The Tirana Prosecution is investigating the Albpetrol Privatization
case, four months after reported by Socialist Parliament Member Erjon
Brace. The investigations are focusing on the violation of equality
rules in the public tender and auction.
The news is confirmed by Anti Financial and Economic Crime Unit at the Prosecution, which suspects that the 10% guarantee established in the tender by the Vetro Energy might have been fictive.
Sources underline that investigations are based on several criminal charges, such as fraud, power abuse and violation of tenders’ equality in cooperation.
The Prosecution is verifying suspicions on the bank guarantee presented by the company declared as winner in the first phase. The verifications affect the American consultant of the Albanian government, the Patton Boggs, which is suspected of having favored the guarantee that is now under investigation.
Prosecutors say that despite surpassing the legal deadlines and declaring the tender as failed, the company did not pay the 85 million EUR guarantee to the Albanian government. The government, together with Patton Boggs, declared that the guarantee was verified as regular in full accordance with the legal requests.
But after the tender failed and the Rezart Taci’s business consortium did not pay the 850 million EUR, the government started the procedures for executing the 10% guarantee, which has not arrived in the government’s account so far.
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