Ballsh refinery closed, ARMO now owned by a private bank

31/01/2018 17:09

The building of the Oil Refinery in Ballsh is closed, and there is no personnel inside. But who owns now ARMO, Albania’s only oil refinery?

Since November 2016, the Ballsh oil refinery to the Credins Bank, which took it after a bailiff auction.

The report of the Justice Ministry states that the refinery was put on sale by the bailiff company, and was taken by the Bank itself, which had it as collateral for a 15.4 million EUR loan issued in 2013, with an annual interest of 6%.

Sources from the Ministry of Energy say that there has been a purchase agreement between the Credins Bank and the IRTC.

According to the agreement, IRTC would take the company for usage by paying almost the same value that Credins had paid in the auction. The payment was not completed, and now the bank remains the owner of the refinery.

Top Channel contacted with the Credins Bank, which has not made any comment on the matter.

ARMO keeps existing, with the government owning 15% and the state 86%, but without two of the main assets: the Ballsh and Fier refineries, which were taken by banks with a huge debt, estimated at 595 million USD by the Ministry of Energy. This includes fiscal debts, bank loans, obligations to other companies and payment of workers.

 

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