Arben Imami denies the allegations and has called the action against him a ‘primitive and vengeful act’ by the prime minister
TIRANA, Dec. 11 – Albania’s government has asked prosecutors to file charges against the former defense minister, Arben Imami, accusing him of abusing public funds.
Imami served under the previous Democratic Party-led government, and Albania’s three-month-old Socialist government says it seeking his prosecution for abuse of funds in advertising through politically-friendly companies, touching off a new round of confrontations between the country’s two dominant political parties.
Defense Minister Mimi Kodheli on Monday said she was sending judicial authorities’ evidence allegedly implicating her predecessor in the abuse of duty and mismanagement of public funds נoffenses that carry a maximum sentence of seven years in prison, according to the country’s penal code.
Imami denied the allegations and called the action against him a “primitive and vengeful act” directed by Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama.
“I address myself to Mr. Rama to tell him he is crossing a legal, ethical and political line. His threats frighten no one,” Imami said.
He came out often in news conferences even saying the next day that Rama had hired outside experts to investigate his case, something which he considered as illegal.
Imami said that an internal audit of the ministry was yet to come to an end and was surprised how the minister had sought his prosecution so early.
But Kodheli made it clear that the charges they claim have come after a careful study of all the claims, and she was sure that the evidence was very truthful to the accusation.
The matter deals with $1 million spent by the former minister’s staff for advertising just ahead of the June elections.
Albania’s long-governing center-right Democratic Party lost general elections in June and handed over power to the Socialists in September. The two parties have been locked in bitter rivalry and frequently accuse one another of corruption.
Transparency International has ranked Albania 116th out of 177 countries in the 2013 index report, considered as the most corrupt country in the Western Balkans.
The charges speak of selectively choosing the companies that would make the advertising. Socialist lawmakers had also claimed that half of that amount was not transparent.
They went further saying that Imami had also abused other public money mentioning fuel that they said the ministry was using for the vehicles of the Democratic Party, then in power, during the electoral campaign.
There have been reactions from many of Imami’s colleagues in his political party, coming to his defense, but not from the leadership, nor from the former prime minister.
