Partizani complex privatisation (Sali Berisha and Jamarber Malltezi)

This record appears in more than one research record. The main text above comes from one; the other versions are kept here unedited.

Title

• Partizani complex privatisation (Sali Berisha and Jamarber Malltezi)From the research record
• Partizani complex privatisation caseFrom the research record

Summary

• SPAK alleges that former Prime Minister Sali Berisha used his office to help his son-in-law Jamarber Malltezi obtain the privatisation of the former Partizani sports complex in Tirana, and that the privatisation was linked to the construction of apartment blocks. Malltezi was arrested on 21 October 2023. Wikipedia gives 11 September 2024 as the date Berisha was formally charged with corruption. Berisha was placed under house arrest in December 2023 and released by court order on 27 November 2024, with his travel rights restored by the Constitutional Court (Wikipedia). The Special Court (GJKKO) has referred the case to trial. A2 CNN reports that the Special Court passed the file for trial, and the trial hearings were postponed several times. An AP report says a court began the trial, which includes Malltezi and three others; the date of that report is not clear from the snippet. Berisha denies the allegations, calls the case a political attack, and has said the prosecution acted on the orders of Prime Minister Edi Rama. His defence argued that all decisions by the judge Irena Gjoka were invalid and asked that the three-judge panel be replaced; the Court of Appeal rejected that request (A2 CNN). No verdict was found in the sources reviewed.From the research record
• SPAK's Partizani file concerns the privatisation of the Partizani sports complex in Tirana. SPAK alleges that during his premiership Sali Berisha repeatedly amended laws on property return, compensation and sports regulations that enabled the privatisation benefiting Jamarber Malltezi (Berisha's son-in-law). Berisha is charged with passive corruption; Malltezi with corruption and money laundering (inconsistent reports); co-defendants include builder Fatmir Bektashi, Xhimi Begeja and financier Andia Pustina (money laundering). The alleged benefit is reported as about 5.5 million euros in one earlier summary (not confirmed in retrieved primary sources). SPAK closed its investigation and sent the case to the GJKKO; the court decided to send the case to trial in May 2025. Berisha denies the charges and calls the case political. Hearings were repeatedly postponed in 2025; the latest session found in searches was set for 15 September 2025. No 2026 status was located.From the research record