SPAK
SPAK sends Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj to trial on 13 charges
Albania’s Special Anti-Corruption Prosecution (SPAK) has completed its investigation and formally sent Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj to trial on Wednesday. Veliaj faces 13 charges, including passive corruption, money laundering, failure...
U.S. Chargé d’Affaires suggests end of the road for Altin Dumani’s mandate as SPAK chief
U.S. Chargé d’Affaires in Tirana, Nancy Van Horn, suggested that Special Prosecution (SPAK) chief Altin Dumani will be replaced once his term ends, marking the start of one of the...
SPAK chief Altin Dumani held high-level meetings in US on tackling international crime
The head of Albania’s Special Prosecution Office (SPAK), Altin Dumani, concluded a visit to the United States, where he held meetings in Washington on September 2–3 with officials from the...
SPAK sends Ilir Meta and Monika Kryemadhi to trial on corruption and money laundering charges
The Special Prosecution (SPAK) has sent former president Ilir Meta and MP Monika Kryemadhi to trial, announcing three charges against them: corruption, money laundering, and failure to declare assets. Why...
Rama lambasts another judge over order blocking public-space clearance
Prime Minister Edi Rama publicly criticized judge Klarent Demiri on Friday, alleging the magistrate issued two rulings that blocked the demolition of an illegal structure and the freeing of a...
ODIHR final report on Albania’s 11 May elections delayed to September
The OSCE-ODIHR final report on Albania’s 11 May parliamentary elections will be published in September, not August as initially expected. ODIHR sources told Albanian media the timeline shifted as the...
Mayor of Tirana Erion Veliaj asks Special Court to void SPAK probe, cites nine procedural violations
Through his lawyers, Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj filed a motion dated 13 August asking Albania’s Special Court (GJKKO) to declare the investigation against him invalid. Veliaj, who has been in...
Europol: 28-ton cocaine ring exposes Albanian criminals’ deep global ties
Europol says the drug-trafficking group unmasked last week—credited by SPAK with moving 28 tons of cocaine from Latin America to Europe—demonstrates the “strong connections” Albanian actors maintain with other criminal...
SPAK hits alleged international cocaine network: 16 suspects, raids in four cities
Albania’s Special Prosecution against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) struck another alleged international drug-trafficking group, seeking 16 suspects under Special Court warrants. The operation spanned Tirana, Durrës, Elbasan and Lushnjë....
Ilir Meta seeks lighter security measure after SPAK closes investigation
Ilir Meta, leader of the Freedom Party, has asked the Special Court to replace his “arrest in prison” detention with a more lenient measure. Meta has been in custody since...