Capital.al
On September 28, 2023, the Special Prosecution Office communicated the indictment to the former Minister of Economy, Arben Ahmetaj, making him a defendant in the privatization file of the state-owned enterprise.
In the indictment submitted to the court, SPAK argued that the former Minister of Economy had violated the law, resulting in damage to the state.
"From the analysis of the written documentation administered in the investigative file and the evidence collected up to this stage, at their conclusion, it is proven that Arben Ahmetaj, in the role of former Minister of MEDZETTS, has acted in violation of the legislation in force ....... damaging the legitimate interests of the state and citizens," states the indictment filed by prosecutor Elvin Gokaj.
Indictment, where SPAK accuses Ahmetaj of harming the interests of the state
In parallel with the indictment, the media was filled with news that with the privatization of the Buka enterprise, 7 billion lek had been stolen from the state, and of course the origin of this news was not journalists, but sources within SPAK.
For almost three years, SPAK continued intensive investigations into the Buka file. And it maintained the same line of accusation in the request to send the case for trial, on June 30 of this year.
Request for referral for trial, June 30, 2025
But a month later, during court appearances with Ahmetaj's defense lawyers, prosecutor Gokaj made a 180-degree turn in the accusation against Ahmetaj. In unenviable Albanian, Mr. Gokaj declared that he had never claimed that Ahmetaj had harmed the interests of the state.
"In no case have I claimed that the interests of the state, but of the citizens, were harmed. It could be a slip. Even in the request for trial, the conclusion of my investigations was investigated for the damage caused to the Myderizi family," the prosecutor declared during the court appearance.
Prosecutor Gokaj's statements in Court
So the theft of 7 billion lek from the state turned into a slip of the tongue as if nothing bad had happened. And to take the madness to the end, the prosecution is now seeking a prison sentence for Ahmetaj, not because he has harmed the state, but because he has favored it by giving him more shares in the Buka company than he was entitled to.
Of all the investigative files of the Special Prosecution Office, the one on the privatization of the Buka enterprise is the most discrediting for this institution. First, this is a deeply unprofessional file. Just consider something.
The state and the landowners jointly owned 50.7 percent of the shares in the Buka enterprise. The remaining 49.7 percent was owned by private individuals and former employees.
Now how were these 50.7 percent of the shares divided after the assessment of the independent expert engaged by the Ministry of Economy? The state received 45.97 percent, while the owners were given 4.73 percent of the shares. SPAK accuses Ahmetaj of abuse of office, as he should have divided the shares 26.17 percent for the landowners and 24.53 percent for the state.
Just two quick calculations. In the Buka enterprise, the state owned 32 thousand square meters of land, 16 buildings with 10 thousand square meters of construction, as well as all the machinery and equipment. While the owners of the land owned only 8 thousand square meters of land. So, according to SPAK, the owners who had a total of 8 thousand meters of land owned 26.17 percent of the shares, while the state with 32 thousand square meters of land, 10 thousand square meters of construction, and all the machinery owned 24.53 percent.
But the lack of professionalism is the least of that file's problems. This is an investigation that has very strong suspicions about motives other than justice and truth.
SPAK has been investigating the bread enterprise for three years. But as the prosecutor himself admits, he has not been able to find any connections, transactions or acquaintances between businessman Lirim Fezollari and Arben Ahmetaj. Instead, he found connections and acquaintances of Endri Duçka, the former secretary general of the Ministry of Economy, and another Endri who is now on the run, they say. But SPAK is not interested in Duçka.
So Duçka is free because the target was Ahmetaj. And when investigations are carried out with targets, justice is dead. With the incompetent Buka, everyone now has the legitimate right to suspect that there are agendas in SPAK, the threads of which are politically directed. And this is much greater damage than not punishing the corrupt.
Editorial
