New details from the Tirana Prosecutor’s Office order, which placed under seizure the assets worth around 50 million euros owned by the controversial businessman, Kristian Boçi.
14 commercial companies and two hydroelectric power plants have been placed under seizure, while Boçi claims that he has not been involved in any criminal activity in Albania.
According to the prosecutor’s office, these individuals have been convicted in Belgium for drug trafficking, and businesses in Albania have benefited through a money laundering scheme, of which their family members are also part.
The assets are owned by Kristian Boçi, Drilona Boçi, Ender Boçi, Eliverta Boçi, Vladimir Avram and Marisa Nito, all persons connected to them through social and family circumstances.
Vladimir Avram’s company, ‘Europa Bilding’, was seized. Avrami is the father of Arbër Avrami, administrator of “Albgaz”, the public company “Albanian Seaports Development Company”.
The gas sector in Albania has a very great economic importance, although the management over the years has not provided monetary benefits for the state, while the main beneficiaries are private companies.
Other companies that have been seized: ‘Metal Form’, ‘Fidalba’, ‘Ferro Chrome Holding’, ‘Metale Albania 2014’, ‘Ventus’, ‘Trital’ and ‘Rametal’, ‘Alfemet’.
Kristian Boçi’s companies, ‘Mak-08’, ‘Dizi’, ‘Gloris Construction’, and two HECs ‘Hec Zall Xhuxhë’ and ‘Chris sh.p.k’ were seized. Marisa Nito’s companies ‘Dada Clean’ and ‘Sapientia’ were seized.
Money laundering scheme
The Tirana Prosecution Office has seized assets worth 50 million euros belonging to Krisjan Boçi, convicted of drugs in Belgium, E.A. and 5 other people, as they are suspected of being involved in a money laundering scheme in Albania, in which their wives also played a role.
Among the seized assets are 14 commercial units, bank accounts, shops, garages, apartments and a vehicle worth 117 thousand euros owned by Kristjan Boçi.
The Tirana Prosecution Office informs that the investigations have resulted in E.A., who has served his sentence for drug trafficking in Belgium within the framework of criminal groups, having established a series of commercial companies with the aim of masking the carrying out of illegal activities on his part, with activities considered legal.
It is reported that E.A., through the creation of a series of companies, some of them under the administration of Kristjan Boçi and Vladimir Avrami, has created a genuine money laundering scheme.
“The investigations have established the performance of several fictitious actions such as: sale – purchase of a vehicle, where on the same day the cancellation of the legal action was carried out, the vehicle being sold at a very high price, obtaining loans from second-tier banks, at unjustified levels, where the bank itself strangely also appears as a guarantor of the amounts given”, informs the investigative body.
It also results that fictitious companies have been created, which despite not having carried out financial activity, have had a significant increase in the share capital.
Loans were given in significant amounts, but the legal source of their creation was not justified, as well as companies with joint shares were created between the citizen with the initials E. A. and Kristjan Boçi, with large values of the shares being determined, but not repaid by the respective partners, the purchase of land with significant values, but the source of income was not justified, etc.
