Breaking news: Former President Ilir Meta arrested by SPAK amid corruption and money laundering allegations
Photo: Ilir Meta
Ilir Meta, leader of the Freedom Party (PL) and former President of Albania, was arrested today on the outskirts of Tirana while on his way to the party headquarters for a scheduled press conference at 13:40. His arrest follows an investigation by SPAK into financial misconduct, corruption, and money laundering.
Why is this important: Meta’s arrest has sent shockwaves into Albania’s political landscape. Alongsident Berisha, Meta has been one of the most important political figures for the past 30 years. His arrest highlights SPAK’s intensified focus on fighting corruption among high-profile figures. It confirms that there are no untouchables in Albania anymore.
Context: Meta and his wife, Monika Kryemadhi, have been under investigation for several financial violations. SPAK has scrutinized their involvement in:
- Undeclared lobbying payments in the U.S.
- Alleged money laundering using offshore companies.
Meta is also implicated in the CEZ-DIA affair, a controversial affair involving the privatization of the publicly owned energy distributor by the Czech energy company CEZ. Following the privatization in 2009 CEZ realized that there was a considerable debt due to unpaid bills. Therefore, CEZ signed a deal with a friend of Ilir Meta, who set up a company called DIA, in order for him to help in collecting the debt. However, the whole ordeal ended with DIA receiving millions without doing any work at all thanks to Ilir Meta’s lobbying and the support it received from Berisha’s government at the time.
Meanwhile, his wife Monika Kryemadhi has been placed under a court appearance order as part of the same investigation. Meta and Kryemadhi are currently undergoing divorce procedures.
During a press following the news of the arrest, former Prime Minister Sali Berisha, currently under house arrest, criticized the arrest as politically motivated, accusing Prime Minister Edi Rama of manipulating SPAK to target opposition leaders. Berisha stated: “Persecuting Meta is purely political. Rama aims to eliminate political opposition.”
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