Albania's intelligence chief, Vlora Hyseni, has been suspended from her post and ordered under house arrest, anti-corruption prosecutors confirmed on Tuesday. Two other people have been taken into custody in the same investigation.
The orders were approved by the Special Court for Corruption and Organised Crime.
Prosecutors also confirmed that investigators had searched the home of a former senior police official and a villa complex in Durrës.
The statement confirms media reports from earlier in the day and shows the operation is wider than first thought.
Intelligence chief removed from office
Hyseni is suspected of aiding a criminal suspect and of leaking secret information in breach of her official duties. The leaking offence carries a sentence of up to five years in prison.
The suspension means she can no longer run the intelligence service while the investigation continues. According to earlier reports, Hyseni is in Baku, Azerbaijan. SPAK said police had carried out two of the three court orders, which suggests her house arrest has not yet been enforced.
Hyseni has led the State Intelligence Service since 2023. She is the first woman to hold this position. Before her appointment, she spent many years in Kosovo's security services, including a shot stint as head of the the services. She was fired by Kosovo’s prime Minister Albain Kurit in une 2021.
Shortly after, Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama nominated her as his security advisor and, in 2023, promoted her to the top of Albania’s Intelligence Services.
Two more suspects in custody
SPAK's statement named two suspects who had not appeared in earlier reports.
A unit head at the Scientific Police Institute, the State Police's forensics agency, was ordered held in custody. He is also suspected of leaking secret information.
An employee of, an agritourism business, was also ordered held in custody on a separate charge.
SPAK did not say how the two men are connected to Hyseni or to each other.
Former police chief's home searched
The special court also approved a search of the home of a former senior police official, and a search of the man himself. Media have identified him as Ilir Proda, who led the State Police for 17 motnhs before he was dismissed in March 2026.
In a separate order, the court allowed investigators to search a villa complex in the Shkozet area of Durrës. SPAK did not say who owns the property.
Questions remain
SPAK's statement does not mention Ergys Agasi, the suspected leader of a criminal group that operated inside the National Agency for Information Society (AKSHI), the agency that adminsiters government’s digital infrastrcutre and data bases.
Several media outlets have linked today's operation to that case. Journalist Klodiana Lala reported that prosecutors found evidence involving senior officials on phones seized after Agasi's arrest.
Prosecutors have not said what information Hyseni is suspected of leaking or whom she is suspected of helping. They also have not said whether Proda is a suspect or whether anything was found at his home.
Neither Hyseni nor Proda has commented publicly.
Shpërndaje te miqtë
