Ministry reacts after TCH report

As regards today’s news report on Top-Channel about the setting of the tender criteria for the National Lottery, the Ministry of Finances explains that it was a speculative manipulation. Mr. Friedrich Sticler has received no request from the Ministry of Finances and has given no advises to the Ministry for the National Lottery.

The Ministry of Finances has contacted with Mrs. Bernadette Lobjois, General Secretary of the Association “European State Lotteries”, as the organization that represents this association in the relations with the national authorities for the work and mission of this association. The Ministry asked a recommendation for the adviser that would plan the criteria.

The Ministry of Finances addressed to this association as the number one authority of the National Lotteries in Europe, in which participate all European state lotteries”, says the Ministry of Finances press release.

“The criteria recommended by the adviser are fulfilled by dozens of European Companies, but they are excluded due to problems related with the transparency and safety of the game.

We want to say to the anonymous author of the comment that the board of this association has only leaders of European lotteries, (11 of them), including all companies that have participated in the tender, and the premium members of this board are those who did not participate in the tender and are now complaining”, the declaration concludes.

Top Channel explains that this is not an announcement or declaration of the television. This is information that our journalists have investigated and have shown to the public some elements that are related with an issue that has a special interest for the public.

The news report presents facts that have been pronounced by the Ministry of Finances leaders and then were verified by the journalists of finances, who are not anonymous, and who found the information with a very common search on the internet.

This is a verification that would have been done by every journalist, every media, in order to provide transparency and thorough investigation of an important matter such as the national license. Top Channel also explains that after the declaration for the adviser of the European National Lotteries Association, we have brought to the public’s attention only the fact that the president of the association in question is also General Vice Director of the Company that is running for the tender of the Albanian National Lottery.

The Ministry of Finances is trying to call this information a lie only by saying that the adviser contacted by them was not the president of the association, but the secretary. Top Channel has made a confrontation of the facts and declarations, and every Albanian is free to give its own conclusions.

Top Channel