Allegations that Arlind Qori or Lëvizja Bashkë are funded by Soros or other foreign actors
Status: Open. No documented OSF, OSFA or other foreign funding for Qori or Lëvizja Bashkë was found. Allegations stand as allegations.
Summary
Political opponents accused Arlind Qori of being 'paid by Soros' during the December 2018 student protests, according to Wikipedia, which gives no evidence and no source for the claim. Qori denied any link to George Soros or the Open Society Foundation in an interview with Alfa Press on 4 Nov 2024. In 2026 government-side and opposition-side commentators have made Soros-linked and foreign-funding accusations about the protests; the specific partisan articles about Qori named in the coordinator's leads were not located in the searches run here.
The funding documented for the party is Albanian state party-support money, paid through the Central Election Commission and recorded in the State Treasury register at 11,038,365 lekë from December 2025 to July 2026. No grant, fellowship, employment or board seat linking Qori or the party to OSF or OSFA was found in the sources searched. The party's own statement (2024) is that it is financed by members' dues and by Qori's salary contribution; the 5,000-member figure is his own and is not verified.
Key facts
- Wikipedia says that for several months in 2018 political opponents accused Qori of being 'paid by Soros'; no source or evidence is given for the claim (wiki, read 2026).
- Alfa Press, 4 Nov 2024: Qori calls the Soros claim a lie and says he does not know who invented it.
- Open Spending Albania: 11,038,365 lekë in three state party-support rows (31 Dec 2025, 17 Apr 2026, 29 Jul 2026); no foreign payer is recorded.
- Progressive International lists Lëvizja Bashkë as a member but its profile contains no funding statement.
- Lapaj and Shehaj traded dirty-money charges on 5 Feb 2025; neither accusation mentions Soros.
The record
Four lists kept apart on purpose: what is established, what is only alleged, what is still open, and what those concerned said.
What is proven (1)
Established by documents or official records, as stated in the research. A recorded charge or indictment proves only that the accusation was made.
- The party has received 11,038,365 lekë in state party-support and compensation transfers in the State Treasury register (Dec 2025 to Jul 2026).
What is alleged (2)
Accusations, not findings. Those accused are presumed innocent.
- AllegationThat Qori was paid by Soros in 2018 (Wikipedia; no evidence).
- AllegationThat the protest movement is funded or directed by Soros-linked bodies (partisan claims; no document found).
Allegations and who made them (3)
Each line is an allegation as recorded, with the person or body that made it where the record names them.
- AllegationPolitical opponents said in 2018 that Qori was 'paid by Soros' (Wikipedia; no source given). Unverified.
- AllegationCommentators and partisan outlets have linked the 2026 protests and Lëvizja Bashkë to Soros or other foreign funders. Specific named accusers, dates and texts were not located in the searches run here, so these are recorded as unverified.
- AllegationLëvizja Bashkë is said by partisan outlets to be financed through an institute and a Soros network (joq-albania.com, as reported in the coordinator's lead). Not located; unverified.
Open questions (4)
- Does any OSF or OSFA grant database entry name Qori, Organizata Politike, Lëvizja Bashkë or IKESH? Searches did not find one; the OSF grants database itself was not queried directly.
- What are the party's annual financial reports and donor disclosures at the CEC? not reviewed.
- Who first made the 2018 'paid by Soros' accusation, and where was it printed? The Wikipedia entry gives no source.
- Who funds IKESH? No information found.
Responses (2)
Responses of the people and organisations concerned, as recorded.
- Arlind Qori (Alfa Press, 4 Nov 2024): denies any link to Soros or OSF; the claim is 'a lie'; says the party relies on members' dues and his salary contribution.
- No response by Qori to the 2018 Wikipedia entry was found in the sources reviewed.
Timeline
Full timeline →Protest
Qori's activism begins with Organizata Politike after the 21 January 2011 protest
Wikipedia says Qori's political activity began with Organizata Politike after the 21 January 2011 protest in Tirana. Over about 12 years the group took part in protests and labour organising (Bulqizë miners, transport, Tirana lake park, police killing protests of 2016 and 2018, price-rise protests of 2022) (Wikipedia).
Protest
December 2018 student protests: Qori among the most engaged; opponents accuse him of being 'paid by Soros'
Wikipedia says Qori took part in the December 2018 student protests with Lëvizja për Universitetin activists and thousands of students, professors and citizens. The same entry says political opponents accused him for several months of being a 'communist' and 'paid by Soros', with no citation. Alfa Press, 4 Nov 2024, reports Qori's own account of the protests' demands; no source for the 2018 accusation was located in the searches.
Media
Qori denies Soros or OSF link and describes party finances in Alfa Press interview
In an Alfa Press interview Qori calls the Soros claim a lie, says the party is kept going by about 5,000 members' dues and by his own salary contribution of about 10% of his net pay, says half of new members are from the diaspora, and says Rama answered him by mocking his glasses. Qori's figures are his own and are not verified in the documents reviewed.
Sources for this record
Every source the research cites for this record, grouped by its source label. 5 sources.
Source label: VerifiedVerified · 1 source
- Publisher
- Progressive International
- Date
- Jun 2026
Source label: Under investigationUnder investigation · 3 sources
- Publisher
- Wikipedia
- Date
- 2026
- Publisher
- Alfa Press
- Date
- 4 Nov 2024
- Publisher
- Open Spending Albania (State Treasury data)
- Date
- Jul 2026
Source label: UnverifiedUnverified · 1 source
- Publisher
- Wikipedia
- Date
- 2026