On Wednesday, former Prime Minister Sali Berisha announced that Albania’s Special Prosecution Against Corruption and Organized Crime had notified him of corruption charges against him.
Tirana, Albania (DT/BI) — Former Prime Minister Sali Berisha, leader of the opposition Democratic Party, told the media on Wednesday that “today I have been officially charged” with a corruption offence after months under house arrest.
Berisha was placed under house arrest last December as prosecutors investigated him for approving a special law that allegedly helped his son-in-law, Jamarber Malltezi, earn millions of euros from a construction site development. Both Berisha and Malltezi deny wrongdoing.
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The house arrest was imposed after Berisha did not respect a measure requiring him to report to the police twice a month, claiming he was the victim of a political vendetta.
In the meantime Berisha has taken back control of the Democratic Party from his successor, Lulzim Basha. In July, a court in Tirana handed him the insignia of the party, making him the undisputed leader of the main opposition body.
The charges against him relate to a change of legislation made by his then government in 2008 to allow the privatisation of sports facilities expropriated under communism.
Prosecutors said it was one of a number of legal changes undertaken by Berisha’s government to facilitate business developments in which he and his son-in-law, Malltezi, had a financial interest. Prosecutors allege the two men together obtained some 5.4 million euros in kickbacks.
Berisha, 79, was sanctioned by the US State Department in 2021 and banned “for involvement in corrupt acts”. In July 2022, Berisha said he was on a list of people banned from entering the UK because of alleged involvement in corruption, for which he blamed current Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama.
Berisha served as Albania’s Prime Minister from 2005 to 2013 and as President from 1992 to 1997. He was re-elected as a lawmaker for the Democratic Party in the 2021 parliamentary elections.
With Albania’s parliamentary elections scheduled for next year, Berisha may be barred from running for office if he is convicted or still facing trial by then.