Democratic Party MP Belind Këlliçi testified at the Special Court in the trial against former directors of the Municipality of Tirana, known as the 5D affair.
Këlliçi is the whistleblower of the affair in question at the time he was running for mayor of Tirana, against Erion Veliaj.
There was tension during the hearing, as the lawyers of the former directors of the Municipality, Redi Molla and Mariglen Qato, also asked Këlliç political questions. Këlliç gave explanations before the jury about how he received the denunciation and then the report he made to SPAK.
"I received the information in February-March 2023 and submitted it as evidence to SPAK. I gave evidence to SPAK and I stand by that evidence. 25 million dollars is the calculation we made, the amount that was earned by the 5D company," said Këlliçi.
Lawyer Ardian, who defends the interests of the defendant Mariglen Qato, asked Këlliçi how he had obtained the information. "Such information comes, often it turns out to be true, often not. An envelope arrived by hand, it was recorded, but I don't deal with it, contact the Democratic Party. I managed to initially follow the company through the NRC website, I made the conflict of interest link and I made a public statement. I would have asked to be familiar with the procedure for how questions are asked, honorable court. You have to understand, I have made hundreds of public denunciations that contain names and data and it is not easy to remember them all specifically. You have to understand the time, the situations that have happened to who...", said Këlliçi.
Ardian Leka asked Këlliçi: Did you win the Tirana Municipality after making these denunciations? Because you said you denounced and investigated while you were a candidate?
The court intervened, asking the deputy not to answer, as the question asked was outside the scope of the trial.
"I think I have fulfilled my duty. The information that came to me was in writing without a name or address, but it had my name on the envelope. It was delivered to me personally and only I was familiar with the material. I have made hundreds of complaints," said the witness.
He further added in response to the lawyers' questions that "as long as SPAK has judged that my claims had grounds to initiate investigations, for me as a politician and a young citizen of the country, the story is closed". Redi Molla's lawyer asked the MP what position he held when the anonymous denunciation reached him. "I was the official candidate of the DP for the local elections for the Municipality of Tirana. I filed the complaint, I was an MP in the last two weeks of the mandate. I attached the anonymous information to the complaint. I stand by all my public statements, the day I filed the complaint I call a closed chapter", Këlliçi emphasized.
Lawyer Denion Mejdani, who defends Redi Molla, said for a moment: Whose pocket does Belind Këlliç's charges go into? The court drew his attention. "Be careful with your stances, lawyer, because apparently it went into someone's pocket."
"Do you intend to run for the Municipality of Tirana because Redi Molla is in prison and can no longer steal the elections?" the lawyer asked Këlliçi.
At this point, the court fined the lawyer 20,000 lek for violating ethics and solemnity in the judicial process.
Former minister Arbjan Mazniku is also expected to testify in the trial. Redi Molla and Mariglen Qato are accused of being the actual owners of the 5D company that won tenders in the Municipality of Tirana. They are accused of corruption, money laundering and concealment of assets. Also accused is the other former director of the municipality, Taulant Tusha, as well as former officials Albano Janko, Enton Punavija, businessman Nestor Muhametllari and other persons.
