Fier's incinerator, GJKKO decides to proceed with the trial of the file, the lawyer of the ex-MP Blako asks to dismiss the case, the vice-president of the FSF Dervishaj has two charges dropped

The investigative file of the Fier incinerator's corrupt affair will be judged by Albanian justice. The Special Court against Corruption and Organized Crime decided after almost 3 months that the hot case will go to trial. In total, 19 people, among them the former Minister of the Environment, Lefter Koka; former General Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Alqi Blako; businessmen Klodian Zoto, Mirel Mërtiri and Stela Gugallja, etc., will be taken as defendants for the criminal offenses "Abuse of office", "Active corruption of high state officials or local elected officials", "Passive corruption of officials" of high state or local elected officials", "Passive corruption of persons exercising public functions", "Cleaning of the proceeds of a criminal offense or criminal activity", "Fraud", with serious consequences, "Forgery of documents" and "Creation of fraudulent schemes related to value added tax". The case has been closed for two people: Robert Shabanin (legal representative of "Froggy sh.pk and administrator of "RSI&T Group" sh.pk) and Enver Sheshi (administrator of "Leli-17" sh.pk). The first one was convicted in 2020 for a 34 million euro fraud scheme with fictitious invoices and 18 million euro damage through 20 businesses, while the second one died on January 8 of this year from a cardiac arrest. On the other hand, the jury dismissed two accusations against the vice president of the Albanian Football Federation, Arben Dervishaj, "abuse of duty" and "passive corruption of persons exercising public functions". Meanwhile, the former socialist deputy Blako has asked to qualify the accusation differently, since he was not a high-ranking official. but it had a public function. We remind you that GJKKO has decided that the files of the incinerators of Fier and Elbasan will be tried separately.
The other 13 defendants
Pëllumb Abeshi (former General Director of the Directorate of Environmental Policies and the Implementation of Priorities in the Ministry of Environment and former chairman of the Expropriation Commission), Sabina Cenameri (specialist in the Directorate of Environment), Florjan Muçaj (former General Administrator of Fier Municipality), Azem Shatëri (former director of the Cleaning Company in Fier Municipality), Erjon Murataj (former specialist at the Concessions Handling Agency), Etleva Kondi (former member of the Commission for the approval of incinerator licenses in Elbasan and Fierit from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy), Arenc Myrtezani and Loran Dusha (administrators of "Integrated Technology Waste Treatment"), Giuseppe Ciaffaglione and Arjola Kodra (administrators of the concession company "Integrated Energy BV SPV), Arbër Denizi (administrator of "Pivot 04”),Silvestre Driza (administrator of "Sili"), Juri Ymeraj (administrator of "JPY" sh.pk), Regan Merdani (administrator of "Froggy" sh.pk and legal representative of "Pupa Services" sh.pk) and Gentian Zifla ( administrator of "Itneg" sh.pk).
Bllako's lawyer: The case should be dismissed, he was not a high-ranking public official
The lawyer of the former socialist deputy, Alqi Blako, Sokol Hazizaj stated that the case against his client regarding the Fier incinerator should be dismissed, as the charge "Passive corruption of high state officials or local elected officials" does not stand. He reasoned that with the position of General Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Blako was a public functionary, but not a high-ranking one. "I continue to say that the accusation regarding its basis in corruption does not exist against Alqi Blako, although the court managed to articulate half of what we told him. We will continue to learn the facts to articulate what we did not happened with Alqi Bllak. Therefore, the criminal case against Alqi Bllak should be dismissed. There is one provision for high public and elected officials, the other only for officials. I have said that he is never a high public official. It is the duty of the Basic Court to approve or not the trial or to increase the abbreviated trial", said Hazizaj.
Arenc Myrtezan's lawyer: The invoices were forged, Blendi Klosi is also responsible
The lawyer of one of the defendants, Arenc Myrtezan, one of the 2 administrators of the "Integrated Technology Waste Treatment" company, called the accusation against his client false. According to him, the documents that were presented as material evidence were forged by being copied by hand or by placing them on glass. For him, Lefter Koka's successor in the Ministry of Environment, Blendi Klosi, was also responsible for these invoices for the issues of invoice payments to the Italian company that performed the works for the Fier incinerator. "We requested the unusability of these invoices that have turned out to be forged. It has been proven that these bills are forged by imitation or put on glass. There is no invoice written and signed by the defendant I defend. I think that the Prosecution regarding a charge of fraud, regarding the payments that are for the Italian company that is the winner of the concession, it diverted the investigations. Because in my opinion, it turns out that it was the duty not only of my client, but also of others to do this duty. It was the duty of the new administrator and the new minister who replaced Lefter Koka", said the lawyer, among other things.