In 2023, Arben Ahmetaj, former deputy prime minister of Albania, was charged by the special prosecution office (SPAK) with corruption, money laundering and concealment of assets in connection with the so-called Incinerators Affair, one of the most infamous corruption scandals to rock the country in recent years. Following an arrest warrant issued by the special prosecutor, Ahmetaj fled the country and is currently a wanted fugitive.

Throughout his political career, Ahmetaj served in multiple ministerial roles under Prime Minister Edi Rama, eventually becoming deputy prime minister. In 2022, prosecutors from Albania’s special courts against corruption and organised crime (SPAK) opened an investigation into Ahmetaj’s role in the notorious Incinerators Affair. Previous investigations revealed a corruption scheme linked to three concessionary contracts awarded by the government between 2014 and 2017 for the construction of waste incinerators, ultimately to leading the arrest of former minister of environment Lefter Koka and former socialist deputy Alqi Blako.

Two concessionary companies, Albtek Energy and ITS, with no experience in urban waste processing and incineration, were granted contracts to build incinerators in Elbasan, Fier, and Tirana. Klodjan Zoto and Stela Gugallja, the nominal owners of these companies, were respectively an associate and the life partner of the controversial businessman and de facto owner, Meril Mërtiri. An investigation launched by SPAK in 2020 into the concession granted for the Elbasan incinerator revealed that the concessionary companies used ad hoc intermediary firms to funnel money to the minister of environment, Lefter Koka (see here).

Lefter Koka was arrested in December 2021 on charges of corruption and money laundering related to the 2015 concession of the Elbasan incinerator, which was awarded through an unlawful emergency procedure. In September 2023, he was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for corruption charges linked to the Fier waste incinerator. Meanwhile, a third investigation into the waste concession in Tirana is ongoing. Other high-ranking officials have also been arrested as a result of SPAK's investigation, including former member of parliament Alqi Bllako. They are accused of corruption and money laundering and have been sentenced in absentia.

The investigation into Arben Ahmetaj and his alleged involvement in the incinerators scandal was launched in 2022. In June 2023, Ahmetaj was summoned and questioned for the first time by SPAK. The following month, Albania’s special prosecution sought to arrest Ahmetaj on charges of corruption, money laundering and falsification of official documents, i.e. asset declarations. Albania’s special prosecution requested permission from parliament to lift his immunity to arrest, but Ahmetaj fled the country before parliament voted on and accepted SPAK’s request. The special anti-corruption prosecution declared Ahmetaj as an internationally wanted person and notified Interpol.

Although all the details of the accusations are unknown, as SPAK’s chairman, Altin Dumani, stressed the need to preserve investigative secrecy, Ahmetaj was under investigation for suspected illegal benefits obtained from the two businessmen behind the waste management contracts. SPAK prosecutors claimed that Klodian Zoto and Mirel Mërtiri paid Ahmetaj at least €491,000 in bribes through intermediaries, fake real estate transactions, seaside villas and paid holidays in luxury hotels for Ahmetaj and his relatives (see here, here and here).

The investigations also revealed that in order to conceal the acquisition of a villa in a luxury resort in Hamallaj by Ahmetaj’s partner, Erjola Flamur Hoxha, Ahmetaj received assistance from businessman Gerian Kuka. Additionally, Ahmetaj was allegedly aided by his former adviser, Artan Gjoka, in the fictitious sale of villas and apartments as well as with businessmen Sokol Meqemeja and Edmond Begaj (see here and here).

Although Ahmetaj seemingly had only an indirect role in the three controversial contracts, the prosecution claims that his influence in the awarding procedure enabled the entrepreneurs to secure the concession contracts (see here).

The investigations found that Ahmetaj, through one of his employees, approved the Elbasan incinerator concession procedure (see here). The investigation files also revealed how Ahmetaj's role was decisive in the continuation of the tender for the Tirana incinerator, currently under investigation (see here and here).

After the failed attempt to arrest him, SPAK seized properties belonging to Ahmetaj as well as documents of interest, laptops, mobile phones and USB drives found in these properties. Additionally, two bank accounts belonging to Ahmetaj, totalling €124,300, were also seized.

Data from the investigation shows that Ahmetaj had a close relationship with Mirel Mërtiri, at least since 2012 (see here). According to BIRN’s findings, Mërtiri, who is currently also on the run, built a business empire with companies registered in Albania and in offshore jurisdictions under the names of close associates. Ahmetaj, currently a fugitive in Switzerland, denied having any role in the waste treatment contracts and has repeatedly called the investigation against him political revenge (see here). However, Koka told BIRN that several ministries were involved, including the finance ministry, led by Ahmetaj at the time. Recently, Ahmetaj has employed a US lobbying company to persuade the US government that the charges against him are false. In addition to the high-profile incinerators affair, Ahmetaj has faced other investigations and corruption allegations (see here).

The three concessions have cost Albanian taxpayers at least €150 million, based on BIRN’s calculations, and estimates from Albania’s supreme audit institution suggest they could cost taxpayers €430 million over the next 30 years. Consequently, the social harm caused by the misuse of public resources was enormous.