VOA: The payments that Alqi Blako received from Klodian Zoto for the Tirana incinerator

2024-11-17 21:20:00, Denoncim CNA

VOA: The payments that Alqi Blako received from Klodian Zoto for the Tirana

In Albania, the Special Prosecutor's Office against Corruption and Organized Crime announced today that it has closed the investigation into the former Secretary General of the Ministry of Environment, Alqo Blako, regarding his involvement in the Tirana incinerator case, and requesting the sending of case for trial. Mr. Blako is accused of "Passive corruption of high state officials or local elected officials", in two cases. The criminal code provides for this crime, a punishment ranging from 4 to 12 years of imprisonment.

In December of last year, the Special Prosecutor's Office issued the first 15 arrest warrants for the Trana incinerator, among which Mr. Blako, the former Minister of the Environment Lefter Koka, as well as the two entrepreneurs Mirel Mërtiri and Klodian Zot, considered the owners of really. All four were involved earlier and in the case of two other incinerators, in Elbasan and Fier.

In August of this year, while closing the investigations for the vast majority of those arrested, the Prosecutor's Office, among them, the case of Mr. Blako.

According to today's announcement, for the former General Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, during the investigations, corrupt acts were found in two cases, when he "requested and benefited in an irregular manner 119,751 euros and 7.5 million ALL".

In the case of the amount in euros, it turns out that it was benefited by the de facto owners of the company that had taken the concession for the construction of the Tirana incinerator, entrepreneur Zoto dher Mërtiri, " as payment for the purchase of equipment for the commercial activity of his father's company , Edmond Blako in Erseke ".

While the sum of 7.5 million lek, according to the investigations, was requested from Zoto, as a payment for Vladimir Bezhanin, proposed by Mr. Blako, as an external adviser to the minister of the time, Koka.

During the time that Vladimir Bezhani was an external advisor to the Minister of Environment, Lefter Koka, he maintained contact with Klodian Zoto, according to the direction of the defendant, Alqi Blako, providing him with data obtained from the contracting authority, which served the proposing company of citizen Klodian Zoto, "Integrated Technology Services" sh.pk to draw up the necessary documentation for the unsolicited proposal ", says the announcement of the Special Prosecutor's Office.

Mr. Blako was arrested in March 2022, initially for his involvement in the Fieri incinerator case. He was accused of "abuse of duty" and "corruption" in two cases, and was sentenced last year to 4 years in prison. Due to the summary judgment, this sentence was converted to 2 years and 8 months.

At the same time, he was accused of "abuse of duty" and for the case of Elbasani, but the Special Court declared him innocent. But just 10 days ago, the Special Appeal found him guilty again, sentencing him to 4 years in prison, converted to 2 years and 8 months./ VOA