On December 30 of last year, Edi Rama explained that Mirlinda Karçanaj was living in a rented apartment and that the public was being fed “quarters of the truth.” According to him, only pieces were being extracted from the files to convict people in the eyes of the public.
A few months later, the SPAK file seems to have yielded several more "pieces".
The prosecution says the former director of the National Anti-Corruption Agency (AKSHI) is suspected of having received around 200,000 euros in bribes, in some cases delivered in wine boxes filled with banknotes. The money, according to the investigation, is suspected of having ended up in two apartments in Tirana and a duplex in Qerret.
An apartment is purchased by a company linked to Orest Sota and then rented to Karçanaj. SPAK suspects that the contract is fictitious. Another apartment passes from Daniel Shimë's sister to Karçanaj's mother at a price much lower than the market price. As for the duplex in Qerret, investigators say that Karçanaj lived there himself.
So the story of the "rental apartment" now has some new details: two apartments, a duplex, and several wine cases - not for tasting, but filled with euros in large denominations.
Now it remains to be seen how Edi Rama will explain the new story of the "heroine of digitalization". Will he still stand by the statement that Mirlinda Karçanaj lived in a rented house, or will her name be added to the long list of those who, in the words of the prime minister, "eat plums and pears behind his back".
