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Albanian anti-corruption prosecutors have completed their investigation into former Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, with allegations spanning public procurement violations, corruption, concealed assets and money laundering, Tirana Times reported on October 28. Balluku appeared at the headquarters of the Special Prosecution against Corruption and Organized Crime, known as SPAK, with her lawyer on Wednesday to receive formal notification that the investigation had ended. She has previously denied wrongdoing and is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. According to the report, prosecutors accuse Balluku of violating public procurement rules in nine cases, passive corruption, concealing or failing to declare assets on two occasions, and aggravated money laundering involving two properties. The investigation concerns major infrastructure contracts, including the Llogara Tunnel and sections of Tirana’s Great Ring Road. Tirana Times reported that the contracts under scrutiny have a combined value exceeding €600 million. That figure represents the value of the contracts being examined; the excerpt does not identify an equivalent amount in alleged losses or illicit proceeds. Investigators also suspect that Balluku benefited from luxury properties on Albania’s southern coast allegedly concealed through third parties and connected to companies awarded government contracts. Several businesspeople and former officials are implicated in the wider investigation, the newspaper reported. Despite the expanded allegations, SPAK has not renewed its request for parliamentary authorization to arrest Balluku. Parliament rejected an earlier request on March 12, with 82 lawmakers voting against authorization and 47 supporting it. The governing majority argued at the time that grounds for detention had weakened after Balluku’s dismissal from government. Opposition parties accused Prime Minister Edi Rama of using his parliamentary majority to protect a political ally. Balluku, who also served as infrastructure and energy minister, had been a close ally of Rama. The prime minister defended her after prosecutors initially moved against her in late 2025 and challenged a court decision suspending her from office. According to Tirana Times, he eventually dismissed her on February 26 after months of political pressure and opposition protests. The newspaper reported that no detailed public explanation had been given for the absence of a renewed arrest request. It also noted that more serious charges do not automatically establish grounds for pretrial detention. The completion of the investigation marks a further procedural step in the case, while the allegations against Balluku remain to be tested in court.
Albanian anti-corruption prosecutors have completed their investigation into former Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, with allegations spanning public procurement violations, corruption, concealed assets and money laundering, Tirana Times reported on October 28.
Balluku appeared at the headquarters of the Special Prosecution against Corruption and Organized Crime, known as SPAK, with her lawyer on Wednesday to receive formal notification that the investigation had ended. She has previously denied wrongdoing and is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
According to the report, prosecutors accuse Balluku of violating public procurement rules in nine cases, passive corruption, concealing or failing to declare assets on two occasions, and aggravated money laundering involving two properties.
The investigation concerns major infrastructure contracts, including the Llogara Tunnel and sections of Tirana’s Great Ring Road. Tirana Times reported that the contracts under scrutiny have a combined value exceeding €600 million. That figure represents the value of the contracts being examined; the excerpt does not identify an equivalent amount in alleged losses or illicit proceeds.
Investigators also suspect that Balluku benefited from luxury properties on Albania’s southern coast allegedly concealed through third parties and connected to companies awarded government contracts. Several businesspeople and former officials are implicated in the wider investigation, the newspaper reported.
Despite the expanded allegations, SPAK has not renewed its request for parliamentary authorization to arrest Balluku. Parliament rejected an earlier request on March 12, with 82 lawmakers voting against authorization and 47 supporting it.
The governing majority argued at the time that grounds for detention had weakened after Balluku’s dismissal from government. Opposition parties accused Prime Minister Edi Rama of using his parliamentary majority to protect a political ally.
Balluku, who also served as infrastructure and energy minister, had been a close ally of Rama. The prime minister defended her after prosecutors initially moved against her in late 2025 and challenged a court decision suspending her from office. According to Tirana Times, he eventually dismissed her on February 26 after months of political pressure and opposition protests.
The newspaper reported that no detailed public explanation had been given for the absence of a renewed arrest request. It also noted that more serious charges do not automatically establish grounds for pretrial detention. The completion of the investigation marks a further procedural step in the case, while the allegations against Balluku remain to be tested in court.
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