SPAK's evidence: Beqaj is the de facto owner of the restaurant 'GZONA'

2024-07-07 19:57:00, Aktualitet CNA

SPAK's evidence: Beqaj is the de facto owner of the restaurant

SPAK is based on new facts and evidence to accuse the former Minister of Health Ilir Beqaj, as the de facto owner of the GZONA restaurant.

From the interceptions and evidence provided by BKH officers, it is clearly understood that all the restaurant employees are aware that the owner is the former Minister of Health Ilir Beqaj. SPAK has secured the communications of the restaurant employees who report to them about the dismissals.

In the intercepts, the administrator of the 'Gzona' restaurant, Gazment Prenga, while talking to the former employee Vladimir Prenga, tells him that Ilir Beqaj has everything and that 'Ermali decides everything'. According to SPAK, from these conversations it is understood that the communications with the personnel and control in this restaurant Ilir Beqaj carried out through Ermal Kurtulaj.

The family members of the former minister, namely his daughter Deborah, appears in the wiretapping that she knows about the developments and is interested in the progress of the restaurant. In the conversations, it is understood that the Volkswagen Tuareg owned by Ermal Kurtulajt is actually Ilir Beqaj's car.

In order to prove that Ilir Beqaj is the de facto owner of the 'Gzona' restaurant, SPAK also managed the wiretapping of his daughter Deborah Beqaj. In a conversation, Beqaj's daughter seems to be aware of the changes made in the bar's environment, but she is also interested in how an acquaintance of hers spent a dinner she had been there.

Deborah Beqaj: How did you spend last night?

Ada Cuci: Very good. Gzona has become very nice with the new changes

Deborah Beqaj: They did a lot. There is a new cun that is taken there. It is laid down with boards and is made of 2 parts.

The involvement of the GZONA restaurant is confirmed by the testimony of Alfred Nikolla, the executive director of the company that won the tender to organize the 'FESTA' event. The party was also tendered by the Ministry of Tourism, but according to Alfred Nikolla, Ermal Kurtulaj and GZONA took the biggest commitment.

Even according to Nikola's testimony, GZONA's chef, Bleri Dervishi, is the one who prepared the food for the party. It turns out that Bleri Dervishi has also won a start-up project from the State Ministry for Protection and Entrepreneurship worth about 100 million ALL.

As far as I remember, the total value of the contract was about 140,000 euros. As far as I remember from the information I have, the catering service was provided by the Gzona restaurant located in the Castle of Tirana. As far as I remember in office discussions with the team Chef Blair's name was mentioned, another chef I remember is Chef Freddy. But I don't know how the Gzona restaurant was chosen, since I didn't choose it .

In the conversations provided by SPAK, Ermal Kurtulaj, as a confidant of Ilir Beqaj, speaks with the driver of the latter, regarding some services that were done to the car.

According to SPAK, this car belongs to the former Minister of Health and he used it when he was an MP. Ermal Kurtulaj and Arben Dani discuss among themselves the problems of the vehicle and admit that it belongs to Ilir Beqaj.

Ilir Beqaj appeared before the court on Saturday, asking to be released. He even expressed his willingness before the court to leave a guarantee of 50,000 euros. Likewise, his right-hand man Ermal Kurtulaj asked to leave a financial guarantee.

However, their requests were not taken into account by the court, which decided 'Arrest in prison' for Ilir Beqaj and Ermal Kurtulaj. Alfred Nikolaj was placed under 'House Arrest'.

As for Elton Marini, the house arrest was left in force, while Bledar Leka and Bjona Ziaj were recognized with the mandatory appearance measure.