The lawsuit filed by MEP Fredi Beleris against Albania’s former foreign minister Olta Jatska and her husband, Artan Gatchi, was received by the Special Court of Albania (SPAK)

According to himara.gr the charges against them include abuse of power, forgery of documents and laundering of criminal proceeds in collaboration with other persons.

Previously, SPAK prosecutor Olsi Dando had not prosecuted the two defendants, which was interpreted as favorable treatment towards them. Instead, the prosecution had proceeded only against the former mayor of Himara, George Goro.

Fredi Beleri, during his campaign for the Himara municipal elections, had pledged that he would not allow the illegal seizure of land from local residents.

As part of the investigations, SPAK proceeded to freeze an area of 5,512 square meters in the area of Gilek village, in the Dhrimads. This freeze was made due to suspicions of forgery of the ownership documents of the land in question. Businessman Artan Gatchi had obtained the status of “strategic investor” through this property.

Background

In 2021, a resident of the area, Michalakis Boniakos, had complained that a portion of the land in question belonged to him but had been illegally given to Artan Gatchi, who had started construction of a luxury resort.

Fredi Beleri‘s complaint contains ten points, which relate to the process of acquiring the land from Artan Gatchi. According to him, the land came into the possession of the businessman through a forged title deed (AMTP), which was originally issued on behalf of Foto Pavlo, heir of the original owners.

The businessman, after acquiring this prime land by the sea, transferred it to the government in order to be awarded the title of strategic investor. The mayor of Himara, George Goros, had approved the registration of the controversial title in the land registry, despite the fact that the land in question belonged to the village’s agricultural reserve and could not be allocated as land.

According to Beleris’ complaint, this particular piece of land did not meet the legal requirements to be classified as building land, but the municipal authority ignored this fact and proceeded to register it, facilitating Artan Gatchi. Through this process, Gatchi managed to obtain the title of strategic investor and secured privileges that he could not legally obtain.

The role of Olta Jatska, then Minister of Defence and later Minister of Foreign Affairs, was reportedly crucial in the case. Although she was the wife of the investor, she did not declare a conflict of interest, even though her husband was reaping financial benefits through the strategic investment program.

SPAK‘s investigations revealed that the property came into the possession of the businessman through a forged document and that the relevant authorities, including the municipal authority and the land registry, ignored the irregularities and proceeded to transfer the property. The registration of the property was completed in just five days, and the resale to Gatchi’s company took place shortly afterwards, for an extremely low price compared to the actual value of the land.

SPAK has confirmed that the process of transferring the property involved multiple illegalities, which were intended to favour the businessman. The case continues to be investigated, with Fredi Beleris insisting on investigating the responsibilities of all parties involved.