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Bankers Petroleum, millions of euros in losses for the state: Not only unpaid taxes, but also costly arbitrations

2026-02-05 11:55:27Biznes SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Bankers Petroleum, millions of euros in losses for the state: Not only unpaid
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Bankers Petroleum Albania, a company currently under investigation for tax avoidance and evasion, has cost the Albanian state millions of euros in losses from non-payment of taxes, but also massive expenses for arbitrations and open trials over the years.

The State Supreme Audit Office report has highlighted a series of serious financial and institutional consequences related to the way in which the State Attorney's Office and the responsible institutions pursued the issue of international arbitration for the Patos-Marinza source, as well as several other processes lost by the Albanian state.

According to the audit, the International Court of Arbitration, on June 7, 2024, issued its decision on ICC Case 21349/GR, initiated in 2015, between the company “Bankers” and Albanian institutions, including the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy and the National Agency for Natural Resources. The decision clarified the criteria for the recovery of hydrocarbon costs and found that over $200 million declared by the operator as recoverable did not meet the legal requirements.

The tribunal has ordered the company to correct its financial statements for the years 2012–2017 and to reflect the changes in its quarterly reporting following the decision. These adjustments, according to the audit, are expected to have a direct impact on the calculation of profit tax and subsequent audits by AKBN for the years 2018 and onwards.

In the same decision, the arbitration ordered the Albanian party to pay procedural costs in the amount of $5.76 million. A request for correction and interpretation, filed in Switzerland in July 2024, was dismissed in November of the same year, definitively confirming the financial liability of the Albanian state, while Bankers was ordered to pay part of the legal costs against Albpetrol.

The current status shows that only in February 2025 AKBN filed a request with the Court of Appeal of General Jurisdiction in Tirana for the recognition and execution of the decision, reflecting, according to the SAI, unjustified institutional delays.

The report also highlights the heavy financial burden that this issue has placed on the state budget. So far, the costs include about $224,000, over 2.69 million euros and over 3.6 thousand British pounds, related to court fees, legal representation, expertise, translations and procedural logistics.

AKBN's financial statements for 2023 show an international arbitration award related to the same issue. However, the audit finds that a liability of over $1.16 million, imposed by an interim award in 2018, has not been liquidated nor scheduled for settlement by the end of 2023, in violation of financial management rules.

In addition to the Patos-Marinza case, the SAI has also analyzed other cases lost by the Republic of Albania. Only one of them, ICC Case 22676/GR with the plaintiff company GBC, was recognized by the Court of Appeal in 2021. In this case, MIE and AKBN were forced to pay over $12.5 million in damages, as well as additional amounts for costs and interests.

According to the report, no concrete measures have been taken for this decision to recognize and budget the obligation until April 2025, exposing the state to the risk of interest increases. For the period 2020–2024 alone, the calculated interest amounts to over 60 thousand euros, an additional cost for public finances.

In conclusion, the Supreme State Audit recommends that the Ministry of Tourism and Environment, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, AKBN and the State Attorney's Office coordinate actions to follow legal procedures, fully recognize liabilities in financial statements and execute arbitration decisions.

According to the auditors, the lack of coordination, delays and budget misplanning have created a constant risk for the state budget and have damaged Albania's institutional credibility in international arbitrations./ ekofin.al


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