The arrest of the mayor of Bulqiza, VOA: How Lefter Alla favored his friend's company

In Albania, the Mayor of Bulqiza and 7 other municipal officials have been arrested following an investigation by the Special Prosecutor's Office Against Corruption and Organized Crime.

The mayor Lefter Alla, the deputy mayor and 6 other officials are accused of criminal offenses: "Violation of the equality of participants in public tenders or auctions", "Abuse of office", "Forgery of documents", "Forgery of forms" .

According to SPAK investigations, Mr. Alla as well as other officials committed several violations during a tender in April 2021, for the renovation of the sewerage network in the area known as the "Old Neighborhood" of the city of Bulqiza, with a worth about 3 million dollars. The tender was won by two companies: "Egland Sh.pk" and "BE-IS" Sh.pk

According to SPAK, the two companies in question presented only the documentation, while the works were carried out by the company "OE 2AF Albania shpk", which is managed by Aqif Konesha, who has social ties with the mayor.

The head of this company, Aqif Konesha, and two other administrators have also been arrested, while two other company officials have been placed under "house arrest".

The Special Prosecution Against Corruption and Organized Crime says that the procurement procedure is suspected to have been initiated and developed in violation of the laws.

The investigation showed that the arrested persons, including the mayor and the vice-mayor, favored one of the firms participating in the tender.

Lefter Alla took the office of mayor in the elections of June 2019, as a candidate of the Socialist Party./VOA