Albania: who is under the pyramid?
05.04.2005 writes Artan Puto
pyramid scheme. A massive fraud through which they were stolen, between 1996 and 1997, thousands of Albanian investors. Now, after new evidence emerged, it comes back to talk about it. Parliamentary elections on the horizon for next summer
Pyramids In these days the Albanian press has reported the matter to the attention of his audience of financial pyramid schemes. Their collapse in 1997 caused more than the economic ruin of thousands of creditors and a major crisis of the Albanian state, including about 2,500 victims in the violent clashes that arose.
The focus is again placed on these financial speculation after news emerged on transfers of money that those responsible for these so-called "pyramids" were made to foreign countries as a result of their failure. There are many debates about the responsibilities born of yesterday and today.
The Greek press in March, has published articles about the move to Greece in 1997, money from Albania. According to Greek media in the business would be involved Greek and Albanian officials. In an article dated March 18, titled "Money for VEFA in Greece, the Simitis government was informed" of the Albanian newspaper Shekulli - which is based on information taken from the greek newspaper Apojmatini - you write that former Prime Minister greek Costas Simitis and Interior Minister of the Economy National Defence and the well-known phenomenon of the pyramid schemes in Albania and transfers of huge sums of money in Greece.
articles refer in particular to the links between the boss of the pyramid scheme "VEFA" Vehbi Alimuçaj and the Greek secret service agent Apostolos Vavilis. The latter, which is now in hiding and wanted by the Greek police, is able to transfer to Greece in 1996-97 about $ 800,000. Vavilis and accused the prosecutor of the Greek money laundering in Italy, Hungary and Greece, and - starting from 1997 - of drug trafficking. In the fall of 1996, the boss of VEFA Vehbi Alimuçaj through Vavilis, he also bought a villa in the most rich Athens, "Hekal.
Meanwhile, according to the newspaper Shekulli, in June 1997 an Albanian citizen has filed in a Greek bank, with Janina, 5.5 billion drachmas (about $ 25 million). The transfer has been communicated to the Greek police with 8 months of delay. Another money transfer of about $ 10 million has been made, according to the Albanian newspaper Panorama (03/18/2005), the Albanian deputy Goxhi Kristo (the Greek minority party) on behalf of the other pyramid scheme "Cenajo. The deputy admitted to the Albanian newspaper Panorama (03/18/2005) you have made such a transfer. "All of us, those of greater or less, has lost money in pyramid schemes. I admit I did a transfer of money on behalf of the scheme "Cenajo. The transfer is quite legitimate. The money was for "Cenajo. Albanian justice is aware. Lefter Cenajo (the boss of the scheme, ed) my friend and I was his creditor. I never had links with the Albanian ministers. Do not even know the agent greek Vavilis.
The issue of pyramid schemes, has become the subject of political conflict in Greece itself. The right Apojmatini greek newspaper, which published the news of the Albanian pyramid schemes, tends to highlight the involvement of the former Socialist government of Simitis in the business of money transfers dirt from Albania to Greece. And the Albanian newspaper Panorama (03/18/2005) in his article "Three Greek ministers in the affairs of the pyramid" VEFA "writes that as well.
The same thing is happening still in Albania. The debate emerged in Greece is being used by the two largest Albanian parties, the Socialist Party and the Democratic Party, to derive political benefits. On the eve of parliamentary elections to be held this summer, the two parties are accusing each other on liability in respect of the pyramid schemes during the years of their activities 1995-97 and after their failure in 1997.
In an article published last March 13 by Panorama says that the Albanian members of the committee that deals with investigations have accused the pyramids Fahrudin Arapi, provisional administrator put in charge of the pyramids after the accounts of the latter were Blocked in 1997, to obstruct the truth about what happened.
memebri The committee members have also accused the opposition Arapi has been removed from the lists of creditors, the names of people who have stolen huge loads of money from bank accounts of pyramid schemes, making the tracks disappear. According to the same newspaper the economic damage brought by the state administration during the interim administration established after the Socialist Party came to power in 1997 with the task of managing the properties of the pyramid schemes after their failure, amount to 200 million dollars.
This figure includes transfers made in spite of the accounts of the pyramids were blocked and the sale of these properties at very low prices. The current right-wing government opposition MP and a member of the Commission on transparency, Prev Zogaj, appealed to the Albanian state to commit itself to investigate the claims of the Greek press and to shed light on where they got the money from the pyramids.
"Money of the pyramid schemes, and especially of" Gjallica "are abroad. There are Greek and Italian companies who still have money in their accounts of the pyramids and it is paradoxical that the Albanian government does not has done nothing to recover this capital, "said the newspaper Panorama Zogaj (18/03/2005). The right-wing opposition also accuses the current Minister of Finance Arben Malaj, he had made money transfers.
According
As reported by another newspaper, Korrieri (03/19/2005), the spokesman of the Democratic Party Edi Paloka, accusing the Socialist Minister of Finance Arben Malaj, at a press conference he stated that "the millions of dollars of which we speak are only a small fraction of the millions who have robbed the rulers of today. Not only the money of the pyramid "Cenajo" to have been transferred by the socialist minister Malaj, but also millions more who are to be passed from public ownership to private ownership of these politicians. "
Fahrudin Arapi, provisional administrator of the pyramids since 1997, responded to the accusations calling them an" attack on the process of transparency that is implementing on pyramid schemes . The reaction of people who have ties to the former boss of these schemes ".
In an article written by himself and published in Panorama (13/3/2005) with the title" Arapi: the properties of pyramids in Greece, Italy and Hungary "The state administration has also informed Arapi creditors will recover only 11% of their money and promised to initiate investigations in other countries such as Greece, Hungary and Italy. Even Finance Minister Arben Malaj responded to the accusations that have been made and said that he never made "any transfer of money belonging to the pyramid schemes, or having given assistance to this end" (Panorama, 18/3/2005).
Meanwhile, the newspaper Korrieri (3/22/2005) said that the Prosecutor of the Republic of Albania has sent a team of judges in Greece and Switzerland to initiate investigations on local banks.
In his study on this fact the newspaper Shekulli (03/19/2005) indicating that pyramid schemes have actually stolen money and then transferring it to the Albanians abroad. The author then specify how many people involved in these pyramids they are now to hold prestigious positions in state institutions but also for example in the media. The conclusion of the paper is that hardly reveals the truth about the pyramids because their players are still in politics.
The new debate about the pyramids in the Albanian media has once again demonstrated how the Albanian leaders have abused the people, first in allowing these financial schemes were created, and then even getting rid of the little money he had not yet evaporated. The dimensions of the abuse have been clarified by a short excerpt from the newspaper Panorama (13/3/2005), which states that in early 1996 at the financial pyramid schemes were deposited 260 million dollars, while in October 1996 (two months before their closing time) about $ 1.2 billion. One year after the bank accounts of the pyramid schemes were found for only $ 9 million.
The debate, unfortunately, likely to end up as often happens in a simple political confrontation between the two major Albanian parties in view of the electoral challenge of the next summer.
source: http://www.osservatoriobalcani.org/article/articleview/4061/1/41
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