The fight for the Party School exposes the Finance Minister's family members

2023-05-17 14:55:00, Aktualitet CNA

The fight for the Party School exposes the Finance Minister's family

Illustrative photo

A controversial decision of the Supreme Court has recognized the ownership of 38.6 thousand meters of state land at the former Party School, to the family members of the Minister of Finance, Delina Ibrahimaj. The decision taken two months ago, but still not clarified, overturned a final decision of the Court of Appeal in Tirana, which returned the ownership of the land in one of the most coveted areas of Tirana to the state.

This is the story of the maddened struggle for land at the Party School, which highlights the insanity of the alienation of public property through dubious privatization procedures and the corruption of public officials.

History

Built in the early years of the communist regime to prepare the country's socialist cadres, the fate of the Party School remained tied to the socialists even after the fall of the regime. It all starts in 1993, when the then government founded the joint venture Tirana Trade Center in partnership with an Italian company called GGIF Investments.

According to the foundation act, the company would have a capital of 89.9 million lek and the partnership would be divided into 55 percent for the Italian company and 45 percent for the Albanian state. The Italian company GGIF Investments would contribute 49.9 million lek capital in cash, while the Albanian state would bring as a contribution in kind 6 objects that were located in that area, the basic means of turnover and the use of 38.6 thousand square meters of land.

At that time, Albanian legislation prohibited the sale of land to foreigners. But everything would change a few years later, when the Albanian government would start the privatization of enterprises with joint state capital.

Privatization

In 2004, the government contracts the authorized accounting expert Berti Pashko to assess the capital of the Tirana Trade Center company. In the evaluation report compiled by Pashko, it is stated that the Italian company GGIF Investments owns 55 percent of the basic capital of ALL 89.9 million, while the state owns 45 percent. According to the report, the state's contribution includes the plot of 38.6 thousand meters of land estimated at the annual rent level of 1993 of 59.71 lek per square meter.

In August 2005, after the socialist government had lost the elections, it authorized the privatization of the state-owned part of the Tirana Trade Center company. At that time, the acting minister of economy was Anastas Angjeli, as the new government had not yet been formed. According to the contract, the state part of the shares in the Tirana Trade Center company was sold to the Italian company for the value of 100 million ALL, including 38.6 thousand meters of land, which was sold at a price of 2 thousand ALL per square meter. This is where the story of alienation begins.

Selling below value

In April 2005, before selling the state quotas to the Tirana Trade Center company, the Ministry of Economy requested information from Hipoteka on what was the average sale price of the land around the area of ??the former Party School. Through a letter signed by former registrar Gazmend Zeneli, ZVRPP Tirana replies that the average price of land in that area was 2,000 lek per square meter.

Later on, there was an investigation in the prosecutor's office. Prosecutor Olsi Dado concluded that the document was manipulated since the real price of the land in that area according to the sales and purchases registered in the mortgage was 10,000 lek per square meter, i.e. 5 times more than what the former registrar Zeneli wrote. In the investigation file, the prosecutor writes that there is a clear criminal offense committed by the former registrar Zeneli, but due to exceeding the deadlines, it has been prescribed.

Based on the price given by this person, the Ministry of Economy sold the land to the Italian company for 2 thousand lek per square meter or 5 times cheaper than the real price. Only through the reduction of the price, a damage of 300 million ALL was caused to the state. But the real owners who were alienating the land at such a cheap price would come out a few days later.

Business between friends

Only one month after buying the state part of the quotas for 100 million ALL, in September 2005 the Italian partner sells the company Tirana Trade Center for 127 million ALL to the company ALPIN sh.a. with administrator Astrit Kucanin and family owners of the Minister of Finance Delina Ibrahimaj.

But on the plot of 38 thousand square meters there were also other businesses, which had privatized existing facilities from the state. One of them was Ferlut sh.a., which had privatized the building of the former social food school in Laprakë along with about 4,000 meters of land, which was located within the 38,600 meter plot of Tirana Trade Center.

A long court battle has been fought between Ferlu and Alpin, until in 2013, the Court of Appeal decided to strip both companies of the ownership of the land to return the land to the state. After this final decision, the Ferlut company bought the 4,000-meter portion from the state for a price of 124 million alleks through the bequest procedure of an unauthorized construction that it had built there during the years 1996-1997.

While in the rest of the plot there are other similar cases like this one. Until a month ago, when with the unclear decision of the Supreme Court, the mortgage restricted the property on behalf of the family of the Minister of Finance, introducing the state into an adventure that could cost millions of euros in damages to the legalized owners. or third parties who entered into a relationship with them for a land that was public. This is the story of how citizens are extorted from public property every day and then forced to pay billions of lek in compensation for a property that was theirs./ Oligarkia.al