TIRANA, Nov. 16 – Eleven Kavaja former and current property registration and local government officials are facing criminal charges for allegedly altering ownership of coastal public property, in the Spille Beach area, by falsifying the ownership documents that made the property appear as if it belonged to people tied to the officials aiming to benefit.
The Persecutor’s Office list of names concerning this investigation includes Seid Cikalleshi, the former Deputy Director of Kavaja’s Real Estate Registration Office and Altin à‡oba, Kavaja’s Director of Legalization and Urbanization.
Also wanted is the city’s former Director of Land Administration and Protection, Enver Duqi, among other names which formerly served and still serve Kavaja’s municipal property and real estate registration offices.
According to the Persecutor’s Office, Cikalleshi, cooperating with some of his institution’s officials, and having the support of some of the former officials of Kryevidh commune, falsified documents and changed the cadastral register of the coastal area from a ‘sandpit’ to ‘agriculture land’, in order to justify the land’s separation among some persons, who would then have to immediately sell the land.
Local media reported the investigation shows that the beneficiaries are relatives of the former Socialist Mayor of Kavaja Elvis Roshi and the head of the Socialist Party’s Kavaja Branch, Gentian Daja. One of the suspects is Daja’s father-in-law, according to media reports.
In an official statement issued by the Persecutor’s Office, it is explained that “notified of the quick alteration process, Kavaja’s Persecution Office intervened in July 2017, by sequestering the sandpit’s surface to prevent the terrain situation from worsening.”
In addition, Kavaja’s Persecution Office stated that it broadly investigated the matter, by looking into Kavaja’s relevant institutional documents, as well as Kryevidh’s commune which was in charge of the Spille Beach at the time. It has since merged with Kavaja as part of the administrative reform.
