Berisha: Donators also responsible for Ponzi schemes

05/10/2012 00:00

The Albanian Prime Minister returned to the Ponzi scheme issue in the
20th anniversary of the World Bank in Albania. He declared that the
government of that time was not the only actor in that time that was
unable to predict and stop the crisis, in a probable effort to share the
responsibility for 1997.

“Albania passed one of its most dramatic moments with the Ponzi schemes, and one man, who was able to become Deputy President of the World Bank, found the force and the civil integrity to publicly apologize that he was unable to stop the Ponzi schemes in Albania. I have never accused the Bank or any other institution for their development, but Mr. Lin, knowing the close cooperation that we had, thought that he should have been more attentive for their prevention, which makes an excellent moment of transparency”, Berisha declared.

Although there was no public reaction, this declaration of the Prime Minister gives responsibilities to the donators for the pyramidal chaos of 1997, and it surprised and created dissatisfactions among the organizers of the meeting.

The pyramidal collapse was followed by dramatic consequences for the Albanian economy. The domestic production in 1997 fell with more than 7% and the Albanian currency lost 40% of its value in a few months. Thousands of citizens lost their savings and the market faced an inflation of 30%.

Besides the catastrophic consequences in the economy, the pyramid schemes were followed by a great social cost. More than 2000 people died from the violence and the country went on the brink of civil war.

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