Ergys Verdho on Evis Berberi’s “path”/ While serving as director of the Albanian Road Authority, he opened a construction company and received tenders!

Several directors and former directors of the Albanian Road Authority have been arrested, investigated, tried and convicted for numerous abuses of office, causing extremely serious damage to state coffers.

The phone of former director Evis Berberi has uncovered numerous pieces of evidence for the Special Prosecution Office—evidence that continues to emerge, implicating a host of officials who predetermined tenders worth millions.

While Berberi, Balluku, Gjyli and Elezi have been charged, one former director continues to move from side to side, attempting to escape the “clutches” of justice, despite a “mountain” of evidence implicating him in numerous procedures.

This concerns Ergys Verdho, currently director-general of Albanian Railways, who previously headed the Albanian Road Authority and the Albanian Power Corporation.

Verdho was catapulted from private businesses to the top of institutions controlling large sums of money. He is also one of the former deputy prime minister’s most trusted people, since Belinda Balluku gave her “blessing” and approval for all of his appointments. Vox News has analyzed several documents from the National Business Center, tenders, notarial deeds and other decisions, some of which we will discuss below, shedding light on the fact that Verdho took actions similar to those of Berberi.

As a reminder, former Albanian Road Authority director Evis Berberi is under indictment and in custody. One of the episodes concerns the favoring of his former company in several tender procedures.

Verdho, meanwhile, proved somewhat more cunning, as he did not award tenders to his own company but received them from his “friends” or successors in office.

During the period when he was appointed director of the Albanian Road Authority, he opened design and construction companies, owning 50% of the shares in the company “V&CE Studio.”

Vox News has learned that Verdho was appointed as an employee of the Albanian Road Authority in 2018, initially holding the position of deputy director. Later, in October 2019, he was appointed director-general of the Albanian Road Authority.

According to the documents examined by Vox News, when he took up the post of director of the Albanian Road Authority, Ergys Verdho unusually registered a company called “V&CE Studio” with the National Business Center. Verdho owned 50% of the shares, while Ndriçim Allkaj owned the other 50%. The company’s stated purpose was “real estate valuation and design in the construction sector.”

Thus, a senior state official entered the business world wholeheartedly at a time when the law clearly defines a conflict of interest. There are suspicions that during this period, many companies to which Verdho awarded tenders worth millions fictitiously contracted this firm, while investigations by the Special Prosecution Office or another law-enforcement body could shed light on this affair.

Other documents examined by Vox News shed light on a fully fledged case, as the former director of the Albanian Road Authority and current director-general of the railways is suspected of having favored the company he owned in order to pressure construction firms.

According to the above-mentioned document, on November 24, 2020, Ergys Verdho formally relinquished his 50% stake in “V&CE Studio,” transferring it to the other shareholder, Ndriçim Allkaj. The value of the transaction was only 5,000 lekë, raising serious suspicions that the actions were fictitious.

/This article is exclusive to Vox News