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The British media 'The Times' has published an article this Monday according to which a secret operation to stop Albanian crime bosses operating in Britain codenamed "Crime State Nexus" has been launched for some time by the United Kingdom government.
The project launched by officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Interior aims to expose and target corrupt politicians in the Balkans linked to organized crime.
Details of the operation were revealed in government court documents related to a legal battle over a decision to ban former prime minister Sali Berisha from entering Britain.
British papers also say political protection gives gangs more opportunities to launder money and means Albania can be used as a safe haven from which to operate.
Full article from 'The Times':
A covert operation to stop Albanian crime bosses operating in Great Britain is attempting to expose corrupt politicians in the Balkan country.
The codenamed Crime State Nexus (CSN) project was launched by the Foreign Office and the Home Office to target Balkan politicians with links to organized crime.
The aim of the project is to weaken the threat posed by organized crime groups (OCG) and protect Britain's interests in the region.
A Home Office legal document describes Albanian OCGs as an "acute threat" to the UK. They are estimated to be significant players in the UK cocaine market and "highly prevalent in serious and organized crime" in Britain, including people smuggling and sex trafficking.
He points to statistics showing that Albanians make up one in eight of all criminals serving in UK prisons, making them by far the largest foreign nationality.
The secret project has been revealed in court documents from a legal battle over the government's decision to ban a former Albanian president from Great Britain.
Sali Berisha, 79, is appealing the decision taken by Priti Patel, when she was Home Secretary, to expel her from the UK to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, with a decision expected next month.
The document states that the links between politics and crime in the Western Balkans create a "permissive environment in which serious criminals and OCGs can operate and benefit from the political protection of corrupt politicians from law enforcement activities".
This political protection provides OCGs with additional avenues to launder money and enables them to use Albania as a "safe haven from which to operate", the Home Office document adds.
In return, OCGs will help a politician during elections by buying votes and intimidating voters, he adds.
The project aims to break these links by coordinating the UK's actions against politically exposed persons (PEPs) in all aspects of Albanian politics. Sanctions could include a range of diplomatic leverage, exclusion from the UK and "strategic companies".
This could expose corrupt PEPs in order to reduce their credibility among the public and the Albanian political elite, which would "demonstrate the international and domestic consequences of tolerating corruption within political parties", the Home Office said.
He added: “By increasing the political costs of engaging in corruption, the objective is to discourage Albanian politicians from providing political protection to CSOs. Reduced political protection should make OCGs more vulnerable to law enforcement activity in Albania and disrupt their business model.”
Other aims of the CSN are to strengthen democracy in the Western Balkans, reduce "the perception that criminals can operate with impunity" and strengthen the UK's reputation and credibility as a partner in tackling corruption.
Berisha served as president of Albania between 1992 and 1997 and then as prime minister between 2005 and 2013.
He is the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, but in December, an Albanian court ruled that he should be sentenced to house arrest while he is investigated for misuse of office to privatize public land to build 17 apartments for the benefit of the son of his. father in law Berisha has denied the accusations and says that it is a politicized case orchestrated by Edi Rama, the current prime minister. He has also denied allegations in the UK of links to OCGs.
Defending the UK government's decision to expel Berisha from the country, Lisa Giovannetti KC, representing the Home Office in the case at the Special Immigration Appeal Board, said: "The Secretary of State was right to take the view that the applicant "has been involved in serious organized crime and corruption and has used his connections with organized crime groups and those involved in criminality for his own benefit".
She added: "Serious organized crime in the Western Balkans, and in particular in Albania, has had and continues to have a negative impact on Britain. The National Crime Agency's tactical assessment explains that the state's capture of Albanian institutions undermines its ability to fight serious organized crime."
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