FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Albcontrol, the state-owned company that manages air traffic, has about 6.7 billion lek (65 million euros) unpaid for the period 2021-2022, which it should have received from its normal activity, take-offs and overflights.
Most of this uncollected income (over 90%, or about 60 million euros) was created in 2021-2022 and is related to the blocking of its accounts in Eurocontrol, as a result of the conflict between the Albanian government and the Italian investor, Francesco Becchetti.
The latter, after inviting the trial with the Albanian government for an amount of 110 million euros, is aiming to collect money in the accounts that the Albanian state has outside the borders.
The information was disclosed in the explanatory notes of the financial statements of the balance sheet of Albcontrol for the year 2022.
"During the year 2022, as well as during the year 2021, the company did not collect any income from the onroute service and terminal charge, as a result of a decision of the first instance of Brussels to freeze the accounts of Albcontrol, with the Eurocontrol organization", it is stated in the balance sheet explanations.
Eurocontrol is a pan-European organization dedicated to supporting European aviation, headquartered in Brussels.
The item "Accounts receivable from airlines", which represents the collection rights for the company, but the money for these revenues has not been collected, has increased rapidly since 2021, when the accounts of Albcontrol were also blocked, near Eurocontrol.
From ALL 607 million that was this item in December 2020, it reached ALL 2.9 billion in 2021 and ALL 6.7 billion in 2022. (see graph: Albcontrol, Accounts receivable from airline companies).
Lack of transparency in the 2022 balance sheet
In the 2021 balance sheet, Albcontrol admitted it was in liquidity trouble because its income had been blocked in its Brussels account by Eurocontrol.
According to the 2021 report, during the period January-December 2021, from the activity of "Transfers & reductions", an amount with a net value of 20.98 million euros, or 2.57 billion ALL.
While in the 2022 balance sheet, it is not clarified why the item "Account receivable from airlines" has increased so much, what is the uncollected amount from the blocking of accounts for 2022, if there are chances that this amount will ever be collected, or the amount is the past in Beccheti's account.
The auditors consulted by "Monitor" said that, given the information related to the decision of the Belgian court for about 110 million Euros, i.e. about 12 billion Lek, a reserve is given for the entire value of receivables of Lek 6,748,776,109, which should be completely depreciated and transferred to losses since the probability of not being collected is higher than the possibility of their realization.
Auditors say that normally the explanatory notes to the balance sheet should have given a clearer picture of the situation created by the Becchetti case, but also that the statements should have included more descriptive information related to the case.
Even the report of the independent auditors, although it is an opinion with reservations, still does not give much explanation about the real situation of Albcontrol, but it suffices to say that since the bank accounts of the company Albcontrol at Eurocontrol have been frozen "During the execution of the subsequent audit procedures we have come across public information, as a result of the decision of the court of appeal in Brussels, which may create the existence of a material uncertainty on the company's ability to continue as a going concern".
Albcontrol's income, 23% lower than in 2019
In 2022, Albcontrol's declared revenue was ALL 2.7 billion, almost at the same level as the previous year. Although the situation with flights improved significantly after the movement restrictions of 2020, revenues were still 23% lower than in 2019, precisely because of the impossibility of collecting revenues from the onroute service and terminal charge, which flow next to the Eurocontrol organization. The company has been able to collect only the income it receives from the flights that are realized over the territory of the country.
As a result of the lack of increase in income and the increase in expenses, Albcontrol has declared a minimum profit of 16 million ALL, from 533 million ALL in 2021.
Conflict with Becchetti
Albania's confrontation with the Italian investor, Francesco Becchetti, at the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes, ended with a decision in his favor, awarding him a compensation of 110 million euros in 2020.
After this decision, the investor aimed to collect money in the accounts that the Albanian state has outside the borders, where one of them is the account of Albcontrol at Eurocontrol in Brussels, while the government emphasizes that the battle is not over yet.
On May 26, 2021, at the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) another request of Albania was presented regarding the clash with the Italian investor Francesco Becchetti where a request for correction of the annulment decision presented by the Republic of Albania was registered . But in April 2023, Becchetti finally wins the Arbitration with the Albanian government.
The genesis of the clash between the state and the investor began in June 2015, when Francesco Becchetti's assets were frozen. The blocking of these assets also led to the closing of the Agon Channel television, an element that was used by Beccheti to take the case to Arbitration./ Monitor
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