FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
An unusual "clash" is quietly taking place between Tirana and Dhaka. A former senior Bangladeshi police officer, Sohel Rana, has been in an Albanian prison for several months, while seeking political asylum to avoid extradition to his country.
Rana, both a businessman and former police inspector in the capital Dhaka, is one of the most wanted people in Bangladesh for a giant financial fraud linked to the online company E-Orange, a trading platform that disappeared from the market, leaving behind tens of thousands of affected citizens and a loss estimated at over 93 million euros.
According to Bangladeshi media, including the daily Prothom Alo, Dhaka police have sent several official requests for his extradition to Albania, but Albanian authorities have not responded. Bangladeshi police officials confirm that they are awaiting a decision from Albanian justice, while Rana has been granted pre-trial detention status for security reasons.
Sohel Rana, who claims to be a relative of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, links his case to political motives. He says he is the subject of a “political hunt” in Bangladesh and that returning to his homeland would put him at risk of the death penalty. In his asylum application submitted to the Albanian courts, he states that false charges have been brought against him, including a murder case.
His lawyer in Tirana points out that, under the European Convention on Human Rights, Albania cannot extradite a person to a country where the possibility of capital punishment exists. This legal argument is expected to become central to the Albanian judiciary's decision.
According to official records, Sohel Rana is under investigation in nine criminal cases in Dhaka, for embezzlement, fraud and money laundering. He is the subject of an Interpol red notice issued in 2022. After the financial scandal broke, Rana fled to India, where he was arrested at the border while trying to cross into Nepal. After being convicted of illegal entry and released on health grounds, he disappeared, being tracked down to Portugal and finally to Albania, where he was arrested on February 1, 2025 at Mother Teresa Airport.
On the other hand, Bangladeshi police categorically deny the existence of a murder charge against him, describing the claim as an attempt to evade justice. Bangladeshi investigators have already asked Interpol to renew the international arrest warrant, with the aim of extraditing Rana and facing the Dhaka courts for the fraud that has affected thousands of citizens.
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