The Special Prosecution Office has issued an official statement following the arrest in France of businessman Ermal Beqiri, for whom Interpol Tirana had issued a red notice for international search.
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According to SPAK, Beqiri is under investigation for several serious criminal offenses, including unlawful competition through violence, unlawful deprivation of liberty, violation of the equality of participants in public tenders or auctions, creation of a structured criminal group, commission of criminal offenses by a criminal organization and a structured criminal group, laundering the proceeds of a criminal offense or criminal activity, as well as active corruption of persons exercising public functions.
SPAK announced that the Special Court had ordered the security measure of detention in prison for Ermal Beqiri and businessman Ergys Agasi in December 2025. The ruling was forwarded to the State Police for execution, while both individuals were later declared internationally wanted.
The Special Prosecution Office’s clarification also follows statements by Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha. Berisha had claimed that Beqiri had operated his aircraft in Austria and Slovenia, raising doubts that he would have been able to do so if an international arrest warrant had been issued.
SPAK announced that the arrest in France took place on July 24, 2026. French authorities detained Beqiri after he entered restricted airspace near the Penly nuclear power plant in Seine-Maritime in a light aircraft and was forced to land at Albert airfield in Somme.
Following his arrest, a French court ordered that he remain in pretrial detention pending extradition to Albania. Meanwhile, searches and financial investigations in France have uncovered assets suspected of being linked to criminal activity. They include bank accounts with a total value of more than €2 million, two apartments, motor vehicles and a château in the Oise department worth approximately €2.6 million.
The Special Prosecution Office has initiated procedures for Ermal Beqiri’s extradition from France to Albania. At the same time, investigations into the suspected criminal assets are being conducted in cooperation with the French authorities, with the aim of seizing and confiscating them.
SPAK announced that the investigations are being conducted as part of criminal proceeding no. 20/1 of 2025. In this proceeding, on 05.12.2025, the name of E.B. was also registered as a person under investigation for the criminal offenses of “Unlawful Competition through Violence,” “Unlawful Deprivation of Liberty” and “Violation of the Equality of Participants in Public Tenders or Auctions,” committed through the specific form of cooperation of a structured criminal group, as well as “Structured Criminal Group,” “Commission of Criminal Offenses by a Criminal Organization and Structured Criminal Group” and “Laundering the Proceeds of a Criminal Offense or Criminal Activity.” These offenses are provided for under Articles 110, 170/b and 28/4, 258, 287, 333/a and 334 of the Criminal Code.
He is also under investigation for “Active Corruption of Persons Exercising Public Functions,” committed in cooperation and on more than one occasion, an offense provided for under Article 244, second paragraph, of the Criminal Code.
For E.A. and E.B., the Special Court of First Instance for Corruption and Organized Crime ordered the security measure of detention in prison through ruling no. 125, dated 15.12.2025, pursuant to Article 238 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The court ruling was immediately sent to the State Police for execution through official letter no. 43104 prot., dated 17.12.2025.
On 24.12.2025, through official letter no. 43981 prot., the Special Prosecution Office asked the General Directorate of the State Police and the Interpol Tirana National Central Bureau to declare internationally wanted the individuals for whom detention in prison had been ordered. The search was registered in the Interpol Tirana database through a red notice.
On June 19, 2026, SPAK special prosecutors contacted the Internal Security Service (SSI) in Tirana, requesting assistance from the French authorities in locating E.B. The request was made after available information suggested that he was in the territory of the French Republic.
At that time, E.B. was the subject of an Interpol Red Notice issued at the request of the Albanian judicial authorities for his arrest and extradition. After receiving the information, the SSI contacted the French National Directorate of Judicial Police, enabling checks and investigations to begin immediately in France. Cooperation with the Central Office for Combating Organized Crime (OCLCO) was established that same day.
The initial investigative actions reinforced suspicions that E.B. was in France, in line with the information provided by SPAK prosecutors. Further investigations confirmed his presence and identified several assets suspected of having criminal origins, including bank accounts worth more than €2 million, two apartments, motor vehicles and the purchase of a château in the Oise department (60), valued at approximately €2.6 million.
For these assets, as well as any other assets that may be uncovered during the investigations, the Albanian authorities have sent the French side a request for legal assistance with the aim of taking measures to seize them.
Investigations conducted by the National Fugitive Search Brigade (BNRF) also led to the identification of vehicles suspected of having been used by the wanted person. This information helped focus field operations on the relevant areas.
At the same time, the Central Office for Combating Serious Financial Crime (OCRGDF) also became involved in the proceedings. This unit conducted financial checks on the suspected assets identified in France and, in coordination with the French and Albanian judicial authorities, prepared the seizure measures to be implemented through international judicial cooperation.
Since June 19, 2026, the SSI, the liaison magistrate and the judicial police services have continued to exchange information and cooperate operationally. According to SPAK, daily coordination has enabled information to be transmitted quickly and the investigations to be continuously adjusted.
E.B. was arrested on July 24, 2026, after entering the restricted airspace of the Penly nuclear power plant in Seine-Maritime in a light aircraft. Following intervention by the authorities, the aircraft landed at Albert airfield in Somme. A French court ordered that he remain in pretrial detention for the purpose of extradition to the Republic of Albania.
Judicial investigations are currently being conducted by specialized units of the French National Directorate of Judicial Police in cooperation with SPAK. At the same time, financial investigations are continuing to enable the seizure and confiscation of assets of criminal origin in French territory, in accordance with international cooperation mechanisms.
At the request of the Special Prosecution Office, the French authorities conducted a personal search of E.B., as well as searches of several premises owned by him. During these operations, items considered relevant to the criminal proceeding were seized.
SPAK has forwarded to the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Albania the request for E.B.’s extradition from France to Albania so that it can be sent to the competent authorities of the French Republic.
The Special Prosecution Office expressed its gratitude for the cooperation of the State Police, the Interpol Tirana National Central Bureau, the Internal Security Service (SSI) at the French Embassy in Tirana, the French National Directorate of Judicial Police (DNPJ), the Central Office for Combating Organized Crime (OCLCO) in France, the National Fugitive Search Brigade (BNRF) in France and the liaison magistrate of the French Republic. The latter helped maintain continuous communication between the Albanian and French judicial authorities and assisted in following up on the procedures.
Every person is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a final court ruling.
