Carlo Bollino, the mafia standard of government-media corruption

2025-12-19 17:19:00, Denoncim CNA

Since 2013, Carlo Bollino's name has been constantly involved in public debates and investigative reports that raise serious doubts about his financial and institutional relations with the Albanian government.

The publisher of Shqiptarja.com and Report TV, known as an open supporter of Prime Minister Edi Rama, has become one of the most frightening examples of the media-power nexus. This binomial appears time and time again as a criminal scheme to benefit from public funds and cover up abuse with media propaganda.

Editorial support for the government is accompanied by numerous benefits from state funds and assets.

In addition to the opposition's accusations, reports have also been referred to SPAK against Bollino, which so far have not had a clear investigative conclusion, but are "sleeping" in the prosecutor's office drawers.

Below are some of the benefits of publisher Bollino from the properties and money of Albanians:

1. Public property with symbolic rent of 1 euro

According to the investigative show "PLUG" on Syri TV, the company MTSC sh.pk, 100% owned by Carlo Bollino, has leased a state-owned property of approximately 4,021.5 m², known as the former Tirana Metal Enterprise (Watch Department), for a symbolic rent of 1 euro.

Initially, the VKM no. 54, dated 05.02.2014, did not foresee the inclusion of media businesses as beneficiaries of public properties. This criterion was changed by VKM no. 445, dated 20.05.2015, adding the category of media with investments over 200 million lekë, a change that opened a concrete path for benefiting from Bollino. According to reports, the VKM has been amended several times, creating a specially adapted legal path.

2. Contract annexes and suspicions of forgery

One of the most serious allegations is related to the annexation of the lease contract after the approval of Council Decision No. 589, dated 22.07.2020. The initial contract provided for "total reconstruction", while the new Council Decision changed the wording to "minimum total reconstruction".

After this, two contract annexes were signed, the second of which (04.08.2020) changed the building and construction areas, including elements that were not approved in the VKM. According to reports, on the basis of this annex, the AZHT continued the procedures for the construction permit for the new Report TV building.

3. Construction permit and the earthquake issue

The application for a building permit was made on 11.11.2019 and the permit was approved on 13.01.2020, a period that falls before the earthquake of 26 November 2019. This contradicts the argument that the demolition of the building was only due to earthquake damage. But the contract in this case should have been cancelled and the procedure reopened, but this did not happen, instead it was amended for Carlo.

4. Public land planned for school

Another line of accusations is related to a public property near the former "Partizani" complex, foreseen for the construction of a school in the Regulatory Plan. According to reports, the land was not expropriated by the former owners and later ended up in private use, losing its educational destination to be given to Rama's Carlos.

5. Financing the Report TV building

In the balance sheets filed with the Central Bank, MTSC sh.pk has recorded the construction of the Report TV building as a Tangible Long-Term Asset, worth approximately 265 million lek. According to investigative reports:

* over 50% of the investment is suspected to have been indirectly financed by public funds;

* through the company C-7 Integrated System, affiliated with MTSC;

* C-7 has distributed around 145.5 million lek in dividends to MTSC in the years 2020–2022. This income is suspected to stem from relationships with companies that are beneficiaries of public tenders.

6. “Balluku File” and ARRSH

But every time a mega-corruption affair of the Rama government is opened, the name of the ubiquitous Carlo Bollino also appears. He is also mentioned in the publications from the investigative file against former officials of the Ministry of Infrastructure and the ARA and Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku. In the wiretaps made public, there is talk of payments worth hundreds of millions of lek from this institution to Carlo. The file states that Carlo has entered into these benefits with Rama's guarantee and through third names.

7. Public tenders, incinerators and other projects

According to the opposition's accusations, companies linked to Bollino have benefited from around 1 billion lek from state tenders and contracts for media and marketing services. He has also been named as a beneficiary of payments from incinerators, through billings from media outlets he owns, as well as from other public projects, including Bunk'Art 1 and Bunk'Art 2, which the opposition claims were awarded without competition.

So, the Bollino case summarizes a series of related charges: benefiting from public property, adapted legal changes, contested contract annexes, indirect financing with public funds, and benefits from state institutions.

In conclusion, the Bollino-Rama relationship is the mafia standard of media-government corruption, and this standard has cost Albanians millions of euros from their pockets./syri.net