Tirana Times, September 22, 2026 – Albania’s Special Court has ordered house arrest and suspension from office for Vlora Hyseni, director of the State Intelligence Service, SHISH, in an extraordinary development that has brought a major criminal investigation into the highest levels of the country’s security establishment.
Hyseni is suspected of “supporting the perpetrator of a crime” and “disclosure of secret acts or data,” according to reports citing investigative sources. The investigation is linked to businessman Ergys Agasi, who is already under investigation in a wider case involving alleged corruption, manipulation of public tenders and a structured criminal group. Materials seized by investigators reportedly led SPAK to open a new investigative track involving the intelligence chief.
The house-arrest measure had not been executed as of Tuesday morning because Hyseni was outside Albania. Investigators searched her residence, while the home of former State Police Director Ilir Proda was also searched. Proda was subsequently questioned by SPAK. Other police officials and individuals were targeted in the continuing operation.
The case is particularly sensitive because Albania is a NATO member and SHISH handles highly classified national-security information while cooperating with allied intelligence services. There is currently no public evidence that NATO information has been compromised.
Hyseni previously served as deputy director of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency before being dismissed in 2021 by President Vjosa Osmani and Prime Minister Albin Kurti. Prime Minister Edi Rama later appointed her as a national-security adviser and proposed her to lead SHISH in 2023.
The opposition has called on President Bajram Begaj to immediately convene the National Security Council and clarify whether classified information or national-security institutions have been compromised.
The allegations remain unproven, and Hyseni is presumed innocent. But an investigation reaching the serving head of Albania’s intelligence service represents one of the most serious institutional developments in the country’s recent history.
