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Erlind Cekaj is accused of fraud and structured criminal group.
An Albanian wanted by SPAK has been arrested in Dubai.
According to the police, the Albanian identified as Erlind Cekaj is accused of being part of Amant Josif's group who are on trial after they managed to extort an amount of 6.1 million euros from the Germans through fraud with the Call Center.
Cekaj is accused of fraud and structured criminal group. For him, GJKKO has decided the security measure of "prison arrest".
This criminal network, in cooperation with other fraudulent platforms such as Absolut Global Markets, AurumPro, Finaxis, etc., has defrauded hundreds of people from EU countries, defrauding them of millions of euros. Investigations have started in 2021 from several countries such as Spain, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Ukraine, Georgia and Albania under the coordination of Eurojust.
"The operation "Before Justice" continues with intensity, a person wanted for fraud is arrested in the United Arab Emirates. The State Police, as part of the measures taken to implement the operation "Before Justice", continues with intensity the exchange of information with the countries and partner organizations for the arrest, extradition, bringing to Albania and placing at the disposal of the bodies of justice persons declared internationally wanted.
The cooperation of "Interpol Tirana" with "Interpol Abu Dhabi" made it possible on 20.08.2024 to arrest the internationally wanted person Erlind Cekaj. For him, the Special Court of First Instance for Corruption and Organized Crime, with the criminal decision dated 18.10.2023, has set the security measure "imprisonment", for the criminal offenses of "Fraud", "Special forms of cooperation, structured criminal group" and "Commitment of criminal offenses by criminal organization and structured criminal group", provided by articles 143/b/1-28/4, 333/a, 334 of the Criminal Code.
After the investigations, it turned out that the citizen Erlind Cekaj, in cooperation with other subjects who worked for a company called "IT PumaTS/SM Company", related to the company "Milton Group", were part of an organized crime network that used fraudulent platforms and operated worldwide. This network was mainly run by call centers in Georgia, Ukraine, North Macedonia, Albania, etc.
The criminal network, in cooperation with other fraudulent platforms, such as "Absolut Global Markets", "AurumPro", "Finaxis", etc., has defrauded hundreds of people from European Union countries, causing them financial damages amounting to millions of euros.
The investigations started in 2021 from several countries, such as Spain, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Ukraine, Georgia and Albania, under the coordination of "Eurojust" , the police announced.
Who is Amant Josifi?
Amant Josifi is the owner of several Call Centers registered two years ago in Albania, from which the Spanish police suspect that more than 17,000 EU citizens have been deceived into making false financial investments.
The police failed to arrest him in Albania in the international mega-operation that he carried out in November 2022, with several countries involved, while he was described by the Catalan police and the "Guardia Civil" as a "high value" target. Josifi is a well-known businessman in Albania, with strong political connections, writes the Spanish media.
One of his lawyers in Spain told the Spanish newspaper that he is just a businessman, that he had rented the Call Centers and that he did not know what activity was carried out there.
"Despite this, Josif did not appear before the authorities who were looking for him. His lawyer asked for his appearance in this case and to be able to testify by videoconference.'- writes El Pais.
The arrest, according to judicial sources, was carried out through Interpol. The Spanish police launched an investigation into Amant Josif, after the complaint made by an elderly woman who was defrauded of 800,000 euros.
The police say that the criminal network has gained through fraud about 2.4 billion euros, defrauding thousands of citizens from different EU countries.
Citizens believed they were investing in high-profit financial products and cryptocurrencies, but in reality the money was going straight into the pockets of the criminal organization.
In the case of Amant Josif, he was in charge of the branch dedicated to defrauding Spanish citizens, with Albania as the epicenter. The police simultaneously intervened in Call Centers spread across several countries, including Georgia, North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Ukraine.
The group hiding in Dubai
The group of businessman Josifi turns out to be hiding in Dubai. While Erlind Cekaj was arrested yesterday, in February of this year Merxhan Çeliku was arrested in Dubai. Even the businessman Josifi himself was arrested in September 2023 in Dubai, but Spain failed to extradite him, given the difficulty that the United Arab Emirates has in cases such, being released only a few days later.
On February 10, 2024 SPAK closed the investigations and sent for trial five people part of the group of the businessman Josifi for the charge of computer fraud. Meanwhile, for the businessman Amant Josifi, SPAK has agreed with the Spanish authorities that they will personally investigate him. Adrian Korriku, Irisa Puca, Merxhan Çeliku, Endri Bulku and Erlind Cekaj are being judged at the GJKKO.
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