A police squad, armed with an arrest warrant, knocked on the door of Arben Meskuti's residence in "Pazari i Ri", Tirana, last night, local media say.
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| Arben Meskuti |
Meskuti, the lieutenant of the microcredit cartel led by Olsi Ibro, fled to Lyon, France, with millions of euros in cash, the proceeds of a scheme that preyed on thousands of Albanians.
Upon the knock, Arben Meskuti opened the door, holding the Code of Criminal Procedure in his hand.
The police presented Meskuti with the arrest warrant. However, Meskuti invoked Article 206 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which prohibits police entry into his home after 7:00 PM until 8:00 AM.
Meskuti further claimed to be a dual American citizen, producing a false passport and fabricated data, yet another chapter in his criminal dossier.
While Meskuti was citing Article 206 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the police demanded he show his hands, subsequently handcuffing him.
Meskuti is accused of committing the crime of theft as stipulated in Article 134/2 of the Penal Code.
"Theft is punishable by a fine or imprisonment for up to three years. However, when this act is committed in collaboration or more than once, it is punishable by imprisonment from six months to five years."
Meskuti Dupes Americans
Arben Meskuti dared to deceive Americans for years on end, according to reports.
In New York, he presented himself as an orphan born in Përmet on October 6, 1980, falsifying every trace of his family in Tirana.
In reality, Arben Meskuti was born in Tirana on October 6, 1978, according to his Albanian identity card with NID H81006117C.
The Americans "believed" him and granted him a Green Card and later a passport, obliging him to swear allegiance before the US flag.
But swearing allegiance to the American flag comes with a colossal cost for deceivers. Forgery is a federal crime, and Arben Meskuti, who once evaded the Tirana police with "a few bucks" claiming he had lost his American passport, now has accounts to settle with "the authorities" beyond the Atlantic.
Although known in Albania as the figure who duped thousands with MCA-ADCA companies, Meskuti managed to "convince" the Rinas police by traveling several times as an honest American, not the Albanian fraudster portrayed by the media for years.
Tirana's accusations initiated an investigation into fraud and forgery, including the recent travels of "American" Meskuti with the infamous notary Ernela Çuberi, both suspected of laundering a significant sum of money out of Albania to Turkey through BKT bank.