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Arrests of politicians are more controversial. Berisha claims Rama is persecuting him and calls SPAK "his whip." But the growing number of Rama's close associates accused of corruption is also damaging his image.
In 1930s Tirana, as Albanian academic Lea Ypi writes in her forthcoming book, people debated whether corruption was “the cause of Albanian misery or rather its natural consequence.” You can hear the same debate today in the Albanian capital. But one thing has changed: for the first time in a century of statehood, an independent anti-corruption structure is arresting politicians, officials and drug traffickers, without seeming fear or favoritism.
The Special Structure against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) began work in 2019. Polls show that 76% of Albanians trust it, making it the most trusted institution in the country. More and more figures from the Albanian political elite, including senior officials from the ruling Socialist Party, are falling into its net. Prime Minister Edi Rama is no longer as enthusiastic as he once was, when SPAK mainly arrested his opponents.
In 2023, SPAK placed Sali Berisha, a former president and current opposition leader, under house arrest. He is on trial for corruption. Last year, Ilir Meta, another former president and current opposition leader, was also arrested. He too is accused of corruption. Former ministers in Rama’s governments have also been arrested, and in February it was the turn of Erion Veliaj, the socialist mayor of Tirana, considered a possible successor to Rama. All three deny the charges.
In the fight against organized crime, SPAK has achieved great success in cooperation with international police. An Albanian drug lord usually operates from Dubai. His buyers in Ecuador send the shipments to Europe, where his network distributes them. He invests the profits in construction in Albania, while his associates buy apartments. In July, SPAK seized the assets of several people suspected of money laundering from Switzerland and accused another group of attempting to smuggle weapons to Britain.
The arrests of politicians are more controversial. Berisha claims that Rama is persecuting him and calls SPAK “his whip.” But the growing number of Rama’s close associates accused of corruption is also damaging his image. When Veliaj was arrested, it was the prime minister’s turn to accuse SPAK of human rights violations. This drew rebuke from the European Union; a diplomat from a member state called Rama’s statement “nonsense.” Rama quickly backed down from the attacks.
Rama has promised that Albania will join the EU by 2030. Results in the fight against corruption are a key criterion, and several member states highly value SPAK’s cooperation in cracking down on criminal groups. As much as Rama may have wanted to defend Veliaj, he understood that attacking SPAK was politically damaging. A source from the judiciary put it succinctly: “If politicians were satisfied with SPAK’s work, then we would have a problem.”
Six months after his arrest, Veliaj remains in prison; he was only formally charged on July 23. This is common in Albania, where 62% of prisoners are in pretrial detention, a much higher percentage than in the rest of Europe. Along with Veliaj, a Socialist Party MP was also charged with witness tampering. On July 15, SPAK charged another former Socialist MP with sharing police information with a crime boss in exchange for support during the elections. Veliaj, his wife, and the two MPs deny SPAK’s accusations.
Arbi Veliaj, the mayor’s brother, says SPAK “has gotten out of control” and is holding him in prison without solid evidence. His arrest has divided public opinion in Tirana. Some compare SPAK to the Sigurimi, the former communist-era secret police. Others welcome the fall of the powerful who, they say, have stolen from ordinary people for years. The justice source says SPAK was founded with one goal: to end the country’s “culture of impunity.” If it happens, it would be the event of the century for Albania. / Adapted from “The Economist”
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