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| The place where Tirana's incinerator should have been, source |
The Special Prosecution Against Organized Crime and Corruption ordered the seizure of the company operating the controversial incinerator contract in Tirana on Tuesday, after announcing that preliminary investigation has revealed Klodian Zoto and Mirel Mërtiri as the true owners of the project, and that the company has issued millions of euros in falsified invoices, paid for by taxpayers of Tirana, Durrës, and neighboring municipalities.
According to the prosecution, the investigation "has resulted that citizens Klodian Zoto and Mirel Mërtiri are the de facto owners of the company 'Integrated Energy B.V SPV' sh.p.k, which has won the concession contract 'Construction of landfill, incinerator, and rehabilitation of existing landfills, Tirana', as well as being the de facto owners of its parent company founded in the Netherlands, 'Integrated Energy B.V', later changed to 'Geogenix B.V'."
"From the evidence collected during the investigation, it has emerged that citizens Klodian Zoto and Mirel Mërtiri have used other individuals and companies to conceal their identities as the true owners of the concession company 'Integrated Energy B.V SPV' sh.p.k," SPAK's announcement states.
The Albanian government led by Prime Minister Edi Rama has awarded three concession contracts to these businessmen, two of whom have previously been seized by SPAK, while investigations continue for the third and largest. The winning concession company is registered in the Netherlands, while its registered beneficial owners are several Italian and French citizens suspected to be fronts for hiding the true owners.
"The fact has been established that citizens Klodian Zoto and Mirel Mërtiri are the individuals who have directed and made decisions regarding the concession company 'Integrated Energy B.V SPV' sh.p.k. and its parent company in the Netherlands under the previous name 'Integrated Energy B.V.', currently 'Geogenix B.V.', from the moment of establishment of these companies onwards," SPAK's announcement continues.
"From the documents administered up to this phase of the investigation, it appears that citizen Klodian Zoto, in collaboration with citizen Mirel Mërtiri, has gained through forged tax invoices a monetary value of 409,428,000 (four hundred nine million four hundred twenty-eight thousand) Albanian lekë, where citizen Klodian Zoto has presented and declared forged invoices for work supposedly carried out through his other company 'Integrated Energy Services' sh.p.k., as a subcontractor of the concession company 'Integrated Energy B.V. S.P.V.' sh.p.k. At the time of issuing these forged invoices, it is proven that the de facto shareholders were citizens Klodian Zoto and Mirel Mërtiri," the announcement further states.
Integrated Energy B.V. was founded in 2017 and since then, it has invoiced Albanian citizens in various ways, including through the fiscal system for the government or through mandatory waste disposal fees.