TIRANA, March 5 – One of Albania’s wealthiest business owners, Tom Doshi, has been expelled from the parliamentary group of the ruling Socialist Party after a very public spat with the country’s prime minister, a conflict that included claims by Doshi that he and another MP had been marked for assassination.
The accusations have been dismissed as not credible by Prime Minister Edi Rama and his chief coalition partner, Parliamentary Speaker Ilir Meta, who Doshi accused of ordering the hits.
However, they urged Doshi to take any proof he had to prosecutors. The General Prosecutor’s Office said they had launched investigations into the claims of a planned attack on Doshi and Democratic Party MP Mehill Fufi.
Interior Minister Saimir Tahiri said in a press conference he had been made aware by Doshi about an alleged plot months earlier, but had deemed it to be likely untrue after looking at the facts. He said Doshi refused to go the police and prosecutors with the allegations, because he accused the prosecution of being part of the plot. Tahiri said he deemed what Doshi was saying as “suspicious” and “unrealistic”.
Doshi’s expulsion by the Socialists indicates the start of a rift in the Albanian political scene over the growing influence of a select group of business owners who became wealthy in the chaotic years of post-communist Albania amid allegations of involvement in criminal activities. They became influential on both sides of the political spectrum, first as campaign financiers and later as members of parliament. Albania’s key international partners — the United States and the European Union — had raised concern for years over the trend.
Doshi was the poster child of the group, using his wealth and influence in the Shkoder region to turn the once right-wing stronghold into a Socialist victory in the last elections. But in recent months there had been a growing conflict with the prime minister and his cabinet, who Doshi accused of failing to help his voters. A growing war of words led to the ultimate expulsion of Doshi at a Socialist Party meeting.
Prime Minister Rama said the party had decided “to relieve Doshi of the contract” he had with the Socialists, and added that the truth can only come through a proper investigation by the judicial system.
“This is an ugly soap opera that will have an unhappy ending for all of those who have joined forces to dirty the image of the government and the parliamentary majority,” Rama said.
Speaker Meta said six months ago Doshi had offered another variation of the story, saying he suspected that he was marked to be murdered by a relative of former Prime Minister Sali Berisha. “He has changed his versions in six months,” Meta said.
But there was movement on the investigation side of the story too. On Tuesday, police arrested 36-year-old Durim Bani, named by Doshi as part of the alluded plot against him. Bani was arrested at the Montenegrin border as he was trying to leave the country. He has a criminal record and is a suspect in a recent attack with explosives on a businessman.
Doshi released a grainy eight-minute video through his social media channels on Wednesday night, in which a man resembling Bani said he was hired to assassinate Doshi for 500,000 euros by a man named “Toni” who, Bani said in the video, had told him had Meta’s protection. Bani went to Doshi instead with the information instead of carrying it out, the video indicates.
Police said Bani told investigators Tuesday Doshi had paid him to lie to corroborate Doshi’s public story of an alleged plot to assassinate him.
The plot was made up, according to the latest information authorities have, Interior Minister Tahiri said at a press conference.
The debate within the ruling coalition has led to the opposition Democratic Party, calling for the impeachment of Speaker Meta, who according to the Democrats should resign and face a criminal investigation. Opposition leader Lulzim Basha said late Wednesday that “Rama and Meta are immersed in crime, murder and blackmail.”
“The parliamentary speaker has been accused of murder; accused of having ordered the killing of two MPs. He should resign immediately from office and be made available to the justice system to investigate the most serious charges made in Albanian politics in these 25 years,” Basha said.
The political drama evolving in Tirana also drew the attention of Albania’s international partners.
In Brussels, Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman of the European Commission responded to questions by Albanian journalists saying that “we expect a full investigation of this case by the competent Albanian authorities.” She added the EU expects politicians in Albania to adhere to responsible speeches and behaviors, particularly on issues of rule of law.
The U.S. Embassy in Tirana issued a strong statement shortly after Doshi made the claims, including his statement that he had informed members of the U.S. Congress about the planned attempt on his life.
“The United States welcomes the decision of the Socialist Party of Albania to expel Mr. Tom Doshi, who is alleged to be involved in criminal activities,” the statement said. “The United States takes seriously the threat of crime and corruption to free and democratic societies. We encourage all political parties in Albania to remove individuals involved in criminal or corrupt activities.”
There was criticism among many analysts in the Albanian press that the statement had been too harsh and undiplomatic, but U.S. Embassy officials said this week that they had raised concerns over Doshi for years.
The embassy had gone public condemning the beating of a journalist by Doshi at the Sheraton Hotel in 2008, but leaked U.S. Embassy cables made available publicly by Wikileaks made it even clearer that Doshi was seen in a very negative light by U.S. diplomats.
In a cable titled “Law Breakers Turned Law Makers,” Doshi leads a list of “noteworthy MPs with ties to organized crime.” The embassy notes in its report it cannot legally prove the allegations, but adds its finding are based on “conventional wisdom, backed by other reporting.” It described Doshi as “a key figure in financing SP electoral efforts.”
“He is known as the richest MP, with a declared fortune of more than $15 million and is also suspected of trafficking narcotics,” the leaked report notes. “Doshi served in the previous parliament as a DP MP, before switching sides to the SP shortly before the election.”
The same report notes that Socialist MP Ben Blushi lamented in 2009 several of the so-called “thug” or “bodyguard” candidates such as Doshi. “He said that the SP cannot tolerate such individuals in its party and by doing so it has taken the party back twenty years,” the report noted.
