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Conversations on Sky Ecc revealed/ How Franc Çopja directed the Albanian "Escobar" to invest money in gold bars

2026-03-03 20:06:00, Kronika CNA

Conversations on Sky Ecc revealed/ How Franc Çopja directed the Albanian

Criminal groups are now increasingly using cryptocurrencies not only to make payments for the purchase of significant quantities of narcotics, but also to invest these proceeds in digital cryptocurrency wallets.

Among the conversations revealed are those between Franc Çopja and Ervis Çela, from the village of Fatish in Peqin, who can be safely considered the Albanian 'Pablo Escobar'. He was a name almost unknown to the authorities in Albania, having settled in Paraguay, where he had established strong ties with cartel leaders, and the organization he led could be considered the most important to be hit by SPAK so far.

Ervis Cela and his brothers, Albini, Rizai and Ardiani, had managed to create an economic empire.

On Sky Ecc he boasted that he had made 100 million euros, but expressed concern about transferring them to Albania. But his closest associate Franc Çopja advised him to invest in gold bars. As he was actually doing himself.

INVESTIGATIONS

Franc Çopja advises Ervis Çela to invest the money in gold bars and not bury them, as they risk being damaged.

Ervis Çela- Friend, I received 3.8 million today in Tirana… I have 200 olives in the mountain, they need to be planted with some kind of pot… Because olives live a long time…

Franc Çopja- Turn to gold…. Don’t put money in the ground… Listen to me…

Ervis Çela - There's no gold... I have to rob a bank... I have to order from Africa...

Franc Çopja - I know there isn't one... I'll talk to someone, don't make them up. But collect them slowly. But don't put money in the ground because it spoils.

Ervis Çela- I know that money is wasted… Ask him. As long as he has 100-200 kilos…

It is precisely one of these conversations with Franc Çopjan, where Ervis Çela tells him that he is buying two portfolios, with the aim of investing in cryptocurrencies. A portfolio that, according to him, reaches the figure of 14 million dollars. From which in a year he will manage to earn about 2.5 million dollars.

Even in the conversation between Franc Çopja and Maklen Mici, held on Sky Ecc in 2021, the head of the criminal group asks his associate to find 300 kg of gold.

This is the only way to turn the money earned from criminal activity into gold bars, in order to make it easier to hide it later, or convert it into cash when they need it.

Conversations on Sky Ecc, January 14, 2021

Franc Çopja (Gergyli) asks Maklen Mici to find him 300 kg of gold.

Two days later, Mici sends Franc Çopja a message with this content: '30 kilos arrived, bring gold by Tuesday'.

Next, Franc Çopja asks for another 300 kg of gold, which according to Mici is worth 15.4 million euros. Meanwhile, Mici writes to him: 'Put it wherever you want, the only thing that doesn't spoil is this'.

As the investigation revealed, this would not be the first time that Franc Çopja asked his associate to find him gold bars.

Which were purchased with money that was hidden at the currency exchange point, opposite the Bank of Albania.

Investigation into where 10 million euros in cryptocurrency were seized from the account of the criminal organization Çopja. The wallet is now in storage in a second-tier bank in Belgium.

Sky Ecc Talks, February 24, 2021

Franc Çopja writes to Maklen Mici, asking him to find him 500 kg of gold. Mici, in turn, sends him a photo showing 24-karat gold bars. This gives rise to reasonable suspicion that Maklen Mici has purchased 500 kg of gold, in 500 24-karat gold bars, on behalf of Franc Çopja.

Of course, seizing and blocking such a large amount of cryptocurrency was a great success for SPAK. Cryptocurrencies that are then used in the construction sector, or even in other sectors important to the economy.

Dorina Bejko, head of the anti-corruption sector at SPAK, says that one of the businesses considered to have a high risk for money laundering is precisely foreign exchange points, along with other sectors.

"The sectors that appear as sectors with the highest risk for money laundering are precisely the real estate investment sector, the construction sector, trading companies, foreign exchange offices, but recently what is new that has also resulted from the SPAK investigation is investing in cryptocurrencies. The money laundering process begins with the introduction and use of cash in the system," says Dorina Bejko from the anti-corruption section, SPAK.

According to her, the cryptocurrencies should then be translated, notarized, and materialized into gold bars.

At the first moment when the assets were identified, SPAK did not have the necessary capacities to enable the blocking of these cryptocurrencies.

Now, also due to the passage of time, SPAK, thanks to specialized training and expertise, has a better overall capacity than it had before in terms of investigating and blocking cryptocurrencies./ In Target