The Belgian media L’Echo, declared yesterday that the Italian businessman Francesco Becchetti, has started to seize Albania’s assets tied to the Eurocontrol organization in Belgium. In 2019, the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes at the World Bank ruled that Albania owes 107 million euros to Becchetti and his partners, after it expropriated the investments made by Becchetti in the country’s hydropower, wind energy, and media industries. According to L’Echo, the Albanian government has so far refused to pay any sum of money to Becchetti. For this reason, the Italian businessman obtained the green light to confiscate Albania’s assets in the Eurocontrol organization, after winning a lawsuit in Belgium. Albania at the other hand is challenging the seizures of its Eurocontrol assets.
Eurocontrol, the body responsible for the collection of air navigation charges, distributes the charges to its 41 member countries, including Albania. It is precisely these royalties that have been sized by Becchetti. L’Echo says that the amount blocked so far is not much, just around 170,000 euros, considering that the pandemic crisis has influenced also the revenues. Nevertheless, Albania has appealed to the Belgian courts regarding the seizure decision, and is expecting to receive a verdict soon.
L’Echo continues by making a resume of the conflict between Becchetti and the Albanian government, saying that it all started in 2013, after Rama was proclaimed Prime Minister. Once he rose to power, Rama canceled two concessions awarded to Becchetti: the hydroelectrical power plant in Kalivaç, and the operation of a recycling plant. In 2015, the Office of the General Prosecutor investigated Becchetti for tax evasion, with the process culminating in June, when Tirana District Court ordered the freezing of all Becchetti’s assets, including the closure of Agon Channel Television. Agon Channel back in 2015 was considered one of the most popular tv channels in the country, which was doing daily investigations against Rama’s government, showing various scandals involving his government. For many political experts and also the opposition, the attacks against Becchetti were politically motivated by Rama, to shut the voice of one his most popular media opponents.
Last year the daily Austrian newspaper “Der Standard” alsp published an article suggesting that Becchetti was trying to confiscate Albanian assets in Austria.
