FLASH
Shkruar nga Arben Llangozi
The scheme does not end with Selfo Kapllani. When he leaves office, his successor, Kreshnik Hajdari, continues to cooperate with the same company.
On the surface, it is a cleaning company. With a name that evokes a sense of greenery and ecology – Viola Green. But behind this facade lies a dark web of interests, extending from public administration, to private business and, essentially, to what is called “state capture”.
A few months ago, the public learned of the arrest of Marsel Shega, a name listed as the administrator of this company. The arrest by SPAK was hailed as a blow to the public contracts mafia.
But what is unfortunate – and if left untreated, to be feared – is that this was only a mask. A superficial action, leaving intact the real structure behind this much broader scheme.
The company's political roots go back to the founding of this company by the mafioso Selfo Kapllani, coordinator of the Socialist party in the city of Kuçova.
Viola Green is not an entity born in fair market competition. It was founded during the time when Selfo Kapllani held the position of mayor of Kuçovë. It was during this period that this company won the city cleaning tender, a significant financial contract, awarded under conditions that remain unclear and that many sources consider to be the result of deliberate favoritism.
The current administrator of the company is Sherif Kapllani – no less, no more, the son of Selfo Kapllani's own uncle. So, a direct family connection. This fact is key and should have raised all the alarms in investigative institutions and public audits, especially because of the suspicions that Selfo Kapllani, although not officially listed, is a hidden partner in this company.
Legally, this is a flagrant conflict of interest, prohibited by Albanian law for public officials. The law on conflict of interest stipulates that any public official must not use his or her position to benefit personally or indirectly for his or her relatives. What happened in this case? Silence. Contract awarded. Job secured. No investigation into the person who awarded the contract.
From one chaplain to another – continuity of influence
The scheme does not end with Selfo Kapllani. When he leaves office, his successor, Kreshnik Hajdari, continues to cooperate with the same company. Instead of announcing a new tender, verifying the legality of the contracts, he chooses the shortest path: to continue cooperation with an entity that is already under deep suspicion.
Why is this happening? Is there pressure? Are there hidden interests? Or has the entire municipality simply become a hub of clientelistic connections that companies like Viola Green use to recycle public money into private pockets?
Surprisingly – or perhaps not – all of this has not yet become the subject of an in-depth investigation. SPAK, although it has undertaken the arrest of a single administrator, has not taken any action to seize the company. It has not revealed the real ownership structure. It has not asked how the profit was divided. It has not called Selfo Kapllani to testify. It has not analyzed the connections with the current leaders of the municipality.
This is a serious deficiency in investigative activity and suggests that justice is stopping where political names begin. And this is not justice, but a distorted version of it.
Questions waiting for answers.
Why hasn't SPAK summoned Selfo Kapllani and Kreshnik Hajdari for investigation?
Why hasn't the chain of favoritism in public contracts for city cleaning been investigated?
Why hasn't the family connection between the administrator and the former mayor been investigated as clear evidence of a conflict of interest?
Have the assets acquired by this company been checked and compared with the declared income?
Has the law on the declaration of the ultimate beneficiaries of this company been implemented?
In this case, we are dealing with moral and political pollution that cannot be cleaned up without in-depth investigation.
This is not just a case of dubious tenders. This is a test for local democracy. A test for the real functioning of the rule of law at the local level. And more than that – it is a reflection of the way the political-financial network manipulates the system to reap private benefits with public money.
If it is not taken seriously, Viola Green will not be an exception. It will be the model followed by other companies created by politicians, covered with beautiful names and that clean up cities, but pollute the foundations of our society.
The time has come for justice to stop at "small sacrifices." The time has come to go to the source of evil – where power becomes money and money, crime.
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