FLASH
Shkruar nga PamfletiThe official document that reveals exemptions from VAT, profit tax and customs duties for the company that caused the state 5 billion euros in damage...
The document that sinks Sali Berisha: he has forgiven taxes for "Bankers Petroleum", even though it says the opposite...
The leader of the Democratic Party, Sali Berisha, who screams about everything – from a fire in a garden to the smallest violations of the government, has remained silent for five days after the arrest of the executives of the company “Bankers Petroleum”. This, although the Fier Prosecutor’s Office has issued 14 arrest warrants for tax fraud, money laundering and large-scale evasion, with an estimated damage of over 5 billion euros.
Asked by journalists about his silence, Berisha chose to attack the judiciary and defend “Bankers”, calling it a “correct business that has contributed maximally to the state budget”. According to him, during the DP government (2006–2013), this company has not had any benefit or fiscal favoritism.
But this claim contradicts official documents. “Pamphlet” has obtained a decision of the State Aid Committee, signed on December 12, 2007, when Genc Ruli was Minister of Economy and Sali Berisha was Prime Minister. Decision no. 22 provides for the exemption of “Bankers Petroleum” from the obligations for 20% VAT, profit tax and customs duties, because, according to the government, “the company has not made a profit” and “there has been no oil and gas production in those years”.
More specifically, point 4 of the decision states:
"The exemption from VAT and all customs duties is made as a convenience for the 'Bankers' company, as it results in losses and has not covered the costs of investment and production."
Berisha, at the time, used a decree approved in 1994 for the hydrocarbon sector as the basis for the exclusion. In fact, the justification states that “Bankers” had not discovered new oil reserves and there was no production in existing wells. But at the same time, “Bankers” itself exported tens of thousands of tons of oil every month from Patos and Ballshi.
Even more scandalous is that, according to this decision, the government pledged to cover the company's VAT and other obligations with public money, through fictitious invoices, creating a structured fraud scheme that has lasted for more than a decade.
From 2009 to 2013, “Bankers” reported the same pattern of “losses,” which were accepted by the “Berisha” government without any real control. This same scheme was also kept in force by the “Rama” government, which inherited it and continued it without any in-depth investigation into the theft.
The 2007 document is clear evidence that Sali Berisha himself signed tax breaks for a company that is now accused of one of the biggest thefts against the Albanian state. The question that arises is: will the Prosecution dare to treat this decision as official evidence, explaining the origins of a scheme that for 18 consecutive years was tolerated, financed and protected by the heads of state themselves?
Now that the leaders of “Bankers” are behind bars, SPAK and the investigative bodies have the opportunity to uncover the truth: not only about the company, but also about those who have protected it by all means. And at the head of this protection – from the decision to the public deception – is Sali Berisha himself./ Pamphlet
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