Tax office data theft sparks political debate

TIRANA, Jan. 27 – A member of parliament from the leftist governing coalition, Spartak Braho, says he is investigating a series of events in which he says abuse of public money took place.
His statement came after Braho came under attack by the opposition for apparently getting direct access to the servers of the tax administration, as shown on video footage from security cameras leaked to a television station with ties to the opposition.
The CCTV footage showed Braho, an MP for Socialist Movement for Integration, was present in the tax office at the time when data theft was discovered. SMI is a junior partner in government and Braho is head of the national security commission in parliament.
But his visit to the department sparked protests from the opposition Democratic Party. They claim that Braho and the government are trying to abuse their powers and access data illegally. They also asked for a parliamentary commission to investigate the case.
That demand was not accepted by the governing leftist coalition, saying that the prosecutor’s office has already started an investigation on the matter.
Braho has openly accused former Prime Minister Sali Berisha and other top officials of abusing with “lots of money,” adding that everything will be made public soon.
Braho has denied he stole any date saying he had only been present in the tax office in his official capacity as head of the security commission in parliament.
“I have determined that [former Democratic Prime Minister] Sali Berisha is part of major financial plot, which has caused great damage to the state,” Braho said.
The Ministry of Finance clarified that the director of the directorate of taxation had discovered an intrusion into the server where tax returns are kept. They had then referred the case to the prosecutor’s office. Meanwhile, the broadcast of security camera footage of the general directorate of taxation Braho visited with an adviser of Prime Minister Edi Rama has led to daily accusations from the opposition parties.
Democrats’ leader Lulzim Basha has made it a theme of speeches he is holding with party activists countrywide. The Democrats accuse Braho of involvement in the theft of tax records data that could be used to blackmail businesses.
The Tirana prosecutor’s office is already investigating the alleged theft of tax data, and they said they had been given the footage after asking the television station that broadcast it, News 24.
Speaking in parliament on Thursday, Prime Minister Rama accused the opposition of hypocrisy.
“This is a case of a thief calling yelling ‘stop the thief,'” he said.