermediaries, inside and outside the country;
b) a license for the storage of military arms, which grants the licensed entity the right to administer military arms during production, development and trade;
c) a license for the transport of military arms, which grants the licensed entity the right to carry out any physical movement of military arms within the territory of the Republic of Albania.
Thus, as specified in the decision, a license for the trade of military arms means the right to buy and sell weapons, which are then transferred inside or outside the country. The requirements become even more specific in the case of licenses for storage and transport.
COUNCIL OF MINISTERS’ DECISION
“6. To verify compliance with the criteria for granting a license to store military arms, the following documentation shall be assessed:
i. the site plan of the area where storage will take place; the layout of the facility or facilities where the products and staff areas will be located; the construction project for the facility; the layout of movement routes for products and personnel; protective barriers and systems for protection from fire and atmospheric discharges; and the project for fencing the area with protective walls, exterior lighting and camera monitoring;
ii. the acceptance certificate issued by a domestic or foreign body that has inspected the warehouse according to the international standards of the UN, NATO or the EU for the storage of military arms, or according to Albanian standards approved under the legislation in force and in accordance with the warehouse project.”
Therefore, AAT would not only have to have a warehouse, but would also have to meet highly specific criteria, including an acceptance certificate according to international UN and NATO standards. The National Business Center contains no secondary address or, put simply, no warehouse declared by AAT, because at its main business address at Tirana Industrial Park it would not be able to store weapons due to safety-distance requirements. The same criteria apply to the vehicles required to obtain a transport license.
COUNCIL OF MINISTERS’ DECISION
“7. To verify compliance with the criteria for granting a license to transport military arms, the following documentation shall be assessed:
g) the vehicle approval certificate under the ADR, issued by the institutions designated in the legislation in force on the transport of dangerous goods, certifying that a single vehicle intended to transport certain dangerous goods meets the relevant technical requirements, in cases involving the transport of explosives and ammunition;
gj) the valid ADR training certificate of the vehicle driver in cases involving the transport of explosives and ammunition.”
SPAK should expand its investigation not only into the procedures for establishing AAT and the tenders, but also into the licensing of the arms trade by the Defense Industry Agency.
In the interest of transparency and accuracy, the Plug program sent several questions to AAT, but the answers had not arrived by the time the program was broadcast.
Do you have a warehouse for storing military arms?
Do you have transport vehicles equipped with ADR certificates?
Do you have certified transport staff for transporting military arms?
How many times has Arjeta Puca traveled to SUDAN?
Have you purchased weapons in SUDAN?
Have you signed contracts for the purchase and production of weapons in SUDAN or NIGERIA?
The Defense Industry Agency did not respond to our request for information, but it did respond to the Democratic Party’s request. The agency informed the party that AAT holds a license only for the trade of weapons, not for their storage and transport.
The Defense Industry Agency’s explanation makes clear that Ermal Nufi has once again deceived the Members of the Albanian Parliament with the information he provided.
But let us examine the information conveyed in the letter.
AAT was registered with the National Business Center on November 11, 2025, and immediately, without any investment or employees, applied for a license to trade weapons on December 19, 2025. The Defense Industry Agency issued the license on January 30, 2026.
What does AAT need this license for when it has no factory and no weapons produced? What weapons will Ron Yeffet trade? Apparently, the answers can be found in the wiretaps involving Arben Ahmet, and SPAK will only need to put its seal on this international trafficking operation.
What is certain is that AAT does not produce weapons. How could it produce them when it still has only two employees? The legal violations in the contract with this company, as well as the preferential treatment granted through special Council of Ministers’ decisions, are clear. But what is most serious in this story, and what SPAK must tell us, is whether we are dealing with arms trafficking. Answers are also needed regarding the legal violations surrounding the contract with Ron Yeffet for arms production, while his license covers only the trade, transport and storage of weapons, not production, as Prime Minister Edi Rama claims. Most importantly, millions from the pockets of Albanians continue to be paid./Syri
