Microcredit scandal/"PLUG" sheds light on the investigative file

2025-01-15 22:56:00, Aktualitet CNA

In this Wednesday's show, the "Plug" show brought the microcredit fraud scheme set up by "MCA", "Final" which also included the enforcement companies 'FS' and 'FLASH', the law offices ADCA, the activities of 'Alban Kotes', a natural person, and the enforcement agents Fatos Alimadhi, Helidon Xhindi, Lefter Canaj, and Altin Vako.

"Plug" has investigated the activity of microfinance companies from their creation to the establishment of the fraud scheme that has affected hundreds of Albanian families.

On 28.05.2014, the company 'Micro Credit Albania' was established, with the following activity: 'Exercising the activity of lending in all its forms and the activity of offering advisory, intermediary and other auxiliary services for the activity of lending as a non-bank financial entity, etc.,' with the partner citizen Elda Ibro, who was initially also the administrator of the company. The administration was then transferred to the citizen under investigation Alban Kote and then to Andis Gjoka.

The initial capital is 20 million lek. On 05.05.2015, it was decided to increase the company's capital by 48 million and subsequently, on 25.05.2015, by 34 million, reaching a total value of 102 million lek.

At the Bank of Albania, to document the legality of the source of capital, Elda Ibro has submitted, among other things, a contract for the sale of real estate worth 35,000,000 lek to citizen Arben Meskuti, a sale which is suspected to be fictitious.

Firstly, because Arben Meskuti sold the apartment in question back to the Ibro couple, for the same amount, and secondly, Arben Meskuti, in 2015, did not have sufficient legal income to purchase the property in the amount of 35,000,000 lekë. According to the information sent by Arben Meskuti himself to the Bank of Albania, his legal income until 2019 (i.e., four years later) is only in the amount of 28,000,000 lekë.

With license no. 30, dated 27.02.2015, the MCA company was licensed as a micro-credit financial institution (which could grant loans up to 600,000 lek), while on 09.05.2016, with license no. 38, the company was licensed as a non-bank financial institution, to carry out activities in all forms of lending.

While the company had applied and was continuing the procedures to obtain the license, on 11.08.2015, this company and a second-tier bank signed an agreement for the purchase of the liabilities of debtors in arrears (the portfolio classified as bad debt). Later, other second-tier banks also initiated similar agreements. The contract has an annex, but the annex attached to the contract does not specify the value of the liabilities of the debtors included in the sold portfolio.

INVESTIGATIVE FILE:

'This fact is emphasized because during the investigation it resulted that the value of the debt obligation sold does not refer to the borrower's obligation at the time of issuing the execution order. Subsequently, the company also entered into contracts with other second-tier banks, precisely with the object of purchasing bad loans. The cost of purchasing the portfolio of overdue loans varies from 1%-23% of the obligation'

On 04.08.2015, the company 'Sherbim Përmbarimor FS' sh.pk was established, the partner and administrator of which is Aldo Daka (employee of the company 'ZIG', owned by Arben Meskuti). On 23.02.2018, the administrator Albert Gega was added, who left after about 14 months. The addresses of both companies changed after the respective actions mentioned above.

The Enforcement Service 'ZIG' sh.pk was established earlier, but Arben Meskuti became its partner with 100% of the shares on 24.06.2013. After two years, it moved its offices, while Meskuti administered it until the company's activity was suspended, and during this period, Yllka Meskuti, his mother, took over the administration.

The Enforcement Company 'FLASH' sh.pk, established on 29.01.2016, had the sole partner and administrator, citizen Roland Deda. It suspended its activity on 27.12.2017 and after the suspension of its activity, the ownership of this company was transferred to Arben Meskuti (07.06.2018) and then to Yllka Meskuti (Arben Meskuti's mother). The suspension of the activity of this company coincides with the moment of the removal of licenses by the Ministry of Justice for most of the enforcement agents employed by this company.

The administrators and partners of the FS and Flash enforcement companies, even the enforcement agents or employees/enforcers employed in this company, are all employees of the Zig enforcement company, owned by Arben Meskuti.

The company 'ADCA' sh.pk was acquired by Olsi Ibro on 13.09.2016. On this date, this company's object of activity was the provision of legal and advocacy services.

While in March 2019, after the revocation of the license by the National Chamber of Advocates, this company changed the scope of its activity to the exercise of agency/commercial agent activity and any other activity permitted by law.

On 05.01.2018, the ownership of this company was transferred to Arben Meskuti, who was also appointed the sole administrator of the company. On 27.03.2019, partner Arben Meskuti left this company and partner Indrit Çuberi (Arben's brother-in-law) was added, who was also appointed the sole administrator.

The robberies, but always within the same type, continue for months and years, but the essence does not change, they were all united by economic interest in illegal activities.

In 2019, the company 'Final' sh.pk appears on the scene, which becomes part of the criminal activity of the above companies. In May 2019, Arben Meskuti, bought the shares of the company 'Final' sh.a, in sh.pk. The time of purchase coincides with the moment when the bailiffs of the company 'Flash' are in disciplinary proceedings due to numerous complaints filed against them for the enforcement activity with the creditor MCA.

It seems as if the purchase of the company 'Final' by Arben Meskuti at this moment is done to avoid any possible danger that could come from the actions of law enforcement bodies.

Despite being the guardian of monitoring and controlling the activity of financial institutions, not banks or banks, on 03.07.2019, the 'Bank of Albania' gives preliminary approval for the transfer of ownership of 100% of the shares of the company 'Final' from the shareholder 'Iute Credit Albania' to the shareholder Arben Meskuti. According to the Contract, the purchase of shares by Arben Meskuti is worth 250,000 Euros.

Despite the address registered at the Central Bank, the investigation has proven that the company 'Final' has been operating in the same center as the company MCA/ADCA. The data of the loan portfolio of debtors in arrears of 'Final' were stored on the same server where the data of debtors of the company MCA were located, a fact proven beyond any reasonable doubt by the inspection of the server.

According to the control exercised by the 'Bank of Albania' in 2020, it turns out that the staff of the company 'Final' consists of only 3 people, including: an administrator and two finance employees.

The Bank of Albania has found that in the period 2019-2020, out of 10,052 clients who had made payments to the company 'Final', 8,074 of them were credited by MCA, while the amount of credits granted by MCA is 99.1 million lek.

INVESTIGATIVE FILE

'Both of these institutions (MCA and Final), in collaboration with the enforcement companies 'FS' and 'FLASH', with the law offices ADCA, and the activity of 'Alban Kotes' Physical Person, and in the following years, the 'blind' signature of the enforcement officers Fatos Alimadhi, Helidon Xhindi, Lefter Canaj, and Altin Vako, have carried out bank seizures and real estate seizures of thousands of debtors without notifying them in any case, without communicating to them any enforcement document, with the criminal intention of forcing them to accept the microfinance 'offer' of MCA and/or 'Final': get a new loan from us, or pay the obligation that I propose, which was inflated'

As soon as the first portfolio of the MCA company and the enforcement companies was purchased, the law firms soon moved together to one center and began to operate as a single company (as a single group), despite the fact that the enforcement companies should not be related to the creditor by law.

All data and all documents produced by employees of all companies were stored in the same computer software, which was accessible by employees of all companies.

So, to put it simply, the enforcement documentation was not produced by bailiffs, but by employees of the companies MCA/ADCA/FINAL/Alban Kote Person Fizik, lawyers or legal assistants, according to orders given by email by the leaders of this organization/group, mainly by citizen Olsi Ibro.

From the statement of an IT employee, it is learned that all the bosses, who according to him were Olsi, Elda and Arben Meskuti, had full access to the FS, MCA software./Syri Tv