Shadows of Doubt / Samir Manes' Green Coast as a launderer for laundering the money of crime and corruption

A 2021 action by the Prosecutor's Office of Tirana and the file of Arben Ahmetaj in SPAK raise strong shadows of suspicion that strategic investors in Albania are being widely used to clean dirty money suspected of drug trafficking or corruption.

In the first case, it is about the property investigations initiated by the prosecution against Alban Xhepa, a person filed by the Italian authorities on the charge of drug trafficking. For him, the prosecution announced in 2021 the seizure of a multitude of properties, from vehicles, apartments to businesses.

Among the seized properties is also a restaurant named Heat, located in Samir Manes' Green Coast in Palasa. The restaurant was opened in May 2020. A year later it was subject to seizure, while on March 11, 2022, according to the documentation submitted to the KKB, it was closed as an activity.

However, Alban Xhepa is not the only one who has stayed away from Green Coast in Palasa this summer. Multiple sources of Voxnews.al confirm many VIP owners of the luxury villas built by Samir Mane have not passed the checkpoint of their fence. Simply put, they have stayed away from the thousands-of-euro properties that they bought in this resort and that for the most part have used Arben Ahmetaj's scheme, or similar schemes by registering them in the name of third parties.

The reason why this year's holidays were ruined was SPAK and the National Bureau of Investigation. The latter, by order of special prosecutors, is stationed almost permanently near the resort in search of money from organized crime and corruption.

SPAK and BKH have indications and suspect that Green Coast has been widely used as a launderer for money laundering, both by persons with criminal records and by corrupt officials of all levels.

Money laundering is a process that requires two parties. One party is the one who has the black money and intends to introduce it into the system. The other side is what enables him to get them into the system. The legal responsibilities of each party are determined by articles 287 and 287/a of the Criminal Code.

Për rastin e parë, neni 287 parashikon dënim me burg nga 7 deri në 15 vite. Kjo është njëra nga tre akuzat e ngritura ndaj Arben Ahmetajt. Për palën e dytë, neni 287/a parashikon tekstualisht se: ‘Kushdo që blen, merr, fsheh apo, në një mënyrë tjetër, përvetëson për vete ose një palë të tretë, apo ndihmon në blerjen, marrjen, fshehjen ose përdorimin e parave apo mallrave të tjera, duke ditur se një person tjetër ka përfituar këto para apo mallra, si pasojë e kryerjes së një vepre penale ose veprimtarie kriminale, dënohet me burgim nga gjashtë muaj gjer në tre vjet’.

Sipas këtij parashikimi, drejtuesit ekzekutivë të Green Coast mund të jenë subjekt hetimor i SPAK-ut dhe të rrezikojnë deri në tre vite burg. Por, në rastin e resortit Green Coast dhe Val-a-Mar në Gjirin e Lalëzit, dyshimet e SPAK flasin për një aktivitet pastrimi parash të një shkalle industriale, që do të thotë se e gjithë skema buron më lart se sa thjesht drejtuesit e kompanive të Samir Manes.

Megjithatë, të gjitha këto deri më tani mbeten në kuadrin e dyshimeve të forta se kompanitë e Samir Manes kanë ndihmuar në pastrimin e parave të korrupsionit dhe të krimit të organizuar. Për t’i provuar, apo për t’i hequr këto hije dyshimi nevojitet rezultati i hetimeve të thelluara të SPAK…gjithmonë nëse do t’i shkohet dosjeve të bujshme që ka në dorë deri në fund.

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