Former Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku will stand trial on five serious criminal charges, including corruption, concealing assets, money laundering, and rigging a number of public tenders worth a combined 600 million euros.
Albania’s Special Prosecution Office (SPAK) announced it has closed its investigation into Balluku and will send her case to court.
The investigation covers contracts awarded for the construction of Tirana’s Great Ring Road and the Llogara Tunnel, which connects the southern city of Vlora with the Albanian Riviera.
Prosecutors have also seized two villas on Albania’s southern coast, in exclusive areas. They suspect the villas are hidden assets belonging to Balluku, obtained as a result of corruption.
Along with Balluku, SPAK has charged former heads of the Albanian Road Authority and the state power company KESH with violating equality among bidders in public tenders and auctions.
Construction businessmen who benefited from road contracts are also being sent to trial.
Balluku is considered one of the most powerful figures in Prime Minister Edi Rama’s government. She served as a minister and then as Deputy Prime Minister for about six years.
A year ago, prosecutors asked Parliament to lift Balluku’s immunity so they could order her arrest. They argued she could tamper with evidence and intimidate witnesses.
Rama publicly defended Balluku, and the Socialist majority voted against SPAK’s request.
He later removed her from the government. But an investigative show on Albanian media reported that her influence remained unchanged even after she left the government.
Despite the charges and her legal troubles, Rama has refused to politically distance himself from Balluku. He did the opposite several years ago, when SPAK charged another former deputy prime minister, Arben Ahmetaj.
At that time, Rama and the Socialist majority voted to lift Ahmetaj’s immunity. Ahmetaj fled Albania and avoided arrest.
Ahmetaj has since lived in Switzerland. In several TV interviews, he has accused Rama, Balluku, and Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj of corruption.
SPAK arrested Veliaj on Feb. 10, 2025, on charges of corruption and concealing assets. His trial is now underway at the Special Anti-Corruption Court.
Rama’s Socialist government has been hit by a string of corruption scandals that have also involved other former Cabinet ministers.
In recent months, Albania has been swept by mass protests. They grew into broader anger over poor governance, widespread corruption at the highest levels, the high cost of living, and other problems.
The peaceful protests of the so-called Flamingo Revolution, which erupted in June against a project tied to Jared Kushner in the Zvernec area, turned in October into clashes between students and police.
The protests have been heavily criticized for what critics call disproportionate police violence against young people and other citizens demanding Rama’s resignation.
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