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After the US order to remove the Chinese, the Prosecution arrests 14 executives of "Bankers", but releases the Albanian signatories of the robbery...
After 20 years of systematic theft of billions of euros from Albanian oil through the "Bankers Petroleum" concession, the Fier Prosecutor's Office has finally issued 14 arrest warrants for the company's executives, including Chinese administrator Hongping Xiao.
The arrests were made on charges of creating fraudulent schemes related to value added tax (VAT), concealing income, money laundering and tax evasion. But surprisingly, the list of detainees does not include a single name from the tax administration, be they local inspectors in Fier or central Tax Directors, who for two decades were key links that guaranteed the fiscal inviolability of this company.
The operation to arrest the leaders of “Bankers” was carried out by the prosecution and police of Fier in cooperation with the General Directorate of Taxes, however, ironically, the institution that for more than two decades was supposed to control the company’s economic activity was left out of any administrative responsibility, but instead of controlling it has signed every fraudulent balance sheet and has sealed every fiscal nonsense that has cost the Albanian budget billions of euros. Almost 80% of this theft occurred during the three mandates of Edi Rama’s government, who in January 2014 began his mandate with the promise that the concessionaire would pay every unpaid obligation and would be treated like any other business. But just a month later, Rama forgot the ultimatum, while his brother, Olsi Rama, entered into direct relations with the Chinese mafia who then bought the company in May 2016, further intensifying the theft.
And here comes the chain of Tax Directors, who have signed off on every fiscal crime of "Bankers Petroleum" from 2013 to 2024.
Briseida Shehaj, first on the list, was in charge of taxes from October 2013 to August 2016 and during her term, at least three falsified annual balance sheets were approved, with a fiscal fraud of 138 million euros. Under her leadership, six tax investigations against the company were canceled and eight inspectors who dared to request verification were dismissed.
She was followed by Vasilika Vjero, who headed the Tax Department from August 2016 to March 2019, during a period when “Bankers” reported losses of 15-20 million euros per year and no one verified the veracity of the figures. For her contribution to facilitating evasion, Vjero was rewarded by being appointed Deputy Minister of Finance and then Advisor for Concessions.
Delina Ibrahimaj succeeded her, holding office from July 2019 to September 2021. During this time, "Bankers" continued with evasion, without any tax control, while Ibrahimaj was promoted to Minister of Finance and then Minister of Entrepreneurship.
Likewise, Ceno Klosi, in office from October 2021 to June 2024, who not only did not conduct any investigation against "Bankers", but also deleted tax data from 2015-2020 and in return was promoted to Deputy Minister of Energy and is today a SP MP in Fier. So, the one who was supposed to control, became the direct beneficiary of the votes and financing of the company he was supposed to punish.
None of these executives were included in the criminal file investigated by the Fier Prosecutor's Office. No act, no measure. And moreover, it is absurd that the Chinese themselves who took control of the concession are not under investigation, except for the sole administrator. The only reason that prompted the investigation was not an institutional awakening, but a diplomatic message: on December 1, 2024, a week after the US State Department, through Chargé d'Affaires Nancy VanHorn, sent an ultimatum to the Albanian government to remove the Chinese from the oil sector, the Fier Prosecutor's Office began actions. All of this is simply a curve that shows that justice and the state have been in deep sleep in the face of a 20-year robbery, signed by politicians, stamped by taxpayers and blessed by the government itself./ Pamphlet
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