TIRANA, Dec. 3 – Two prosecutors were arrested on graft charges in separate cases this week, law enforcement authorities said.
Police said they arrested Haxhi Giu, a prosecutor in the central Albanian town of Kruja, Wednesday on a warrant issued by the Serious Crimes Task Force in Tirana. Officials told Albanian media the arrest came after a two-month-long investigation and Giu is to face charges of active corruption.
Investigators found 29,000 euros, which authorities said were used to influence the prosecutor in a criminal case.
Police released a video of Giu’s arrest, in which he is seen driving a luxury Mercedes Benz vehicle and appears to have something wrapped up in a newspaper in his vehicle.
Prosecutor Giu has had a long career in the justice system and is best known for being the lead prosecutor in the case of the assassination of Democratic Party MP Azem Hajdari in 1998.
Another prosecutor was arrested in the western city of Fier after allegedly being paid a bribe for seeking the release of a person who had committed a deadly traffic accident.
Police said they arrested Prosecutor Petrit Vukaj, whom authorities have charged with taking a bribe of 250,000 leks (about 1,800 euros) for trying to free a person involved in a vehicle crash leading to the death of a former police chief.
Earlier this year the prosecutor had asked a court that the driver be given two years as a suspended sentence and allowed to go free on parole.
Fighting corruption among judges and prosecutors is a main issue of concern in Albania.
The judiciary does not enjoy the people’s trust and it has always been post-communist Albania’s Achilles heel, mentioned in every international report as a problem in the country.
A major judicial reform is on top of the current political agenda and the parliament is expected to approve it soon. It is seen as an indispensable step as the country is trying to move forward in its bid to join the European Union.
