Këlliçi denounces: 500 million dollars of taxpayers’ money went to the new justice system, but major scandals remain uninvestigated

Belind Këlliçi, deputy chairman of the Democratic Party, has leveled strong accusations against the new justice institutions, stressing that they have failed in confronting corruption. He pointed out that Albanian citizens have poured almost 500 million dollars into making these institutions operational, but according to him, the most serious corruption scandals have never resulted in a full investigation.

In a press communication, the Democratic MP asserted that the majority cut short the last parliamentary session precisely to block the opposition from bringing into debate both the Territorial Reform and the overview of the work of justice institutions.

According to Këlliçi, now that almost seven years have passed since SPAK began its activity, the time has come to take stock of this structure’s achievements.

He devoted the largest part of his speech to the incinerator file, claiming that the investigations have been dragged out for years and, as a result, the financial damage has deepened. Këlliçi stated that for the Tirana Incinerator, the Special Prosecution itself has confirmed that 110 million euros were collected from the agreement, while actual investments did not exceed 21 million euros.

The Democratic lawmaker insisted that a sum of 89 million euros is missing and that so far no monetary value has been seized. He also questioned the lack of investigation into certain documents and contracts.

Këlliçi began his detailed statement by addressing the public, stressing that the last parliamentary session reconfirmed that the majority aims to strip the opposition of the right to speak, especially regarding transparency over the work of the Territorial Reform Commission, which he described as Edi Rama’s latest attempt to manipulate the upcoming local elections.

He assured that the Democratic Party will commit to transparency and will cooperate with international partners to prevent this scenario, recalling the warning of MEP Tomas Zdechovsky that tampering with elections would lead to Rama behind bars.

According to Këlliçi, the interruption of the Assembly’s work also had the main goal of preventing the opposition from shedding light on the work of the so-called “New Justice” institutions, which he considers an extension of executive power.

He then broke down the high cost of this system with figures: since 2019, taxpayers have financed the justice institutions with nearly half a billion dollars, including the Prosecution, Courts, ILD, KLP, KLGJ, KPA, KPK, and SPAK.

He posed the question whether the country today has independent justice, describing a picture where citizens wait at least 15 years for a ruling, frustration leads to victims in courtrooms and the murder of judges, while corruption deepens every year and the institutions set up with so much fanfare remain spectators.

He clarified that he is not among the politicians who condemn justice, on the contrary, he has helped with criminal complaints and evidence so that they can do their job, but after nearly 7 years of SPAK’s operation, the time has come to see the balance.

Taking the incinerator file as an initial example, Këlliçi recalled that investigations began in 2020 and that the incinerators of Fier and Elbasan were shut down without returning a single cent to the budget, leaving only two rusty carcasses for which citizens still pay, while over 40 million euros were stolen.

The most scandalous point, he said, is the Tirana Incinerator, whose investigation ended in July after a full 6 years. SPAK claims that until the company was seized in 2023, 110 million euros were taken from the contract, but real investments were only 21 million euros, meaning 89 million euros are missing and not a single currency has been seized, while the investigation continued and the money disappeared.

He also drew attention to a document signed by Prime Minister Rama regarding the 8% bonus given to this ghost company, which according to him was never investigated, thus limiting responsibility only to Alqi Bllako and Lefter Koka, while the political signature remained untouchable.

Then Këlliçi mentioned a contract with the company LLANAJ shpk for 500 square meters of construction, worth at least 1 million euros, which also was not seized. He also mentioned a loan of 280 thousand euros that Klodian Zoto gave to the company WSI shpk, which is linked to the gambling market through ADRIA ENTERTAINMENT and still appears in its balances, without this financial relationship being investigated or the amount seized.

Turning to Eco Park Durrës, he said that after six years of investigation, the Democratic Party has filed a full criminal complaint, but 19 million euros have disappeared through a fictitious company in the name of Mirel Mërtiri’s driver, with the company ARCON shpk.

To illustrate what SPAK calls “intellectual corruption,” Këlliçi dwelled on a document dated April 1, 2019, a contract between the Tirana Incinerator company IEBV and the architecture studio Casanova Hernandez for 225 thousand euros from the state budget for an Eco Park project, before the government had announced anything.

He reconstructed the chronology: the tender was opened in October 2019, then the November earthquake struck, Rama declared a state of natural disaster to create the opportunity for theft, Minister Anila Denaj cancelled the tender under the pretext of reconstruction, but only two weeks later, on December 16, by a decision signed by Rama, the Interministerial Civil Emergency Committee decided that the project would proceed through an accelerated procedure without tender, precisely using the emergency as a justification.

These facts, he stressed, would be enough for Edi Rama and his criminal organization to face justice.

Regarding the sterilization affair, Këlliçi reported that after five years of investigation, the balance is about 100 million euros in damage, some front men, and only 3 years in prison, while the money has disappeared. He noted that the scenario repeats almost mathematically: SPAK investigates, but the money evaporates.

Likewise, for the Check Up case, the investigation has lasted 5 years without any result, even though the opposition’s Investigative Commission documented the scheme of fictitious invoices. “The evidence is on the table, what is missing is the result,” he said, also recalling the state of hospitals, where the oncology facility resembles a wartime concentration camp.

Similarly, he mentioned the theft of agricultural land and public property, for which the Democratic Party has filed a full complaint, but the investigations drag on endlessly while farmers’ lands disappear into private projects.

He added that the same thing happens with the tiger files, the roads that cost human lives, and the photovoltaic parks, where investigations are carried out “at a snail’s pace,” but the money disappears during the process.

In the end, Këlliçi concluded that after a bill of half a billion dollars, Albanians have the right to know what they have financed. The balance is merciless: files grow old, budgets increase, those responsible are protected, corruption flourishes, and the money never returns, while the criminal organization continues unchecked. He stated that there will be no silence and that this battle aims to restore citizens’ confidence that the law is stronger than power, warning that the longer justice is delayed, the heavier the bill will be, which this time will not be paid by Albanians anymore.