VIDEO/ The two versions circulating about the clash between businessmen Luan Muça and Vasil Bedinaj in Vlora

In the rest of the world, businesspeople are racking their brains over how to integrate artificial intelligence into their companies, cut costs and gain access to new markets. Meanwhile, in our country, where there has long been a close relationship between businesspeople and strongmen, disputes continue to be settled with weapons and threats.

The scene that unfolded this Thursday on the Vlora coast could easily have come from a second-rate action movie. Security cameras captured several vehicles arriving near businessman Vasil Bedinaj’s Regina Palm resort. More than 10 armed individuals got out, and shortly afterward, Vlora police were placed on alert. Watch the video below:

Police did not provide details about what led to the clash between Luan Muça and Vasil Bedinaj in Vlora this Thursday, as the motives behind the incident have yet to be clarified.

“At around 11:30, the owner of a resort in Vlora notified police that armed individuals were confronting him,” the official statement said.

What is known for certain is that near Pusi i Mezinit, officers alerted by Vlora businessman Vasil Bedinaj spotted a vehicle traveling at high speed and began pursuing it. Because of its speed, the vehicle overturned on the road, and two of its occupants ended up in hospital.

“The driver of the vehicle lost control and crashed. Three individuals were found inside the vehicle, two of whom were injured in the accident, while the third had no health problems,” police reported.

Police said they found a handgun inside the vehicle, confirming that the situation at the Regina hotel, where the two businessmen had met earlier, had been tense.

The first version to circulate immediately after the incident was Vasil Bedinaj’s. According to reports citing his statement to police, the businessman claimed that he had been confronted with a clear extortion scheme: a group of armed individuals had demanded €5 million from him and had also issued an ultimatum.

“€5 million in protection money, otherwise leave Albania,” Bedinaj is reported to have told police.

But several hours later, another version emerged, complicating the story. According to this second version, businessman Luan Muça, the owner of Delta, was himself present at the hotel and met Bedinaj to clear up an issue related to an investment in Palasa.

In other words, the conflict did not arise out of nowhere. At the heart of it is a property dispute in Palasa, where Muça is developing a tourism project. According to this version, Bedinaj, together with other individuals, allegedly demanded a share of the property because he owns property nearby and also controls the road access. Muça appears to have rejected the demand. This Thursday’s meeting was intended specifically to resolve the dispute.

Luan Muça’s company, Delta, is listed as a beneficiary of strategic investor status for the first phase of the “Delta Falaise Resort & Village” project. The tourism project extends across the area between Palasa and Dhërmi and is planned as a complex of hotels and villas. Public records identify Luan Muça as Delta’s administrator and the company as the beneficiary of strategic status for the project.

Meanwhile, the people who accompanied Muça to the meeting are employees of the private company “SëAT Security,” which is contracted to provide security for his businesses. In short, the meeting is believed to have been intended to resolve the issue, but the situation appears to have escalated to the point that police were called.

A full police account of the incident is still lacking. In their initial statement, Vlora police were extremely cautious. They neither confirmed the €5 million extortion demand nor mentioned the property dispute. They also did not publicly identify the main figures involved or specify who threatened whom.

“A special investigative team has been established and, under the direction of the Prosecutor’s Office, is working to clarify the circumstances of the incident and identify all individuals involved,” the official statement said.

It is understandable that police officers need to proceed very cautiously in this case. Big business wields powerful political influence, so saying too much could create problems for the police./Lapsi.al