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The new structures of the Albanian justice system after the reform are much more active against corruption and organized crime than before.
These are the conclusions of the annual report by the FOL Center on the fight against corruption and organized crime. The report observes that both the investigations carried out by the Special Prosecution Against Corruption and Organized Crime (;Locally: SPAK) and the convictions by the Special Court Against Corruption and Organized Crime (Locally: GJKKO) are now more numerous.
Reports of corruption in SPAK constitute more than half of the cases monitored by the "Fol për Drejtësinë" (Speak for Justice) project from last summer until today, VOA reports.
According to the report prepared by a group of legal experts and experienced journalists in reporting on crime in the country, the majority of the 100 criminal proceedings for corruption during the last 12 months involved high-ranking officials and former officials, and about half of them are under arrest. The report highlights that SPAK has been very dynamic in the first half of this year, registering 18 new cases in May and 17 in June. The crime of abuse of duty is investigated in 32 cases, constituting 32% of the corruption cases, becoming one of the main focuses in corruption-related criminal acts.
"While in ordinary courts, there are many cases that start with a bang but then fade away and are forgotten, and even the investigations are stopped and shelved. The opposite happens with SPAK and GJKKO: every security measure requested by SPAK is approved by GJKKO, the charges are not dropped as it happens in regular courts, and the cases are pursued to the end. They are working with much more energy and motivation than regular prosecutors and courts," says journalist Anila Hoxha, director of the FOL Center.
The Special Prosecution Against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) registered 12 cases of "active corruption of high state officials or elected local officials," 6 of which resulted in the accused persons being in pre-trial detention.
During this period, SPAK also registered 13 cases involving police officers in corruption, and they are also under pre-trial detention.
Besides the 100 corruption cases, the other half of the cases monitored by the FOL Center are related to drug-related crimes and organized crime, totaling 95 cases.
In the past November and June of this year, these are the months in which the most important operations against drug trafficking have been carried out. The report emphasizes that the focus has been more on tackling trafficking than drug cultivation.
"Out of 38 cases of organized crime, the First Instance Special Court Against Corruption and Organized Crime (GJKKO) ordered pre-trial detention for 31 of them. The report notes that the investigations into corruption cases start more frequently from the initiative of the investigative body than from the denunciations. In 27 cases, the criminal proceedings were initiated by SPAK, while the other 11 cases were initiated by the police, individuals, political parties, and BKH," says legal expert Isuf Shehu.
SPAK has pursued a strict policy regarding security measures, seeking pre-trial detention for the vast majority of the cases.
The FOL Center emphasized in its annual report that so far, the most investigated officials by SPAK have been mayors.
Three mayors, those of Tirana, Vora, and Kuçova, have been summoned for abuse of duty, forgery of documents, and corruption by high state officials and elected local officials.
In addition to them, SPAK is investigating three other mayors, and two former mayors (from Himara, Durrës, Bulqiza, Kukës, Fushë-Arrëz) under pre-trial detention for "Abuse of Duty," "Violation of equality in tenders or public auctions," and "Active corruption in collaboration during elections."