The Albanian Special Prosecution Office has filed four serious charges against former head of cardiac surgery at the "Mother Teresa" Hospital Center, Edvin Prifti, at the conclusion of an investigation launched against him in 2021. The prosecution announced today that the case has been sent for trial. The renowned doctor is accused of "Corruption" in at least 7 cases, "Embezzlement committed by abusing duty," "Concealment of income," and "Money laundering." A wealth investigation has led to the seizure of approximately 1.1 million euros, which, according to the Prosecution, are not justified by legitimate sources. Mr. Prifti reacted following today's announcement by the Special Prosecution, through a lengthy post on Facebook, speaking of "arbitrary accusations in the continuation of the ordered persecution with the ultimate aim of unjustly convicting me and holding the legitimately seized funds."
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Cardiac surgeon Prifti ended up under accusation after his name appeared in the wiretaps of the Secretary of the Kruja Court, who had undergone surgery by the doctor, against payment made to the physician, according to the Prosecution. The Court Secretary, who was arrested, was part of a Special Prosecution investigation against Corruption and Organized Crime, which led to the arrest, on February 11, 2021, of Judge Enkeleida Hoxha of the Kruja Court, a lawyer, and 7 other individuals, including several serving as intermediaries. They are all suspected to have been part of a scheme to prematurely release convicts.
Professor Prifti was arrested two days later in the courtroom after more than 256,000 euros and just over 15 million new lek were found in his residence and office. He was later released on bail by the Special Appeals Chamber. At that time, he and his lawyer claimed that the money was part of a transaction for the sale of property owned by the doctor's wife and that there was no evidence to prove that the money was obtained from illegal sources. Dr. Prifti stated that he had worked for many years in reputable hospitals in Italy, had received high-value assessments and monetary awards, and that in Albania, he practiced at a private hospital.
According to the announcement of the Special Prosecution on Tuesday, "during the performance of his duties as a cardiac surgeon, in at least seven cases, he received irregular benefits in monetary amounts from patients operated on at the Cardiac Surgery Pavilion at the University Hospital Center 'Mother Teresa'." In addition to the sums found in his office and residence, the Prosecution informs that "a complete asset and financial investigation has been carried out, and as a result, monetary sums in the amount of 177,497 Euros and 52,479,368 new lek have been seized in six bank accounts with Second Level Banks. The total amounts seized during the preliminary investigation are 434,319 Euros, 67,914,368 new lek, and 7,600 USD."
But according to Dr. Prifti, "everything that this organization calls 'evidence' are messages, statements, or statements between other people who are often completely unknown to me. There is no video, ambient recording, or evidence, except what one person has told another."
According to the Prosecution, the renowned doctor attempted to hide the traces of the source of the money through financial transactions and evade tax obligations. "The investigation has proven that since 2018, and thereafter, he has been provided with fictitious invoices, which reflect the fictitious purchase of medical supplies and equipment by trading entities in his name, with the aim of increasing costs and avoiding tax obligations, but also to justify the cash amounts deposited into the accounts of these businesses, amounts which he later withdrew and deposited into personal accounts. In this way, he justified the sources of income, without a legitimate origin, which, however, were not fully justified. This mechanism, especially the monetary movements in bank accounts, accompanied by the provision of fictitious tax invoices, demonstrates the true intent of the defendant, which is the concealment and covering up of the nature of the source of income from corruption activities," the Prosecution highlights.
But from Dr. Prifti's perspective, the claims of the prosecutors are inexplicable. "No one understands what the connection is between the invoices and the justification and circulation of income, words used in a statement to create disinformation. So, to justify my income, I take invoices from others? And in any case, every company has made the respective declaration according to the truth, so there is no fiction here," he writes.
The investigations also link Professor Prifti to another episode when, as Head of the Cardiac Surgery Service, "after receiving a Grant of 8,973 USD from a foundation aimed at financing a project to be implemented in the Service he directed, it turned out that he did not invest the entire monetary amount of the Grant, but benefited from it for personal interests," the prosecution announces, which accuses him of "Embezzlement committed by abusing duty." For Dr. Prifti, "here the inquisition ends. Every element related to this project has invoices and justifications. The only element is that this project was supposed to start in March 2020 and was partially blocked due to the COVID19 pandemic and the closure of the university," he writes, giving his version of the event.