In 2020, the Special Prosecution against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) started an investigation into the former mayor of Durrës, Vangjush Dako, several employees of the municipality and private citizens contracted by the institution on counts of forgery of seals, stamps, and forms and abuse of functions, as provided for under Articles 190 and 248 of the criminal code. At the time of the investigation, Daku was not serving as mayor, an office which he had previously held for 12 years.

As part of this investigation in June 2023, Dako was arrested by SPAK along with five other officials and a construction developer, Fiqiri Farruku. However, eight months later, Dako was released from custody because the prosecution failed to complete the investigation within the required timeframe.

The case included the unlawful approval of four additional floors to a building constructed by developer Fiqiri Farruku in neighbourhood no. 5 of Durrës. The building had a construction permit from 2010 for seven floors. Nevertheless, two years later, four other additional floors were constructed. As it was shown in the media at the time, this illegal adding of floors outside the initial approved construction permit had serious repercussions. On 26 November 2019, a strong earthquake damaged the building, making it unsafe and leaving 45 families homeless. The special prosecution discovered that the construction permit for these additional floors was signed by Dako, mayor at the time, and the director of the directorate of planning and territorial control, Adhurim Qehajaj, a year and a half after the building was completed.

On the second count of abuse of functions and forgery of official documents, the special prosecution investigated a project in the municipality of Durrës called Implementation Design for the Coastal Promenade and Public Beach from Bërryli to Currila. This charge was related to how this project was handled, which also resulted in economic loss.

According to SPAK, Dako issued an official order on 11 September 2013 to establish a commission to prepare the budget, technical requirements and other details for the procurement of the project. However, the commission made a considerable and unusual error. They calculated the budget nearly ten times higher than it should have been based on the specific government regulations. Despite this mistake, Dako approved the inflated budget for the project. After the approval, a contract was signed, and the municipality paid 60% of the contract value upfront. In 2015, the supreme state audit institution (KLSH) reviewed the process and found serious financial errors. They notified Dako and the municipality to immediately terminate further payments and recover the money that had been wrongly calculated. Still, in December 2015, the municipality paid the remaining 40% of the contract value, resulting in total overpayment of ALL18,318,400.20 (approx. €130,000 in June 2015). This overpaid amount has been recorded as a financial loss in the municipality’s accounts since 2016. The company that received the extra payment has not returned the money, and the damage remains unresolved.

With their illegal decisions, the ex-mayor of Durrës and the persons involved disrupted the rights and the security of the citizens, risked lives and caused the city significant economic damages. Vangjush Dako is one of the few Albanian high officials publicly noted for involvement in significant corruption by the US Department of State. Adding to the fact that there had been previous investigations and allegations for criminal offences, this case offers a more comprehensive view of systemic abuse of power within the municipality of Durrës and a repeated pattern of corruption in the local government.