"I am the owner of 'Pharma Plus', but I know nothing about how the company I own operates. I do not know the condition of the medicines in the warehouse, I do not know how much the rent I pay for the office is, and I do not know who made the contract with the Health Care Fund for the reimbursement of the financial value for the sale of the products."
Alba Zylfo, the legal owner of the pharmaceutical company, tells the Tirana Prosecution's investigative group that everything related to commercial activity is controlled by another commercial entity, "CFO Pharma", owned by businessman Nadir Çausholli, according to investigative documents obtained by "Boldnews.al".
Scheme group
Ms. Zylfo is currently under the "compulsory appearance" security measure, while her husband, Frigul Milla, administrator of "CFO Pharma", has been declared wanted, after the Tirana court approved the "prison arrest" measure.
The Milla-Zylfo couple are part of a group of at least 8 people, who are suspected of having created a fraudulent scheme, from which they illegally obtained a refund worth over 700 thousand euros.
Suspects by the Tirana Prosecutor's Office include two other subordinates of Çausholli at "CFO Pharma", Jona Berberi and Lorela Ballabani, the latter the owner of the company "Nedix Albania". The court has imposed the measure "obligation to appear" against them.
CFO Building
Also, the security measure "prison arrest" has been imposed on the former director of the Health Care Fund, Spartak Zekja, while the measure "obligation to appear" and "suspension from duty" has also been applied to three officials of the public institution, Zade Mali, Esjana Gjishti and Romina Agalliu.
The investigation is underway for several criminal offenses, including “forgery of documents” and “concealment of income.” Meanwhile, so far, the Tirana Prosecution’s investigations do not seem to have reached the owner of “CFO Pharma,” Nadir Çausholli, who appears to be the main beneficiary of this alleged fraud scheme.
Investigation for 700 thousand euros
In a quick summary, the Tirana Prosecution Office has discovered that the companies "Pharma Plus" and "Nedix Albania", run by two subordinates of Çausholli, have made fictitious sales on behalf of "CFO Pharma" of the two pharmaceutical products "Foster" and "Trimbow".
For these "sales", they were reimbursed in the amount of about 700 million old lek from the Mandatory Health Insurance Fund (FSKDSH).
Nadir Causholli arrested in 2015
The two "selling" companies never had these products, as the exclusive right to sell them in Albania was held by another company, "Medicamenta". The latter, after ascertaining that the entities "Pharma Plus", "Nedix Albania" and "CFO Pharma" had issued purchase invoices for its exclusive products, reported the case to the Prosecutor's Office.
Alba Zylfo: I don't know what's going on
Alba Zylfo has worked for several years at the company "CFO Pharma". In October 2024, she says that she purchased for 100 thousand lek the shares of the company "Pharma Plus", which had been on the market for years and the stock in the warehouse was abundant.
"I did not conduct any verification and I did not know what the condition of the medications was when I bought the company," she stated before the investigative group.
Zylfo also says that she does not know how the situation with the medicines at "Pharma Plus" was created, and who bought them. Her company is headquartered in the same premises as "CFO Pharma" in Çausholli. However, she said that she does not know how much the monthly rent she pays is, since she did not sign a contract with "CFO Pharma".
Alba Zylfo further states that "I do not know who submitted the documents for the conclusion of the contract with FSDKSH, as this contract was concluded on 04.10.2024" (the date of her purchase of the company).
She does not remember which drugs the contract with FSDKSH was for and that the financial transactions were carried out by an operator of the company "CFO Pharma", called IS.
Lorela Ballabani: "Nedix" was created by CFO Pharma
Lorela Ballabani has been working at Nadir Çausholli's "CFO Pharma" since 2017 and currently holds the position of manager in this company. Meanwhile, since January 2025, she has also formally been the owner of the pharmaceutical company "Nedix Albania", one of the companies involved in the 700 thousand euro fraudulent scheme.
Before the investigative group, Ballabani stated that "I believe that the entity 'Nedix Albania' was created by the legal and/or financial offices of "CFO Pharma". She says that she does not know the medications that the entity she administers markets.
Although the administrator of the entity "Nedix Albania", Lorela Ballabani explained that "she does not know how much the rent she paid for the rented premises was. She also says that she does not know who was involved in drafting the contract that her entity signed with the Health Care Fund.
Ballabani further stated that "I do not know the list of drugs for which I have signed a contract with FSDKSH, and I have no information about who is responsible for their sale and purchase. I have only covered the formal part, as administrator and technical manager, but my real functional duty has been active promotion at "CFO Pharma".
Further, she added that she received the inventory list for the drugs for which the contract would be signed from the operators of the entity "CFO Pharma".
"I have no knowledge of who purchased these medications, nor do I have any knowledge of the source of the income that was used to purchase them," Ballabani further stated, further strengthening the Prosecution's conviction that Nadir Çausholli's "CFO Pharma" is at the center of the alleged fraudulent scheme.
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