Constitutional Court says commission may look into Berisha family properties

TIRANA, May 8 – Albania’s Constitutional Court has ruled that a parliamentary commission could check the property ownership of Prime Minister Sali Berisha and his family. The court granted a request from the opposition party which was not approved by the parliament where Berisha’s Democratic Party-led majority or coalition holds most of the votes. The opposition had asked for the creation of a parliamentary investigative committee to review property owned by the prime minister and his family members, which was previously rejected during a vote in the parliament.
The opposition claims that Berisha’s family members have illegally profited through exploiting his position in the government. They further requested that Berisha’s daughter, Argita, should reveal how she has earned almost a million dollars. Similar accusations have been made against other Berisha family members. The opposition claims that Berisha, who returned to power with the proposed agenda of fighting corruption, is not himself transparent and is exploiting his post for personal profit. Opposition Socialists said they will insist on investigating Berisha’s involvement in his family’s businesses