The Ministry of Justice has officially submitted to Switzerland the request for the extradition of former Deputy Prime Minister Arben Ahmetaj. The announcement was made public during the hearing on the “Buka” file, where Judge Irena Gjoka read the responses of Interpol Tirana. Ahmetaj is accused of abuse of office, with an economic damage amounting to 7 billion lek, while the trial is taking place in his absence.
Lawyer Henrik Ligori stressed that there is no security measure against Ahmetaj in this matter and that what is mentioned by the authorities is related to another proceeding. For his part, SPAK prosecutor Elvin Gokaj filed the request for trial and announced that 14 people are expected to be questioned as witnesses, including former minister Shkelqim Cani. He added that a considerable amount of money transferred from Albania to an EU country has been discovered, which is currently being verified.
In his response, Ahmetaj's lawyer opposed the prosecution's approach, emphasizing that there cannot be a regular process with “surprise acts.” According to him, if there is evidence or other open investigations, the prosecution should present them and not hastily close the investigations.
