TIRANA — Albania’s anti-corruption prosecutors have placed Olta Xhaçka, a former defence and foreign minister and a long-time ally of Prime Minister Edi Rama, under investigation for corruption and money laundering.
Her husband, the businessman and former Socialist lawmaker Artan Gaçi, is under investigation in the same case.
According to Klodiana Lala, the crime reporter who broke the story, prosecutors suspect the couple of corruption involving third parties and of laundering the proceeds through Mr. Gaçi’s companies.
The case originated with information from an EU member state. Prosecutors have obtained bank records and documents and are said to have gathered evidence that weighs heavily against the former minister.
Ms. Xhaçka was defence minister from 2017 to 2020 and foreign minister until 2023. She is at least the eighth senior Socialist figure to be formally investigated on serious charges by the Special Prosecution Office, known as SPAK, in recent years.
Two former ministers, Saimir Tahiri and Lefter Koka, have been convicted. Erion Veliaj, the mayor of Tirana, has been charged with corruption and money laundering, and Belinda Balluku, a former deputy prime minister and minister of infrastructure and energy, is under investigation on similar charges.
A resort granted special status
According to Lala, the suspected laundering involves a luxury resort Mr. Gaçi is building on a property for which documents were allegedly falsified. The project, Dreamades Luxury Suites, in the southern coast near Himarë, was granted “strategic investor” status in 2021, giving it expedited approvals and the right to use the adjoining coastline the following year.
Ms. Xhaçka was a member of the cabinet at the time.
The couple’s asset declarations have long raised questions. Albanian media have reported that they show no wealth sufficient to finance a hotel worth several million euros. In earlier proceedings, Ms. Xhaçka’s lawyer acknowledged that she had been aware of the conflict of interest when the government granted her husband’s project its status.
Unconfirmed reports of defence contracts
SPAK has not disclosed the source of the alleged corrupt payments. The news site Syri.net, citing unnamed sources close to the prosecution, reported that the money was linked to Defence Ministry tenders conducted under secret procedures during Ms. Xhaçka’s tenure, and that several hundred thousand euros passed through an Austrian bank. Those claims have not been confirmed.
A test for the governing party
The case comes as Mr. Rama faces youth-led street protests in which corruption has become a rallying cry.
As a sitting lawmaker, Ms. Xhaçka can be investigated freely, but her arrest would require the approval of parliament, where the Socialists hold a majority.
he precedent is not encouraging: when prosecutors sought to lift Ms. Balluku’s immunity, Mr. Rama and his majority refused. Whether they will shield Ms. Xhaçka in the same way may say more about the government’s commitment to the rule of law than the investigation itself.
Ms. Xhaçka and Mr. Gaçi have not commented publicly. Being under investigation does not imply guilt.
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