The luxury purchases of Ajola Xoxa, the 'Imelda Marcos' of Tirana

2025-02-13 15:35:00, Aktualitet CNA

SPAK's investigation sheds light on the staggering expenses on luxury goods, clothes and jewelry of the wife of Mayor Erion Veliaj, arrested by the Special Court for corruption and money laundering.

In Tirana, one of the most modest capitals in Europe, where the average salary is 600 euros per month; Ajola Xoxa, the wife of the mayor Erion Veliaj, allegedly spent over 100 thousand euros per year on online shopping alone.

The investigation by the Special Prosecution Office against Organized Crime and Corruption (SPAK) has uncovered around 130 customs declarations in her name or those of close associates between 2016 and 2021, for a total amount of 860 thousand euros.

Luxury goods imported through online retailers such as Net-a-Porter, Moda Operandi and Mercedes Distribution Moda, include a wide range of dresses, jewelry, bikinis, socks, accessories, make-up, as well as other luxury products from brands such as Louis Vuitton and Prada.

"Investigative actions carried out in relation to the expenses made by Ajola Xoxa and her relatives in the amount of 86,721,175 (eighty-six million seven hundred twenty-one thousand one hundred seventy-five) lek for clothes, cosmetic products, lipstick, earrings, etc.," SPAK writes in the request for the security measure against Xoxa and Veliaj.

The long-serving mayor of Tirana was arrested on Monday by order of the Special Court on charges of corruption and money laundering. Au is suspected of having created a well-thought-out corrupt scheme to benefit from bribes from Tirana Municipality funds, through a network of NGOs and companies controlled by his wife.

On Wednesday evening, the Special Court confirmed the 'prison arrest' measure against Veliaj, while leaving Ajola Xoxa under 'compulsory appearance', given that she is the mother of a minor child.

In a statement on his Facebook page, Mayor Erion Veliaj stated that his wife's online purchases were legal.

"The online purchases are all declared and, in an amount several times smaller, were made for the artistic performances of my wife's cultural foundation," said Veliaj.

"Billing that amount in an indictment, as a river of money poured into luxury, is a criminal perversion," he added.

Erion Veliaj has been the mayor of Tirana for almost a decade and a key figure in the ruling Socialist Party. Before being elected to head the country’s largest municipality, Veliaj served as Minister of Social Welfare and Youth from 2013 to 2015. Before the Socialist Party came to power, he was known as a civil society activist and founder of the “Mjaft!” Movement.

Ajola Xoxa is an Albanian lawyer, specializing in energy law. She is the co-founder of the contemporary art platform “Harabel”, which focuses on promoting art and culture in Albania. Veliaj and Xoxa were married in 2014 in a wedding with hundreds of guests at the Gjirokastra Castle and are parents to a son.

With her well-groomed appearance and stylish outfits, Xoxa has often been the subject of pink pages and public pages related to fashion and lifestyle in Tirana. According to SPAK, from 2016 to 2021, Xoxa spent an average of 14.4 million lek (140 thousand euros) on online purchases in fashion and luxury goods stores.

Contrary to what the mayor of Tirana says, these purchases have not been transparent and have not been declared to the Inspectorate for Control and Declaration of Assets (ILDAKKI).

According to SPAK, not only was the legal obligation to report expenses violated, but Xoxa also created a scheme to camouflage online purchases, using Erlad Ismail – one of the employees of her company 'Partners Law' for customs clearances.

During his statement as a person with knowledge of the criminal offense, citizen Erald Ismaili confessed that, unlike what the customs clearances suggest, he lives a modest life, with a family income of around 2.4 million lek per year, and he does not even own a vehicle, because a car is a major expense for him.

Asked if he had ever purchased clothes from brands such as "Louis Vuitton or Prada", citizen Erald Ismaili denied this. When confronted with the fact that from 2016 to 2021, products were paid for in his name and cleared through 130 customs procedures, worth 55.4 million lek, not including customs payments and taxes, Ismaili expressed surprise and explained that these purchases were not made by him, but by citizen Ajola Xoxa.

"The declarant remembers giving Ajola his identity card once, after the post office requested it, but he has no knowledge of how it was used," SPAK states.

"This statement is in unity with all other evidence administered, as citizen Erald Ismaili has no financial means to make online purchases of clothing and other personal items, such as make-up, etc., in a total value of approximately 65 million lek over a period of approximately 4 years (including VAT)," the prosecution adds.

During her statement as a person with knowledge of the criminal offense, citizen Adela Kondakçiu - who served as the financial manager of the 'Harabel' Center, also supported Erald Ismail's story.

She told how "they paid for Eraldi's customs clearances in cash on the orders or at the request of Ajola."

“Ajola always gave him the money for customs payments,” Kondakçi says. “From the packaging, I could tell they were expensive brands of clothes,” she added.

SPAK's investigations into Xoxa's lifestyle are not only about her online shopping habits, but also target the source of funds that finance this luxury.

Even though her husband held the position of mayor of the capital, official salaries were insufficient to cover this staggering level of expenses.

SPAK's investigations raise suspicions that these luxury purchases were financed through funds transferred in the form of bribes from contracting companies and NGOs benefiting from Tirana Municipality funds, as well as companies that obtained construction permits in the capital.

Ajola Xoxa's case evokes comparisons with other figures of politicians' wives who became fashion icons, such as Imelda Marcos of the Philippines and Leila Ben Ali of Tunisia - women who ultimately became symbols of corruption and the lack of rule of law in their countries./ reporter.al