Doni Sokolaj, the owner of the company GS Minerals doo, registered in Croatia, who has been sentenced to "prison arrest", is found to be involved in the scandal of the export of hazardous waste by the Turkish company KURUM. According to the investigative file, he has asked the transport company MSC, in an orderly and even threatening manner, not to return the 102 containers of waste to Albania, but to send them to Turkey to the new buyer.
"At the moment OLAF gave the signal that the containers contained hazardous waste and the problem of their delivery to Thailand according to the contract arose, the Sokolaj company was involved in e-mail communications dated 14.08.2024 that the cargo be unloaded at another port in Asia, specifically in Malaysia, after communications with the representative of the MSC company, who indicated that the containers could be returned to the port of Durrës. Subsequently, citizen Doni Sokolaj demanded in an orderly and threatening manner that MSC not return the containers to the Port of Durrës under any circumstances, demanding that they remain in Turkey. In order to avoid inspection and analysis of the goods, the waste was sold to the Turkish buyer and citizen Doni Sokolaj ordered the MSC employee to transfer the containers to the new buyer in Turkey. Despite the fact that citizen Doni Sokolaj treated this matter as purely commercial after finding a buyer "It is reasonably suspected that efforts were made to prevent the arrival of containers for inspection and analysis in the Republic of Albania, after they were informed that the Durrës Prosecutor's Office had launched investigations into the possibility of exporting hazardous waste in violation of the law," the investigative file states.
Around 2,800 tons of waste were purchased by the company Sokolaj sh.pk, owned by Gjovana Sokolaj, who then sold it to the company in Croatia owned by her husband, Doni Sokolaj.
"Despite the fact that the company GS Minerals doo was established with headquarters in Croatia, it is owned and administered by the Sokolaj family. This results not only from its ownership and administrator, but also from the fact that citizen Gjovana Sokolaj signed the contract with the company EMS Albanian Port Operator sh.pk in the capacity of administrator of GS Minerals doo, even though the administrator of the latter is citizen Doni Sokolaj. Their actions as a whole are concluded to have been clearly aware of the illegality they committed, trying to hide the categorization of the waste as hazardous waste, with the aim of selling it for monetary gain", the prosecution emphasizes.
It is further clarified that:
"The criminal offense of smuggling prohibited goods was fully committed by the companies Sokolaj sh.pk and GS Minerals doo, through partner Gjon Sokolaj, administrator Gjovana Sokolaj and administrator Doni Sokolaj, in full cooperation with the company Kurum International sh.a., through its administrator Erdal Demir, by exporting goods restricted for export, specifically hazardous waste included in the code [10 02 07]*. No link or procedure for obtaining authorization for exporting waste was respected by these entities."
The prosecution emphasizes that KURUM and the Sokolaj company had full knowledge of the type of hazardous material, but falsified documents to hide the origin of the waste. Also, the Turkish company KURUM participated in active actions to carry out transactions for the sale of this waste in four cases.
"It turns out that citizen Gjovana Sokolaj declared the product as 'iron oxide' at the customs agency, as specified in the contract with the company 'Kurum International' sh.a. Meanwhile, in the sales invoice made to the company 'GS Minerals doo' based in Croatia, a company in the name of her husband Doni Sokolaj, she added the code ZN in brackets, i.e. 'Iron Oxide (ZN)', the same declaration she made at customs," the document states.
Meanwhile, an expert report conducted by a laboratory in Italy confirmed that the containers carried over 2,800 tons of hazardous waste originating from the furnaces of the Kurum International company. The waste belongs to the category of electric arc furnace dust (EAFD), classified as hazardous by Albanian and international legislation, with very high zinc and iron content, accompanied by lead, copper, manganese, potassium, calcium and sulfur.
The scandal came to light in July 2024, after the environmental organization Basel Action Network raised the alarm, which accused Albania of violating international conventions on the treatment of hazardous waste. The waste was returned to Albania and placed in storage in Porto Romano.
The Durrës Prosecutor's Office signed 33 security orders yesterday:
• 26 arrests with imprisonment,
• 7 house arrests.
So far, 20 measures have been executed. Among the suspects are managers of the companies KURUM and Sokolaj, as well as senior officials of the National Environmental Agency.
