Former President Ilir Meta questioned for hours by Special Anti-Corruption Structure

Ilir Meta, who is also the leader of the opposition Freedom Party, formerly the Socialist Movement for Integration, has been questioned about his wealth and the funds used by his party in a lobbying effort in the US.

Why is this relevant

Former President and former Prime Minister Meta is the second-highest level politician being investigated by the Special Anti-Corruption Structure (SPAK) following that of his ally, former President and Prime Minister Sali Berisha, who is currently under house arrest and has been declared persona non-grata by both the US and UK, alongside his whole family, for undermining Albanian democracy through his corruption.

Context

The former President and his wife are two very well-known politicians in Albania, with a career spanning three decades. They are both being investigated for money laundering and making false statements about their wealth.

Immediately after learning that SPAK had opened an investigation into him and his wife, Ilir Meta undertook a fierce media attack against SPAK and its Head, Altin Dumani. He accused them of serving the political interests of the Prime Minister. He has also repeatedly attacked Albania’s international partners who were instrumental in the implementation of Albania’s justice reform and have lent crucial support to SPAK as it works to tackle high-level corruption.

This is not the first time Ilir Meta has been accused of corruption. In 2011, while serving in the government of Sali Berisha, Meta was secretly filmed by the then Minister of Energy, a member of his political party, discussing granting a license for a hydroelectric plant to a person close to him, in return for which he would receive €700,000.