The DP Parliamentary Group emphasizes that they have acted in violation of the law by using the reserve fund to support a private musical event, damaging the state’s interests.

The DP emphasizes that they should be investigated for committing criminal offenses of abuse of office and violation of equality in tenders.

“From the above, it is clear that citizen Edi Rama, in his capacity as Prime Minister of Albania, and citizen Blendi Gonxhja, in his capacity as Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sports, in collaboration with each other, have acted in violation of the law regarding the use of the reserve fund to support a private musical event, damaging the legitimate interests of the state, and in this sense their actions meet the objective element of the criminal offense of ‘Abuse of office,’ provided by Article 248 of the Criminal Code.

On the other hand, both these citizens, in collaboration with each other, have violated the rules regarding the freedom of participation and realization of equality of citizens in public tenders, with the purpose of creating unjust advantages and privileges for a certain economic operator, thus fulfilling the objective element of the criminal offense of ‘Violation of equality of participants in tenders or public auctions,’ provided by Article 258 of the Criminal Code”, – stated in the complaint filed with SPAK.

FULL STATEMENT:

The Parliamentary Group of the Democratic Party, represented by the Head of the Parliamentary Group Mr. Gazment Bardhi, today filed with SPAK the criminal complaint against Prime Minister Edi Rama and Minister Blendi Gonxhja, for the criminal offenses of “Abuse of office” and “Violation of equality of participants in tenders or public auctions,” for the proposal and approval of 4.2 million euros financing of a private event of singer Kanye West.

By Normative Act No. 3, dated 06.07.2026, upon the proposal of the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sports, citizen Blendi Gonxhja, the Council of Ministers has decided the partial financing of the organization and conduct of a cultural-artistic activity, with impact on promoting tourism and the image of the Republic of Albania, the concert of the internationally renowned artist Kanye West (YE), to be held in Tirana, on July 11, 2026, in the amount of 400,000,000 lek or 4.2 million euros.

In the justification of the need, the report states that in the concrete case the need is identified first in practical terms by the fact that organizing this event requires support of 400,000,000 (four hundred million) lek, without which the event/concert risks failing, based on communications between representatives of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sports and the concert organizers, and secondly in legal terms, due to the fact that the legislation in force does not have a legal basis, an authorizing legal provision, to issue a sub-legal act, which would allow granting such support, under such conditions for a music/artistic/cultural event with pronounced tourist effect. We emphasize that neither under Law No. 10 352, dated 18.11.2010, “On art and culture,” as amended, nor under Law No. 93/2015, “On tourism,” as amended, is it possible to adopt a sub-legal act to support this event under these concrete conditions.

In the criminal complaint filed by the DP parliamentary group, it is emphasized that “the legal framework in force has enshrined the obligation of state authorities to use state financial resources efficiently and effectively in the exercise of their competencies and responsibilities, while respecting the principles of sustainability of public finances, equality before the law and free competition. In this regard, the Constitution, the Stabilization and Association Agreement, as well as the laws implementing them, have prohibited any conduct or action of state institutions that inherently undermine the State Budget, the freedom of participation and equality of parties in the provision of goods and services, regardless of whether they are used for public purposes or not. It appears that on the basis of a private economic operator, citizen Blendi Gonxhja, as Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sports, has initiated the procedure for the approval of the normative act, with the aim of granting this operator a fund of 4.2 million euros, using the reserve fund of the State Budget. The latter, referring to the above legal provisions, can only be used for expenditures that are unknown and impossible to foresee, such as cases of natural disasters, floods, earthquakes, epidemics and civil emergencies. In the concrete case, we are not facing any of these situations, since the music concert was an event planned in time, and the private economic operator had the possibility to apply in advance to obtain a certain fund for the realization of this activity, in accordance with legal procedures. By acting in this way, citizens Edi Rama and Blendi Gonxhja, on the one hand, have compromised the reserve fund, which constitutes one of the main groups of expenditures of the State Budget, as well as violated the principles of free competition and non-discrimination, since such an opportunity was not foreseen for other economic operators, who could also have applied to obtain financial support for the realization of this concert or a similar one.”

“From the above, it is clear that citizen Edi Rama, in his capacity as Prime Minister of Albania, and citizen Blendi Gonxhja, in his capacity as Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sports, in collaboration with each other, have acted in violation of the law regarding the use of the reserve fund to support a private musical event, damaging the legitimate interests of the state, and in this sense their actions meet the objective element of the criminal offense of ‘Abuse of office,’ provided by Article 248 of the Criminal Code. On the other hand, both these citizens, in collaboration with each other, have violated the rules regarding the freedom of participation and realization of equality of citizens in public tenders, with the purpose of creating unjust advantages and privileges for a certain economic operator, thus fulfilling the objective element of the criminal offense of ‘Violation of equality of participants in tenders or public auctions,’ provided by Article 258 of the Criminal Code”, – stated in the complaint filed with SPAK.

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