Rama: No one has ever found a penny of theirs in my pocket! I have never used power to build wealth; I work to make history

Prime Minister Edi Rama strongly denied the accusations against him of strengthening corruption in state institutions with his “blessing” and participation.

Speaking from Rinas, Rama said he had never committed the criminal offense of corruption during his terms as mayor of Tirana or during his more than 13 years as the country’s prime minister.

The head of government also said that every investor who had obtained an opportunity to invest or develop property through his signature had done so fully in accordance with the law.

“There is not a single piece of evidence that anyone has ever had a penny of theirs in my pocket or in my family’s income, or in exchange for a single signature I have signed as mayor or prime minister. It has never happened, because that kind of phenomenon has not yet come into existence. I am not an angel or infallible, but I have never committed the bastard act of treating the power that Albanians entrusted to me to change Tirana or Albania as something to be used for money or property. Anyone who has benefited from constitutional rights to develop property or make investments thanks to my signature knows very well what I am talking about; they know very well that my power has never been used for dark favors or illegal gifts. I am here to leave my name, not to fill my pockets; I am here to make history, not to build wealth; I am here to transform Albania, not to deform myself,” Rama said.