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Even though the state-owned air traffic control company is on the verge of bankruptcy and under a 130 million euro fine from arbitration, director Maksim Et'hemaj has announced dubious tenders for training and office cleaning that exceed any financial logic...
In the bulletin dated November 3, 2025, “Albcontrol” has opened two tenders with inflated values for emergency training and office cleaning with figures reaching nearly 1.7 million euros. One of them is repeated every two years, although according to the agreement with “Eurocontrol” it should take place every five years, while the other pays 770 thousand euros for a service covered by five of the company’s sanitary facilities.
The state-owned company "Albcontrol", which manages Albanian airspace and is part of the "Eurocontrol" network, is operating in a financially bankrupt situation.
After the arbitration decision that sentenced it to a 130 million euro fine, and losses that are justified through falsified balance sheets, its director, Maksim Et'hemaj, has chosen the usual path of those in power on the run: last-minute tenders.
In the Public Procurement Bulletin dated November 3, 2025, "Albcontrol" announced a tender with a fund limit of 933 thousand euros, with the object of "ATCO Emergency Refresh Training" - a procedure repeated for the third time in five years.
This tender was previously held in February 2020 for 790 thousand euros and in March 2023 for 820 thousand euros, while now the value has increased to 933 thousand euros, violating the Eurocontrol standard, according to which this training should be carried out once every five years, not every two.
The increase in frequency and financial value gives the tender a clear scent of abuse, raising the suspicion that we are dealing with a fictitious scheme of invoices and reimbursements to justify “expenses” that do not actually exist.
The second, equally absurd, tender is for the “cleaning service of Albcontrol offices”, with a contract value of 770 thousand euros for three years, which was awarded to the company “Clean Fast sh.pk” after nine months of procedural maneuvers.
Sources from within the company confirm that the tender has been postponed several times to adapt the criteria to the winning company, changing technical specifications and creating a formal “competition” with predetermined participants.
In reality, the cleaning service is carried out by five sanitary workers paid by the organic structure itself, according to a work plan that covers all the offices and premises of the company.
This means that the 770 thousand euros will be used for fictitious invoices, with papers justifying a service that is already carried out within the company.
According to public finance experts, re-announcing the same tenders at short intervals is a classic method of distributing internal funds before changes in management.
In this case, Et'hemaj, appointed with political support, is attempting to clean up the company's budget through pre-determined tenders, while the company finds itself in a rare situation for a public entity: outstanding liabilities and debts exceeding 150 million euros.
In contrast to this crisis, Albcontrol executives receive salaries between 2,500 and 6,000 euros per month, not including bonuses and periodic allowances.
So, a company that results in colossal debts, international fines and fabricated losses, is distributing millions on luxury tenders and “refresher trainings”, which more than investments, are a sign of a carefully prepared theft.
“Albcontrol” is a clear example of how state bankruptcy serves as a cover for the personal enrichment of political leaders.
Instead of paying its debts and escaping from arbitration, the company continues to announce fictitious tenders, turning into an experimental field for abuse and extortion of public funds.
And as long as SPAK remains silent, Maksim Et'hemaj will continue to enrich himself, while Albcontrol will sink even deeper into debt./ Pamphlet
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