The evidence presented by SPAK against Lefter Koka and his role in the concession of the Elbasan incinerator did not convince the Special Court, which in the justification given for setting the security measure of arrest and imprisonment cites the public image of the justice system.
Among the materials of the file, the court says in its decision that the public has a perception that the justice system is not doing enough in the fight against corruption, and this perception and low trust that the system enjoys among citizens is cited as an argument for keeping Koka in a cell.
But why was the court not convinced by SPAK's evidence? There are three charges against Lefter Koka, abuse of office, corruption and laundering the proceeds of a criminal offense.
Abuse of office is related to the role and influence assumed by Lefter Koka's prosecutors on the 7-member bid evaluation commission, where the Ministry of Environment had only 3 members, so not the majority for decision-making.
In addition, all seven members of the commission, according to the testimonies given in SPAK and before the court, when they were asked by the prosecutors, unanimously denied that there was any intervention or influence of Lefter Koka in determining the type of procedure that would be followed.
These two elements, i.e. the fact that the Ministry of the Environment did not have the majority of members in the bid evaluation commission and the testimony of seven members of the commission who say that there was no intervention or influence from Lefter Koka in determining the concession procedure, overturn all charges of abuse of office.
The second accusation is that of corruption. Lefter Koka is accused by SPAK of having benefited from a network of companies through the issuance of fictitious invoices. But, according to the file, the prosecution cannot determine the time when this money was obtained, nor the connection of these companies with the former minister.
SPAK's claim about the fictitious invoices is based on the financial expertise of the special prosecutor's office, which admits that the investment in the Elbasan incinerator has been made, while in the testimonies given all the administrators of the companies accused of issuing fictitious invoices have denied the links with Lefter Koka . Even the accusation of corruption falls, according to the materials that SPAK itself has included in the file and the testimonies of the administrators.
The last charge is that of laundering the proceeds of crime. This charge is inextricably linked to the charge of corruption, which means that as long as SPAK is unable to prove the charge of corruption, the charge of laundering the proceeds of crime is automatically dropped.
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