Denunciation: Rexhe Byberi broke his house arrest, went to the office to avoid being fired

2024-12-10 20:31:00, Politikë CNA

Denunciation: Rexhe Byberi broke his house arrest, went to the office to avoid

Photomontage - Rexhe Byberi

The Spokesperson for Anti-Corruption in DP, Genta Vangjeli, filed a complaint against the mayor of Tropoja, Rexë Byberi.

Vangjeli said in a press release that Byberi broke the house arrest measure and had a meeting with the municipality's administration on December 6 in his office.

According to her, the mayor of Tropoja appeared in the office in order not to be dismissed by the municipal council for not appearing for 3 months.

Full statement:

Since September 9, 2024, Rexhe Byberi is under house arrest for three charges: "Abuse of duty", "Illegal cutting of forests" and "Destruction of property", causing a financial damage of 2.8 million euros.

But, even though he is under arrest, on December 6, 2024, Byberi appeared in his office to meet with the municipality's administration, a fact that has been confirmed by some media.

Spokesperson for Anti-Corruption in DP, Genta Vangjeli

This violation of the court's decision occurred after on 6.12.2024 it had been 3 months since he was under house arrest and he had not appeared for duty as mayor, which is grounds for dismissal according to Law 139/2015 "On Local Self-Government" ", article 62, which says:
Dismissal of the mayor
The mayor is dismissed by decision of the Council of Ministers in cases where:
a) commits serious violations of Constitution or laws;
b) is punished for committing a criminal offense, with a final decision, by the court;
c) is proposed for dismissal by the relevant municipal council for not appearing on duty for a continuous 3-month period.

Although he has seriously violated the law (points a and b) and is convicted by a court decision, he was protected by Prime Minister Rama. However, after the 3-month deadline passed, he ignored the house arrest and showed up for duty in violation of the court's decision.

Is this violation by Rexh Byberi enough to dismiss him from office, or are other violations necessary?

Rexh Byberi has significantly abused the tenders, for which there are denunciations and criminal reports in SPAK from the High State Control (KLSh) and from the media. We are listing some of them:

The tender for food packages - A criminal report made to SPAK by PD Tropoja branch in 2020. The report came after an investigation by Reporter.al. (https://ëëë.reporter.al/2020/07/24/pandemia-e-covid-19-bashkia-tropoje-akuzozete-se-mbajti-fictitious-tender-per-pakot-usqimore/)

Tender "Construction and reconstruction of bridges in the municipality of Tropoja" - Criminal complaint made in February 2024 for fictitious payments made by Rexh Byberi for the company "Rroku Guest". This is a case under investigation, but there is still no information from SPAK. The investigation of the show "Piranja" of Syri TV has revealed that the deputy mayor, acting mayor from September 9, 2024, exerted illegal influence on the winning company "Rroku Guest" in order to benefit from a bridge for her sister, a open breach of duty.

Abuse of tenders and conflict of interest - Rexh Byberi has favored his family members in tenders. The companies connected to the mayor have benefited from numerous funds from the Municipality of Tropoja. (Investigation by inamedia.al)

Conflict of interest in the tender for the reconstruction of the Shudenica slaughterhouse and the construction of the livestock market - The tender worth ALL 12,678,100 was won by the company "Trailer shpk", run by Anila Byberi, the wife of Rexh Byberi's first cousin. KLSH has found that there was pressure on the members of the evaluation commission and major irregularities. Although 120 million ALL were invested, the slaughterhouse and cattle market in Tropoja never became functional.

The tender for the reconstruction of the road "Bylbyl Breçani", Markaj village - This tender, with a value of 54,502,005 ALL, was connected with the value of 50,910,205 ALL. Participants in the procedure were 6 economic operators, of which 5 were disqualified for completely illegal reasons, just to favor the company "Vllaznimi sh.pk", which is run by Rexh Byber's uncle's son. This company has won tenders in the Municipality of Tropoja for a value of 4.7 million euros.

The tender for the reconstruction of the road Blini i Gri?e-Lekurtaj - In March 2022, "Vllaznimi" won a tender for the reconstruction of the road, violating the law in at least 5 cases, according to the High State Control.

ILDKPKI has started the administrative investigation into the declarations of private interests of Rexh Byber. The investigation involves his assets and suspected conflicts of interest.

Further violation of the measure of house arrest - On September 9, 2024, when the measure of house arrest was communicated to him, Rexh Byberi committed the next violation by commanding the deputy mayor of the municipality, Mrs. The Islamic office, an action that is illegal, since only the Municipal Council can do the commanding of the task.

Edi Rama still holds office as a mayor who is under house arrest, has broken house arrest, is under investigation for tendering procedures and conflict of interest, defending a law breaker in violation of the law./ CNA