Today, SPAK officially placed Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj on trial. The charges are to be served on Veliaj at the Durres district detention center, where he has been held since his arrest.
Erion Veliai And his wife, ajola xoxa, Are Accused of corruption, concealment of assets and money laundering.
A day earlier, businessman Elman Abule was also officially charged with money laundering.
The mayor of Tirana was arrested on February 10 at the city hall, on charges of “passive corruption of high-ranking state officials or elected municipal officials” (nine times), “laundering the proceeds of criminal activity” and “failure to declare, concealment or false declaration of assets or private interests of elected persons or public officials, or of anyone else who has a legal obligation to declare.”
The mayor's wife, ajola Xoxa, Has been allowed to move around under the restrictive condition of reporting to authorities.
According to SPAK, the evidence gathered during the preliminary investigation shows that Veliaj and his wife devised, created and implemented a mechanism to obtain illegal benefits from public funds managed by the Municipality of Tirana. The mechanism aimed to enrich themselves and their family through secret and illegal actions.
