TIRANA, Jan. 15, 2022 – By the time they appeared in court, it was no longer a question of whether Rozeta and Javier Dobi, mother and son, had stolen a large amount of money from the home of a high state official, Alda Klosi. The burning question in the Albanian public was: How could Klosi have so much cash in her home? And how could a cleaning maid accumulate more than 400,000 euros in cash by stealing from homes she was working in?
Ms. Klosi told police that 120,000 euros and 30,000 dollars were stolen from her, a huge sum to be kept at home by anyone and previously undeclared by the official as required by law. Ms. Klosi had previously served as director of concessions at the Ministry of Finance, and more recently, until July 2022, as chief of staff of the former deputy prime minister, Arben Ahmetaj. Government salaries, even at those levels, never rise above 2,000 euros a month.
Ms. Klosi told prosecutors the money belonged to her uncle and her uncle’s daughter-in-law, who had brought it from the United States to manage their needs. However, big questions remain. Prosecutors have said they will investigate the origin of the money.
Ms. Dobi worked one day a week as a cleaner in Ms. Klosi’s home, and her version is that she stole all of the money police found hidden in the cleaner’s home — more than 400,000 euros — in Ms. Klosi’s home, something the latter denies.
If the cleaner stole from other people’s homes, they are not coming forward to talk to police, which raises even more questions about cash floating around in homes that cannot be explained by legal means, which is why the owners don’t want the police involved.
The Dobi-Klosi affair is one in a series of public officials being involved in dubious dealings. In another case, the general secretary of the Finance Ministry, Arlind Gjokutaj, another official of the ministry and a private bailiff were all arrested suspected of abuse of office with consequences of 1.2 million euros being taken illegally from the state’s coffers.
Experts on the economy say both cases fuel public suspicions of ongoing corruption at high levels of the Albanian state, which hampering trust in the economy.
They hope that the reformed justice system will conduct thorough investigations into both cases, ending impunity for officials.
Despite the presumption of innocence of the officials in question — Ms. Klosi has not been charged with any crime and Mr. Gjokutaj has not faced a trial yet — these events undermine trust in the entire system, experts note.
Arben Malaj, a former finance minister and university professor, told VoA’s Albanian service he feels sorry for the ministry he once led, which has ties to both incidents.
“Weakening of credibility in the public administration due to frequent changes, or the uncertainty of what happens, a kind of constant pressure on them to perform actions, which in the consciousness of state employees are not legal, have led us to this situation, which is disappointing. In these 30 years, we should have consolidated the public administration at every level,” Mr. Malaj says.
Gjergj Buxhuku, a representative of Albkonfindustria, a chamber of commerce, says that Albania is facing two types of corruption: corruption known as breaking the law, and from state capture, corruption by law via political decisions.
Mr. Buxhuku adds that these are repeated problems in many local and international reports, but little is still done to avoid them, so presuming the innocence of specific persons, he emphasizes that these two types of corruption have seriously damaged Albania’s market economy and democracy.
“It is a fact and we must openly admit that Albania does not have a genuine market economy, and one of the main reasons is corruption. Albania today has no democracy and no democratic standards, except for formal ones, and one of the main reasons is corruption. Corruption in business, corruption in the economy, finance and corruption in democratic processes, elections, etc.,” says Mr. Buxhuku.
Experts hope the reformed justice system and the increased international pressure to fight corruption will lead to results to improve the situation.
