Ambassador Gonzato’s statement further underlined that: “The EU will continue to raise these concerns and support reforms that create a safer and fairer environment for journalists. At the same time, we will continue to invest in independent journalism, fact-checking initiatives, and media education because informed citizens are the best defence against disinformation and manipulation,” concluded Ambassador Gonzato.

The organizers highlighted the growing interest and professional standards in investigative journalism, reflecting the continued commitment of journalists to protecting transparency and the right to information.

“This year we had not only the highest number of applications but also the highest quality and most diverse topics, addressing misuse of public funds, corruption, and issues surrounding ecology, health, and cultural heritage,” said Sanja Lazic, representative of ‘Thomson Media’, in her opening remarks at the ceremony.

The ceremony carried on with the jury’s presentation, which selected this year’s winners from 32 applications, with members Blerjana Bino, Fatjona Mejdini, and Rashela Shehu, who presented the winners of the awards for the best investigative stories of 2024, divided into three awards. The first prize was won by journalists Geri Emiri and Erjola Azizolli from the media Amfora.al for the article “Resort at the Bay of Manastir destroyed the archaeological potential of Butrint Park”.

The Amfora investigation revealed the destruction of archaeological heritage in coastal areas for profit purposes, documenting how construction companies benefited from the government-granted status of so-called “Strategic Investor” despite clear violations of UNESCO rules and regulations. The article raises serious questions about accountability, corruption, and the protection of cultural assets on Albania’s path towards European integration.

The second prize this year had two winners, which went to journalists Vladimir Karaj and Edmond Hoxhaj from the media outlet “Reporter.al”. Karaj’s article – “Like in prison: African workers face deprivation of liberty and exploitation in Albania” – brings shocking evidence of the exploitation of African workers through discriminatory and illegal practices, documenting serious human rights violations. Meanwhile, journalist Hoxhaj’s research – “KPK asked for donation from Kastrati’s company, reminding him of a previously won tender” – exposes the lack of transparency in a key institution of justice reform, raising questions about institutional integrity and ethics in seeking public funds.

In third place were journalists Erisa Kryeziu and Esmeralda Keta from the media outlet “Citizens.al” with the article “They exploit us to the core: Women in the manufacturing industry complain about working conditions”. Their well-documented investigation addresses the exploitation of women in garment factories, shedding light on an important social and economic problem that often remains in the shadows.

In last year’s awards, “Third Place” went to journalists Geri Emiri, Aida Ciro, and Aleksandar Dimitrievski from Amfora.al for their article that exposed the challenges faced by farmers in the Balkans in accessing EU funds through the IPARD Programme.

The European Union Investigative Journalism Awards are presented by the European Union in cooperation with Thomson Media in the Western Balkan countries and in Turkey, with the aim of strengthening and supporting independent and investigative journalism.

The post European Union awards first prize to Amfora’s investigation into the destruction of Butrint Park first appeared on Amfora.

These Hollywood scenes from 1983 continue to inspire, so much so that the “king of gambling in Albania”, Ervis Martinaj, allegedly built a similar palace, which he baptized as “Arbëria Palace” and under the bright neon, “The World Is Yours”, decided to pose his lion that had just started walking.

Baptized as “King Simba” and with the suffix “007”, which seemed to represent Martinaj, he first appeared on TikTok on December 21, 2021. The audience of the cub, who is thought to have arrived there at 3 months old, grew week after week, seeing him from the first days with a bottle of milk, to the poses in the luxurious surroundings of the “Arbëria Palace” Hotel, in Fushë-Milot.

“Simba is now quite big, about 1 meter tall,” said one of the waiters at the hotel bar with a smile. His account has stopped posting since Martinaj himself disappeared under still unclear circumstances, leaving behind scenarios similar to the end of the character he wanted to resemble, Tony Montana.

The lion is now grown and unsuitable for the hotel’s customers, who were once curious to see him. Arbëria Palace executives declined to comment on its whereabouts. But it seems that Martinaj turned keeping a lion into a symbol of power – for organized crime bosses, who were also involved at the highest levels.

After the success of 2017, when the international organization “Four Paws”, in cooperation with the authorities, intervened to confiscate and then send abroad 3 lions that were kept in scandalous conditions in the private park, “Safari Park Zoo” in Fier, crime bosses and the children of millionaires turned the situation upside down by importing dozens of cubs.

“If previously these animals were reported to be kept in cages in business premises, bars or hotels, there have been an increase in cases where they are also kept by individuals as companion animals. Their sale is openly ‘online’ and in stores, without any control,” commented the situation through an official statement, the organization “Animal Rescue Albania”.

Through a regional investigation, Amfora discovered that lion cubs have been appearing in recent years in countries such as Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia – raising suspicions of an organized criminal network in their breeding, transport and sale.

During field checks in several countries, where undercover methods were also used to collect evidence, Amfora documented that at least in Albania and Kosovo, a lion cub can be easily ordered through “pet shops”, while evidence points to a large regional market, outside the control of the authorities.

“If you contact [pet shops], the first thing they say is, oh lions and tigers are easy for me. It’s difficult for me if you ask me for a dinosaur”, explained veterinarian Ariel Vasili.

In Albania, more and more lion cubs are being bought as pets, replacing the pets of crime bosses, children of businessmen and politicians, spread throughout the country, but mainly in the central and northern regions.

“It is thought that there are about 80 or 90 big cats, that is, lions and tigers in Albania,” analyzed veterinarian Ariel Vasili, for the calculations that have been made through the research work of experts and animal protection organizations. The numbers increased only after “lion cubs” became the new symbol of criminal power in recent years.

“If we make a comparison by the number of inhabitants, it is very close to the number of big cats kept in South Africa, which is the first country in the world,” explained Sajmir Shehu, from the international organization “Four Paws”.

“This is related to the mentality of these types of people. They usually think that I cannot keep a dog as a pet because I am not at the same level as my neighbor,” he added.

They are trafficked as puppies and manage to survive through feeding them baby-like milk, inappropriate treatment, and the way they are kept which later creates health problems.

“They were both malnourished,” said Sonja Mandić, director of the Palić Zoo in the city of Subotica in Serbia, of the two lion cubs that the police brought to her. “They were not fed the right kind of food or supplements, they were fed formula milk for human babies,” she added.

Lions and Tigers – The Latest Fashion of Organized Crime

15 minutes away from the now-fallen empire of Ervis Martinaj, another empire has been set up on a picturesque peninsula in the Patok Lagoon. “Royal Blue” is a luxury restaurant owned by the family of the self-proclaimed “drug lord”, Gëzim Çela.

On November 28, 2023, a baby lion was the special guest of Albania’s independence celebration, pouring glasses of wine, next to a traditional table, behind which 4 waiters in traditional clothing lined up to serve him. That shows a video on Instagram. 

“He’s 8 months old now, he’s grown up a lot for a visit,” one of the restaurant employees said slowly, when we asked to see the lion, adding, “It’s too dangerous for you.”

A little further on, “Are you looking for the lion?” a boy behind the counter asked eagerly. “I have one here,” the boy added, taking his cell phone out of his pocket and showing photos of the exotic animal.

We soon learned that his name was “Tajson” and that he was fed fresh meat every day. Gëzim Çela lived for several years on the run and gave in to his criminal imagination, hiring the chief of the Kurbin Police, Dritan Metaj, as his “driver.” Çela, once a police officer himself – was arrested in Kosovo and after extradition is accused of being the head of a structured criminal group for drug trafficking.

However, Tyson is said to have been brought into the family by his son. The owners of the “Royal Blue” restaurant, where the lion had appeared several times, refused to comment on him.

Activists say that keeping these animals by criminal families also makes it difficult to identify their owner, in case of a denunciation to the authorities. Gëzim Çela managed to change the ownership of the restaurant before his arrest, while other drug lords have changed their names and are not the owners of real estate.

“I have no way of knowing who the person is, I only have a video and it is removed the moment the case becomes public,” explained Oli Pero of similar cases, who runs the “Animals Need Me” organization, focused on Shkodra.

Organized crime in the region, although it worships the figure of the lion through quoting quotes and postings with its icon (“emoy”), seems less courageous to go to these levels.

Experts indicate that this approach was also developed after the relocation of Albanian organized crime exponents to Dubai, where, although it is illegal, the criminal elites of the Middle East who keep tigers and lions began to be inspired by the image.

“About 70% are lions and 30% are tigers”, analyzed expert Sajmir Shehu.

“They think that lions are a little calmer, not as aggressive as tigers and they have information about people who usually have tigers and then change them into lions because tigers are very aggressive”, confessed Shehu. “I don’t know what they expected?!”, he followed with rhetorical questions.

Moving even further north in Albania – “King Didi” was another surprise when he appeared in a narrow alley, the pillars of which were overloaded with security cameras. Next to a luxury Mercedes Benz “G” class, he walked like a wandering pedestrian, apparently the newest resident of the neighborhood.

We calculated his audience and he is the most famous Albanian lion on “TikTok”, where one of the videos has received 7.2 million views. Among the comments from the audience, prayers stand out with the message that when he grows up and can no longer be kept, to notify the organization “Four Paws”.

But the arrogance of the account manager on “TikTok” is followed by comments that he eats 2 kg of meat a day.

“It is illegal to own a wild animal. It should be free in its original habitat and not as a pet, in a house,” commented a social media user in English.

Anisa Kostani comes to the side of the account owner – who asks the commenter to speak Albanian – by showing that she knows the law well and not to deal with lions, but with dogs on chains.

“Ahaa, I am a police officer, you show me the law,” she replies to the commenter who points out that it is illegal to keep a lion.

The officer works in the economic crime sector of the Elbasan Police Department – another city bloodied by clashes between criminal gangs. Passionate about snakes, which she exposes on her social networks, she is not an isolated case. Amfora also identified other police officers who were exposed with young lions.

The Lion in Shkodra is suspected of being based in one of the bases of the Bajri crime family, in what is known as the Dobraç Neighborhood. Like the hashtags accompanying the lion’s videos – Belgium and Brussels – the group is known for being extremely violent in its activity.

criminal act there, which he has also transferred to Shkodra, facing in recent years the Special Prosecution.

In the last 10 years, the State Police has investigated people who have caught or kept animals illegally, but it seems that they have not yet reached the depths of crime, where lions and tigers hide.

“For the criminal offense ‘Damage to protected species of wild flora and fauna’, according to article 202 of the Criminal Code, for the period 01.08.2014 – 01.08.2024, 15 cases have been identified, with 19 perpetrators prosecuted, 3 of them arrested in flagrante delicto, 15 prosecuted while at large and 1 declared wanted”, the police officially explained.

In one year, Oli Pero and the activists have filed 22 criminal reports in several cities for animal abuse. “However, these criminal charges have not borne fruit as we might have hoped at first because the criminal codes for animals are numerous,” the young woman said.

Amfora learned that she and other experts in Albania have faced pressure and physical attacks after following up on various cases of illegal animal keeping. Meanwhile, in North Macedonia, one of the experts and activists who identified the keeping of a lion was threatened with her life.

“It was a truly terrifying experience for me,” the woman said. “The mafia discussed killing me and other things like that,” she added – after denouncing that a lion cub was being exposed on social media and calling on the authorities to act.

The rise in popularity of lions is also being influenced by the appearances of public figures alongside them. Albanian rapper “Noizy” appeared in a video on “TikTok” playing with two lions – his manager did not comment on the case when asked.

He also got involved in a TV prank, assuming he had bought a lion and called fellow rapper “Stresi” directly, who, not realizing he was on national television, started talking about a real case – which was implied to be Ervis Martinaj’s lion.

“TV shows often feature exotic animals like wolves or snakes and interview their owners for entertainment, captivating the public in Kosovo,” commented Arif Aliu, worriedly from across the border.

“The sentence is too low.” The environmentalist appealed for the law to take people seriously for this type of crime, adding, “It’s not that we lack the legal basis to prosecute crimes, but it’s the implementation that is lacking.”

“Influencers” on social media are also part of the impressive lion shows. Stefan Janković is a young man in Serbia who appeared raising a lion cub with both hands – He counts at least 3 million combined followers on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

From “TikTok” to “Pet Shops”, the illegal trafficking route

The monopoly on the transfer and keeping of exotic animals such as lions and tigers in the Balkans is held by “zoological units”, i.e. certified zoos – mainly state-owned, which exchange them with each other according to needs in the region and beyond.

“There is no price for them, there is no legal market for the sale and purchase of lions and tigers”, explained veterinarian Ariel Vasili.

But in front of this is a reality where the illegal trade in wild animals ranks as the fourth largest criminal activity worldwide, after arms, narcotics and human trafficking.

This market is worth around $ 23 billion a year according to the World Economic Forum. Mainly through “TikTok”, traffickers manage to easily find clients and camouflage themselves. Amfora discovered that in Albania and Kosovo, some traffickers hide under the guise of “Pet Shops”.

“Communicating with foreign mobile numbers and not with Albanian numbers is like a covert form to bypass traditional channels such as ‘Facebook’, which was previously used”, analyzed Xhemal Xherri, who follows and denounces such crimes through PPNEA (Center for the Conservation and Protection of the Natural Environment in Albania).

He explained that “TikTok” and “Instagram” are the most flexible and difficult tools to track. Websites are also used for the trade of various goods, where from an open search, in two different posts for “Tirana” and “Prishtina”, the same seller offered lion cubs for 9,000 euros.

“Prices range from 6,000 euros – when the main source is found – to 12,000 euros,” Sajmir Shehu estimated based on his research.

“Golem Dog Farm” (“Ferma e Qenve Golem”) continues to maintain its base in the village of the same name near Durrës. But it now also has its own pet shop in the capital. On its TikTok profile, a post with a lion cub is kept at the top of the page, as the most special animal that is traded.

A slightly rusty sign, not far from the coastline, shows that tucked away in a multi-story residential and service building, there is a pet shop, where the smell of dog excrement invades your senses dozens of meters away.

The man with zero hair, about fivetithes, he walked among the puppies, which were painted with care for several meters on a wall, accompanied by expressions of love and care for them.

But when asked about the four-legged members of the big cat family, he indicated that he could provide a lion cub within two weeks, for 3,000 to 4,000 euros each. However, after talking to his son on “WhatsApp” to close the deal, he turned around sharply, saying, “We don’t sell lions here!”.

Meanwhile, another pet store, “Pet Store Tirana”, promises to bring a lion to your home for 7,500 euros. But these are not the only ones, other traffickers offer lion and tiger cubs in a more camouflaged way.

When asked again two weeks later by phone whether they sell lions to private clients, the pet store in Golem refused to comment. But the rapid timing of the animals arrival has raised suspicions that the “farms” are located somewhere in or near the Balkans and that the trafficking is carried out illegally via land routes.

“From the data we have from the field and from social networks, it is a well-structured illegal market for smuggling wild and exotic animals, bypassing the CITES law, national and international laws on animal trade,” explained veterinarian Ariel Vasili – specialized in the treatment of cat species.

Albania is part of CITES – the International Convention on Endangered Species – and for any animal or bird classified internationally as endangered or rare, the transporter must have an export permit for their entry or exit from Albania.

The Ministry of Tourism and Environment is responsible for implementing CITES in Albania. But according to official data, the situation has no connection with the local reality. Similarly, from the observation in the region, excluding Kosovo which is not part of the convention, there is a lack of official data on lions discovered, proving that it is 100% illegal.

“There have been 2 cases of captivity of tiger and lion species in our territory, which have been seized and sent to shelters abroad, the ministry in Albania officially explained.

Also, from the analysis of 10-year data of all imports and exports, it does not appear that lion or tiger cubs have been officially introduced, except for the cited case of the private zoo in Fier and the new arrivals to the Tirana Zoo.

“This type of trade in exotic animals is a sector that generates a lot of income and connects many interest groups,” analyzed Xhemal Xherri from PPNEA.

“Of course, social networks are a very good way to promote this type of trade,” he added.

While it is suspected by several of our sources that some of these lion and tiger cubs pass illegally through land customs, the State Police stated that in 10 years it has not identified any such trafficking case.

“For the criminal offense ‘Trafficking in species protected areas of wild flora and fauna’, according to article 202/a of the Criminal Code, for the period 01.08.2014 – 01.08.2024, no cases have been identified, therefore no actions have been taken by the State Police and consequently no information is generated”, the police in Albania officially explained.

Also in Kosovo in various cities, pet stores have started advertising lion cubs for sale. At the end of May, “Smart Pet Shop” in Gjilan, offered 2 lion cubs for sale on Instagram.

“Hello dear customers, we inform you that the lions are no longer available. Thank you for your interest!”, the pet store wrote on “Instagram” on May 31 – But when asked by us, the merchant said that he only sells dogs, cats and parrots.

130 kilometers from there, there is “Pet Store Peja”, another pet store. “At the beginning of my business I didn’t know, I went to the website and saw that someone was offering tigers and lions, I posted them too,” the man explained.

“I posted them, but the police called me for two hours and I went to give a statement in Peja,” he added, but he still said he continued to offer other exotic animals, including small turtles, monkeys and dangerous snakes.

“I can pick them up from Belgrade whenever you want,” he said.

In Pristina, Arif Aliu of the Animal Rights Foundation suspects that the owner of the Peja shop uses his second business – a taxi service that operates throughout the Balkans – to move the protected species.

“We think the cubs are somewhere in Croatia or [somewhere else in] the Balkans, and he is simply advertising them to gauge interest before bringing them to Kosovo,” Aliu explained, fearing that the trend will soon flourish there as well.

The lions and tigers, according to analyses conducted by veterinarians, are not native to Africa and were not born in the wild. They were born to mothers held in captivity, and the diseases they carry have raised suspicions of a farm that could be in or near the Balkans.

“They say they bring them from Serbia That’s how they say, oh it came from Serbia,” veterinarian Ariel Vasili said, regarding most of the comments heard in Albania about the origin of these lions.

A health problem that has been talked about recently is that lions are starting to show problems with their knees, a health issue generally associated with inbreeding.

“We have started to see that even those from Serbia have problems with their knees because they [traffickers] probably have a little difficulty finding new pairs. Females are hard to find, they are also difficult to order,” Vasili analyzed for Media Amfora.

“The little information I have, they usually come through Kosovo from Serbia, or through Montenegro. But it is a little more difficult. “Through Kosovo, it is a little easier for them to enter through the Mitrovica region,” were the suspicions of Sajmir Shehu, who has worked with the “Four Paws” organization to send lions held in captivity abroad.

Suspicions are also increased by the fact that traffickers – pet stores – promise that they can arrive in 2 weeks. Amfora searched for possible traces of two suspected farms in the territory of Belgrade and Niš, but their existence was not identified.

“Everything about animals in one place”, this is the motto of the young man who identifies himself with the nickname “Dani Tarzan” on social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok and Facebook. He is thought to be originally from Dubai and lives in Serbia, also presenting himself under the name “Dani Al Aloush”.

He looks to be in his 30s and first appeared on Instagram in 2022 and a year later on TikTok. From lions, to tigers, including other exotic animals like monkeys and snakes, he has decided his phone numbers to sell the animals, birds and reptiles he trades.

“I don’t have it in Serbia, it’s in Dubai,” he said when asked about the lions, avoiding confrontation with reporters. The videos show that he keeps the animals in an apartment with lowered shutters, where a long weapon, similar to a rifle, is also visible and there is a green space outside. Relevant authorities in Serbia did not respond to requests for information on the situation.

“Of course, in Serbia, as in any country that borders the EU, there is this concern about the illegal trade in animals,” said Belgrade veterinarian Kristijan Ovari, adding that authorities have not shared the results of any  investigations that they may have done to uncover sellers or traders of tigers and lions.

But he suspects that there is as much demand for illegal lion cubs in Serbia as there is in Albania. “People like that are more likely to have a pit bull or something like that [lions and tigers],” he said.

However, a chain of responsible authorities in Serbia did not respond to requests for information about the situation there.

Accidental discoveries, hundreds may be hidden in the Balkans

Near the border with Hungary, on the outskirts of Subotica, local police were notified by a resident who could not believe his eyes about what he had seen. A lion cub, seemingly exhausted but not at all scared – which is suspected to have been used to people – was wandering around.

The easiest solution for the police in these cases was the nearby Palić Zoo, where the female cub was sent in September 2023.

For the zoo staff, it was no surprise, since in 2022 the police had also “dumped” a rescued lion cub there, forgetting to search for the perpetrators to the end.

In the first case, “The male lion had kidney problems, but has since recovered,” explained Sonja Mandić, the director of the Palić Zoo, where she has worked for 15 years, to Amfora.

Similar cases were also identified in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and North Macedonia, where lion cubs were seen on the streets and on social media, which although remain isolated cases, the authorities have launched investigations – which have not yielded any serious findings so far.

“We see that more lions and other big cats are ending up in private ownership,” said Simone Schuls, the Sanctuary Manager from “Four Paws“, in an interview in a big cat rehabilitation center in the tiny Dutch village of Nijeberkoop – and lions kept in captivity in the Balkans have also ended up for treatment, including the lions that were rescued from Fier and from Montenegro. “It is expected that in the coming decades, many such animals will need shelters,” she added.

“At a young age they can be kept in home conditions, but when they grow up, they pose a danger to those who keep them, to their relatives, but also to society in general,” commented her colleague, Afrim Mahmuti.

“These are not pets, but they don’t understand,” added Mahmuti, the Kosovo director of the organization “Four Paws”, which has built the “Bear Sanctuary”, an environment where bears and one lion – Djoni – rescued from captivity in Albania and Kosovo are rehabilitated and live.

The high number of lions and tigers kept in private facilities in Albania and the Balkans has raised concerns about the future of their treatment, processes that require dedicated spaces and high costs for maintenance and food – while to date there is no regional center for keeping them in case of rescue.

“The zoo usually helps, but our problem is that we have very limited resources. We can’t accept many animals,” analyzed the veterinarian of the Belgrade Zoo, Kristijan Ovari, worriedly for Amfora.

As the number of lions kept illegally in private facilities in the Balkans increases from time to time, the pace of authorities is much lower for preventing the creation of a large population, which will require millions of euros of investment in their capture and treatment in the near future.

“This article was developed with the support of Journalismfund Europe”

Authors: Geri Emiri – Director of Amfora Media and investigative journalist focused on issues of damage to cultural heritage and environmental crime;
Ingrid Gercama – Investigative journalist reporting on environmental crime, politics and trade from the Balkans and Africa;
Nathalie Bertrams – Documentary photographer and journalist reporting on environmental conflict and social justice;
Vjosa Çerkini – Multimedia journalist and documentary producer from Kosovo.

The post Tigers and lions, the trend of Albanian crime bosses is infecting the Balkans first appeared on Amfora.

In Vlora they left deep traces and had a large community, so that in 1520, out of about 4,000 inhabitants of the city, more than 2,700 were Jews.

The Jews of Vlora built a synagogue there and today their toponymy is still preserved in the city. Learn more about the model coexistence they built in Vlora, through the memories in the video above, of Skënder Spahiu, currently director of Local Museums in Vlora, which also tells about the museum project that will present their history in Albania.

Video team:

Producer and narrator: Geri Emiri

Historical information: Dorian Hatibi

Video-Production: Arlind Veshti

References:

1. Jakoel Josef. Izraelitët në Shqipëri. Tiranë 2020;

2. Grup Autorësh. Fjalori Enciklopedik Shqiptar. Tiranë 2008;

3. Nika Nevila. Jews in the central state archive. Tiranë 2016.

The post The Jews of Vlora, a model of coexistence first appeared on Amfora.

Journalists Anesti Barjamemaj, Vladimir Karaj, Ola Xama, Geri Emiri, Aida Ciro, and Aleksandar Dimitrievski were selected among many colleagues as this year’s winners for their stories on environmental crime, the role of senior officials in corruption, and the difficulties faced by farmers in the Balkans.

André Rizzo, Head of the Political Section of the EU Delegation in Albania, spoke about the role of investigative journalism in holding power accountable and promoting transparency as part of democracy. 

“In a world where the pace of the news cycle and news consumption is so rapid, these awards aim at promoting excellence in investigative journalism that allows citizens to get a more in-depth understanding of news stories,” said Rizzo.

Journalists Anesti Barjamemaj and Vladimir Karaj from Reporter.al and the Voice of America were awarded first place for their investigation into environmental crime at the Sharra Landfill, exposing toxic waste dumping into the Erzen River.

Journalist Ola Xama from Reporter.al was awarded second place for uncovering the role of Tirana’s Mayor Erion Veliaj in the controversial Tirana Incinerator project.

Journalists from Amfora.al, Geri Emiri, and Aida Ciro from Albania, along with journalist Aleksandar Dimitrievski from North Macedonia, were awarded third place for their article that highlighted the challenges faced by Balkan farmers in accessing funds from the IPARD Program. The investigation published by Amfora revealed that the temporary suspension of the IPARD II agricultural program for Albania, following suspicions of corruption by the European Union, was just the tip of the iceberg of a €94.6 million grant package.

According to the findings, the program in Albania had turned into an “exclusive club” for large companies connected to politics and crime, while in North Macedonia, the program exposed similar but less frequent connections

“Our investigation, more than the abuse of EU aid and corruption at various levels, primarily in Albania, is dedicated to one of the most vulnerable groups in society, farmers, and livestock breeders,” explained co-author of the investigation, Geri Emiri.

“In a professional sense, I believe today’s award is dedicated to true journalism, the principled one that verifies every detail, that does not retreat in the face of pressure, and does not chase the ‘scoop,'” added Emiri, emphasizing that the result came from dedication and teamwork.

The three-member jury that selected the winners in Albania consisted of Ilda Londo, who has been a research coordinator at the Albanian Media Institute since 2001 and is specialized in media freedom, regulatory performance, and its development. 

Another member was Albana Kasapi, a senior journalist and editor of the “Weekend” program at BBC World Service Radio. Based in the UK, she has reported on major events across the Balkans, Moscow, Kyiv, and beyond. 

The third jury member was Elira Çanga, a media development expert with various roles over the years in the OSCE, British Council, and USAID. She is also a pioneer in fact-checking and media modernization in Albania.

The European Union Investigative Journalism Awards are given by the European Union in cooperation with “Thomson Media” in the Western Balkan countries and Turkey to empower and support independent journalism and investigative journalists.

The post The European Union Awards prizes for Investigative Journalists in Albania first appeared on Amfora.

The “First Codex of Berat”, written on purple parchment and containing the Gospels according to Matthew and Mark, also dates back to the 6th century. While the second Codex with letters of gold, contains the complete text of the four gospels.

Learn more through the video above and watch the interview with Anila Droboniku, guide of the Onufri National Iconographic Museum, who recounts the centuries-long efforts of the invaders to loot them and how the secret of their hiding place was revealed, transferring them to the funds state, after the discovery on August 12, 1968, where they were hidden inside the Castle of Berat, under the floor of the Kisha “Fjetja e Shën Mërisë” (“The Dormition of Saint Mary” Church), which today has been adapted to the Onufri National Iconographic Museum.

Video team:

Producer and narrator: Geri Emiri

Historical information: Dorian Hatibi

Video-Production: Arlind Veshti

References:

1. “Kodikët e Shqipërisë”, Autorë: Alfred Moisiu, Aleks Buda, Anthimus Alexoudes, Erich Trapp, Johannes Koder, Kaliopi Naska, Koïchiro Matsuura, Kosta Naçi, Llambrini Mitrushi, Nevila Nika, Pierre Batiffol, Roderic L. Mullen, Shaban Sinani, Theofan Popa, Tiranë, 2003;

2. “Kodiku i Purpurt i Beratit”, Banka e Shqipërisë;

3. Photos of the codices: Amfora Media.

The post The Codices of Berat, the purple treasure of Albania first appeared on Amfora.

Decorated with 5 mosaics, it may have been a large luxurious villa, but perhaps also a temple. However, this archaeological discovery is a new opportunity for Durrës and Albania to have a new archaeological pole.

Learn more about this discovery through the video above and interviews with archaeologist Luan Përzhita, who led the research project, and archaeologist Berbis Islami, who focused on the discovered mosaics.

Video team:

Producer and narrator: Geri Emiri

Historical information: Dorian Hatibi

Video-Production: Arlind Veshti

The post The magnificent monument hidden beneath Gjergj Kastrioti in Durrës first appeared on Amfora.

Among the catalysts of the formation of the national identity of the Albanians was an elite school from which these patriots came. It was founded in Shkodër on October 17, 1877 and was called “Saverian College” (Kolegji Saverian).

For more, watch the video published above and the interview with the representative of “Atë Pjetër Meshkalla” High School, Paulo Vjerdha, who told about the continuation of the tradition created by the college, which is the predecessor of today’s school.

Video team:

Producer and narrator: Geri Emiri;

Historical information: Dorian Hatibi;

Video-Production: Arlind Veshti.

References:

1.⁠ ⁠Willi. Kamsi. Fjalori Enciklopedik Shqiptar. Tiranë 2009;

2.⁠ ⁠Meksi. Aleksandër. Historia e Arkitekturës në Shqipëri. Tiranë 2016;

3.⁠ ⁠Murzaku. Ines. Historia e Jezuitëve në Shqipëri. Tiranë 2022.

The post The Saverian College of Shkodër, “the cradle of patriots” first appeared on Amfora.

A patriarchal organization, it shows gender and social stratification since the medieval period. Learn more through the explanations of the “veteran” architect, Agron Doraci, who dedicated his life to the monuments of the city, up to the restoration of the house of the writer Ismail Kadare, which today has been turned into a museum.
For more follow the video posted on the top.

Video team:

Producer and narrator: Geri Emiri;
Historical information: Dorian Hatibi;
Video-Production: Arlind Veshti.

References:

1. Çabej Eqrem. Etymological Studies VIII. Tirana 2006;
2. Kadare Ismail. Time for confession: Dialogue with Alda Bardhyl. Tirana 2021;
3. Mexi Alexander. History of Architecture in Albania. Tirana 2016;
4. Riza Emin. Albanian encyclopedic dictionary. Tirana 2009.

The post The magical chambers of Gjirokastër first appeared on Amfora.

Even though according to tradition you have to look your guest in the eyes, it is almost impossible for Prenga to concentrate. As he speaks, most of the time he looks at the carcass which seems like it has “stolen his heart” at an old age.

For 15 years now his family is working at the vineyard as they have planted several varieties of grapes through which they produce wine. Over the 2 hectares of vineyards, he has built a carcass, in the basement of which there is a wine cellar where he uses old equipment to produce wine which is later distributed to the area.

“I built the wine cellar with my force, afterward I applied to the Agricultural and Rural Development Agency, the IPARD, so I would receive a little bit of help and support, especially for the wine storage facilities and the equipment within,” Doda said.

“I drafted the project together with some engineers and specialists, however, the criteria were very difficult to be reached,” the man added.

Farmers in Albania and across the region, as in the case of North Macedonia, for many years now have a golden opportunity to apply for support through European Union funds for agriculture, aiming at preparing both Western Balkan countries for their full accession to the EU.

Nevertheless, data show that the IPARD Programme in Albania and North Macedonia has transformed into a source of empowerment for big companies that has limited the impact directly to supporting the farmers, to whom the program seems more and more distant.

In 2018, the Agricultural and Rural Development Agency (ARDA) in Albania, was accredited for the IPARD II Programme, to distribute grants through a budget of 94.6 million euros, out of which 71 million euros were allocated by the European Commission and 23.6 million euros were allocated nationally by the Albanian state.

When it comes to North Macedonia, the IPARD II had a budget of 80 million euros and up to May 2023 49,2 million euros have been spent. Most of the remaining funds are already contracted, but are yet to be paid towards the beneficiaries due to various reasons. 

The third phase of the programme was anticipated to begin this year in Albania, however, the European Commission took an extreme measure as they decided to temporarily suspend the programme of agricultural support, based on suspicions of corruption in the distribution of grants, referred by the European anti-fraud office (OLAF).

If suspicions come true, Albania risks not continuing with the IPARD III phase, which foresees grants of up to 146 million euros, whereas analysis of the beneficiaries in Albania and North Macedonia exposes the ties with politics, public administration, and crime.

In Albania, a sample of 126 beneficiaries was analysed (out of 510 beneficiaries in total), whom ARDA has promoted through their online brochure and website, and it results that they are people with criminal records, who have ties with politics, businesses not fully functional and family fraud schemes.

The implementation of the programme which supports farmers in Albania was done by the Agricultural and Rural Development Agency (ARDA), which is part of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the grants were financed up to 75% by EU funds and 25% by funds of the State Budget.

Furthermore, in North Macedonia, there is a similar scheme with the Agency for the Financial Support of Agriculture and Rural Development granting IPARD II funds, 80% of which came from the EU and 20% came from the State Budget.

“IPARD Babies”

The first phase of the IPARD project was an experimental one for both countries and they attracted few applications whereas, in the second phase, they attracted a considerable number of proposals many of which were declared winners.

In Albania, the implementation of the second phase of the programme led to the birth of many businesses which applied and profited from the program, even though they had just been established or had suspicious history, with frequent interruptions of their economic activity and continuous seizures.

Amfora Media analysed a sample of 126 businesses that benefited from the IPARD II Program in Albania. It resulted that the first years of the programme implementation attracted applications from companies and people “who discovered quite late their passion for agriculture”.

50 businesses who benefited from IPARD funds, of the 126 businesses analysed, resulted to have been registered for the very first time in the years the program began, from 2018-2021, having as the scope of their work the fields covered by the programme.

“I believe this is a clear sign of clientelism in choosing the beneficiaries, who in many cases have no strong or sustainable ties with agricultural or agro-industrial activities,” commented agricultural policies expert, Prof. Dr. Ndoc Fasllia.

“Through their personal connections as well as ties with the high level of politics and administration, they managed to benefit support from this programme,” added Fasllia who is also a lecturer at the Agricultural University of Tirana.

Elvis Rroshi was Mayor of Kavaja Municipality from 2011 to 2016, when he saw his term interrupted because he had forged the decriminalization form and hidden a conviction by the justice system in Italy for the criminal offense of rape in 1995. 

Afterward, he was sentenced by the Court of Tirana to 60 hours of community service for forging the decriminalization form. After leaving his office as head of Kavaja Municipality, it seems that Rroshi discovered his passion for agriculture, and on August 5, 2019, he founded the “KAVALJON” company, which was named after what is believed to have been Kavaja’s old name. 

He applied to IPARD and initially benefited 70,178 euros, for a solar greenhouse, a project which began on May 4, 2021, and later on he received 180,309 euros, so on July 28, 2021, he could begin the reconstruction of a building aiming at transforming it into a guesthouse.

However, after obtaining 250.487 euros, “Rroshi was declared wanted by ARDA”! The Agency confirmed for Amfora Media that “KAVALJON” is one of the ten businesses requested to return the obtained funds because they did not meet the criteria for the implementation of the programme and the case has passed to court.

In North Macedonia, we have analysed a total of 40 companies that won big grants in IPARD I and IPARD II. Almost all turned out to be established companies with a history and continue working today. But, we found at least two major companies with political ties that won grants. One must acknowledge that in both cases the companies were already well known in the agricultural sector.

In 2019, the company “Trgoprodukt” applied for and won a contract for IPARD II subsidies. The payment of 1.4 million euros was finally made in April 2022. During most of this time period, the Prime Minister of North Macedonia was Zoran Zaev, who is a first cousin of Boban Zaev, the owner of “Trgoprodukt”. 

In 2014, the company “Agricultural collective – Pelagonija” applied for and won a contract for IPARD II subsidies. The payment of around 240 thousand euros came a year later in 2015. The owner of “Pelagonija”, Jordan Kamchev, had close relations with the government at the time. Recently, he was designated by the US Department of Statement as “having engaged in corruption, including bribery of a government official” and was sanctioned.

Whereas in Albania it seems that even the representatives of oppositional political forces have benefited from IPARD grants.

Libonike Nurellari is a former member of the Poliçan Municipal Council for the Democratic Party and since 2006 she is involved in vineyards and wine trade. In the IPARD Programme, she holds the record for the most grants someone has benefited from, as she was supported with four projects, with a total value of 383,185 euros.

“There are connections with nepotism and other state functions, whereas when it comes to organized crime, there is only the case of the Tirana Incinerator, which had as its administrator someone who had benefited from the program for a greenhouse,” said Ervin Resuli, President of the “Association for the Protection of Local Producers”.

Mollasi is one of the villages of Skrapar which was awarded 4 grants by IPARD, with a total value of almost 1 million euros. The businesses benefiting here were also founded in the same period as the beginning of this programme, and in the case of the “Green Revolution” company, it received support twice for the breeding of farm animals, with a total value of 581.939 euros.

Whereas the 2 other winners seem to be different, however, they are part of a family scheme. The 23-year-old Brisilda Xhaferri, out of the 126 beneficiaries sample, received the biggest grant,  which was at least three times bigger than any other beekeeper.

The “GOLDEN BEES” SHPK (ltd) (former “BLETA E ARTË”) was founded by her father on October 2018, Apostol Xhaferri, a constructor since 2005 and after several changes in the business name and address, the 23-year-old woman became the administrator of the company and received a grant of 57.624 euros, for “Investment in beekeeping, an increase of the number of beehives, production and trade of honey and other beekeeping products”.

After withdrawing from the company he founded, his father continued alone the IPARD dream. The constructor founded another company on February 22, 2022, however this time as a “Natural Person”, focusing on agritourism. Even though he was in his first steps, he received from IPARD a grant of 183.870 euros and he signed a contract on May 4, 2023. 

In this case, the father and daughter received 341,494 euro from IPARD through the newly established companies. Even though the objectives of the IPARD Programme and the donors are to increase competition and maximize the grant distribution to other companies, with or without experience, some businesses seem to “have a subscription” to IPARD.

Out of the sample of 126 beneficiaries, it results that at least 18 businesses have benefited from IPARD II grants for Albania over two times, some of which were beneficiaries of two projects within the same call.

Local experts appreciate the support to new businesses as important, however, a balance needs to be preserved so the development of agriculture remains in focus, based on the experience of older businesses.

“Support to new businesses or start-ups is a positive novelty to absorb more funds from IPARD, from young farmers,” analysed Ilir Pilku, one of the 3 experts in Albania certified by the EU for “Joint European Policies”.

According to him, there was an impact from the registration formers who only had “Farmer TIN” and they hadn’t opened a commercial business before, in the form of a “natural person” or “company”. ARDA officially informed Amfora Media that there have 540 businesses benefitting from the IPARD II programme, with grants distributed through four calls, even though the online data published on their website through Excel format for every call, shows 30 fewer contracts, hence a total of 510 beneficiaries.

“We highlight that the Tax Administration has registered for many years as Farmers a total of 92,174 individuals, clarifying that they have been directly registered in Tax Administration for the TIN only and do not pay their tax obligations,” clarified the General Directorate of Taxation, regarding the number of farmers in Albania.

“The vast majority of IPARD beneficiaries are start-ups and out of the farmers who today are numbered through a TIN at the Taxation Administration, there is not a very good number of farmers eligible to apply to IPARD,” stated Ervin Resuli, President of the “Association for the Protection of Local Producers”.

ARDA informed that in the framework of the IPARD II Program and up to now, there have been 8 cases for the return of the obtained grant from the businesses that have received a prepayment for the investment, however, they have failed to do it within set deadlines of the contract or they have been abusive cases suggested by the audit.

“Out of the 10 entities that were requested to return the grant, 8 did not abide by ARDA and it sent their file to court in order “Aldo Jakupi PF” [Natural Person], “Fiqiri Sinani PF”, “Mirjan Allka PF”, “Kavaljon SHPK”, “Abas Pere SHPK”, “Vasillaq Xhufka PF”, “Coast to Coast SHPK” and “Lorag SHPK”, who jointly received a total of 1.145.760 euros.

Funds were returned only by “Alb Berati SHPK”, which was not identified by us in the list of ARDA projects, and “Altin Gega PF” who had received a grant of 14.916 euros.

In North Macedonia, from 2015-2022, there were 17 irregularities and specific procedures were undertaken for all of them. The government and the Public prosecutors office did not reveal the outcomes and the entities involved in the “procedures”. Independently, we found 15 civil lawsuits with second instance rulings in courts related to IPARD.

In eleven cases, companies or individuals filed lawsuits against the Agency because it suspended their project agreements due to various irregularities, including the purchase of used equipment, declared as new. The agency won all the cases.

“The Rich” of the poor sector

Rigerta Loku is a student at the prestigious La Sapienza University in Rome. After studying political studies and specializing in international relations, she made the headlines when together with her husband returned from Italy to Albania to open a farm.

Her husband, Leonard, graduated as a zootechnician to come in support of the farm because they both started 12 years ago, without having any information on livestock farming, but only passion. Today they live together with their two daughters on the farm erected on top of a picturesque hill at the Rrshkull village of Mirdita.

“We have a livestock farm where we breed goats of an autochthonous Albanian species,” said Rigerta Loku shortly after putting the herd in the stall.

“Generally speaking, the whole area or small farms like mine, suffer from the lack of agricultural equipment such as tractors,” she added.

In the sample of 126 beneficiaries, only 20 of them were directly related to small farmers, offering them a tractor which varied from 15-50 thousand euros. IPARD allowed companies with balance sheets of several million euros to experiment in the field of agriculture, even though they had no previous experience.

“Company Riviera 2008” sh.p.k (ltd.) was founded in 2009 by the Kola family, and saw an increase in their revenues after 2013, with the arrival of the Socialist Party in power. In 2022 alone they registered a turnover of 5.1 million euros.

Profiled in the field of construction, the reconstruction projects after the earthquake in recent years increased their participation in absorbing public funds. The company accounts for a total of 63 tenders that they have benefited from the state budget, mostly from municipalities across the entire country. It managed to win 36 tenders all on its own as well as 31 tenders together with other companies.

Without notable experience in the field of agriculture, it proposed ARDA the establishment of a warehouse for the collection and selection of fruit and vegetables, with 13 refrigerating rooms. IPARD supported 50% of the investment offering them EUR 810.469.

While the company continues obtaining money from IPARD, for the second time in its history after 2014, a preventive seizure of its shares was imposed on February 13, 2023, until it paid off its obligations to another company that had requested the intervention of bailiffs.

The case of “KRONOS KONSTRUKSION” sh. p. k. (ltd.) is very similar considering that it submitted to ARDA a project idea for the construction of a “warehouse for fruit and vegetable processing” at Maminas and managed to obtain support amounting to 721,558 euros.

This company is also a winner of 51 public tenders, either by itself or through cooperation with other companies, and while it was obtaining IPARD payments, it had passed under preventive seizure status, the last of which ended in 2020, after it paid off the obligations that arouse from a fine imposed by the National Agency of Natural Resources.

“The company is fact is in fact dealing with constructions, aquaculture. Only three years ago it entered the agricultural sector and we welcomed it,” explained the former director of ARDA, Frida Krifca to PM Edi Rama while they were inspecting the investment on January 25, 2021.

“Out of the data obtained indirectly for the ‘big beneficiaries’, it results that over 50% of them have construction, transportation, energy, etc. as their main activities and they have had no connection with agricultural production,” analysed for Amfora Media, Prof. Dr. Ndoc Fasllia, expert of agricultural policies.

When Premier Rama visited for the second time the end investment on May 18, 2022, the company representative told Prime Minister for a space with a counter, tables, and chairs:

“We have created a space for the people who work here and the people who will stay outside with lorries where they can stay and sleep.”

“This is the workers’ canteen?!”, asked PM amazed.

“Workers’ canteen”, confirmed the company representative.

“This is the best canteen that I have ever seen, I had never seen a better canteen”, said with amazement from the meeting EU Charges d’Affaires Alexis Hupin.

However, the “canteen” results to be a service facility that is unibody with the warehouse supported by the EU. The only company workers in the canteen are not the farmers or warehouse workers, but the waiters serving cooked food.

“The accommodation at our hotel, accompanied by traditional and modern cuisine will give you an unforgettable experience,” wrote Kronos Agritourism on their official Facebook page.

“Kronos Agritourism” a name through which they are promoted on social media, results to be a facility [trace] that would be built even in the project that the company representative presented to the Albanian Prime Minister in January 2021.

In the guideline approved by the European Union and the Albanian government, several criteria have been defined regarding the way businesses will work for at least 5 years after the last payment from ARDA. In one of the criteria, it is clearly defined that finance transference is not allowed within this time frame.

At first sight, it seems that North Macedonia is heavily inclined towards support of the small farmers. Out of the total 1117 supported projects in IPARD I, 82,2% were filed by “natural persons” or “individual farmers”, while during IPARD II those categories account for 84,1% of all approved projects. The picture changes when one takes into account the value of those projects.

In the IPARD I Programme, all 20 most expensive projects were granted to “companies”, and those 20 projects, taken altogether, cost a total of 5.24 million euros. In other words, those 20 projects alone account for 32.8% of the entire IPARD I fund spent budget. In general, the “companies” and “agricultural cooperations” got around 60% of the spent budget for IPARD I, although they account for merely 17,8% of the total number of approved projects. 

This gap is even more pronounced in IPARD II. The 20 main grants with a joint value of 18.6 million euros all went to “companies”, comprising 37.8% of the total amount paid up to May 2023. In total, out of the 49,2 million euro paid from IPARD II, a total of 78,9% ended in the hands of “companies” and “agricultural cooperations”, although they account for only 15,9% of the total number of approved projects. 

Nevertheless, these figures are lower compared to the big beneficiary companies in Albania when almost all main companies of milk processing, collection points, and slaughterhouses have profited. “Erzeni sh.p.k” company, profiled in milk processing and packaging received 924,244 euros while the other company of the sector “Lufra” obtained EUR 799,737.

In the salami industry, the “FIX PRO” company received 741,896 euro, while the “TONA-AL” company obtained 381,684 euro. Nevertheless, the focus given to the processing companies and the forsaken of the farmers producing the raw materials is stimulating more and more the need for import products.

“The vast majority, or the lion’s share, was mostly absorbed by the agro-industry, meaning the collection points, milk processing factories, etc.,” elaborated Ervin Resuli, agricultural expert.

He declared that almost 95% of the milk produced in Albania comes from small farms and this category of farmers struggles to be included in the IPARD Programme, failing to develop the sector of producing raw materials.

“It has left the farmer out of the objective, thus the farmer is not raised equally to the milk processing industry and this has led to a gap, the need for raw materials,” stated Resuli.

Looking to the sky

The “looking to the sky” expression is more meaningful in agriculture than anywhere else. Farmers and livestock farmers in the Balkan region due to the outdated infrastructure face challenges growing fruits and vegetables and caring for their livestock. In the meantime, IPARD seems “something distant in the sky” to them.

The Gjurchinovski family, from Tumchevishte village near Gostivar in North Macedonia, cultivates around 30 hectares of land, partially owned by them and partially rented by them. Their latest enterprise is an 8-hectare hazelnut plantation.

Up to now, the only support for the production and machinery has come from the government, while IPARD Programme remains a great opportunity that seems unattainable. Zhivka Gjurchinovska revealed that she tried and managed to get a grant offered by the European Union.

“Well, the beneficiary supported by the IPARD Program should invest the whole sum, so they see their funds return. When it comes to small producers and properties, this is a little bit more difficult,” the woman stated.

“It is especially difficult to invest in advance,” pointed out the farmer because very often quite some time is required from the moment of application for IPARD funds, until the moment of reimbursement.

Even though there should be no delays throughout the 36-month period, the analysis of the data obtained by the Agency for the Support of Agriculture showed that a beneficiary has waited at least 2,048 days from the moment of application to the moment they received the payment.

Nikola Tasevski applied for the first call and received EUR 14,222 on February 2023, hence with a delay of five and half years. Meanwhile, in the IPARD II Programme, 48 beneficiaries have waited more than the possible maximum of 36 months.

“These deadlines are too long for small farmers,” elaborated Liliana Jonoski from the Rural Coalition NGO. “Especially considering the time and money they need to gather all necessary documents, which they do not always know how to gather by themselves,” she added.

“With the post-Russian-Ukraine War and COVID-19 crisis inflation, machinery and devices became more expensive, hence many investments were postponed or cancelled,” said Nikica Bachovski, director of the Agency for the Financial Support of Agricultural and Rural Development in North Macedonia.

“Farmers in Albania also stated that the process of gathering and filling in documents requires a well-educated farmer and livestock farmer, hence consulting services are needed, making it a prerequisite to have preliminary funds for the preparation of application file.

“It took me 6 months to prepare the file with all the points defined in the application manual,” said Romeo Nazarko to Amfora Media.

“It has cost me around 20 thousand euros to prepare the file, which is money spent on land renting, projects, and mobility,” he stated.

The 43-year-old man has studied geodetic engineering and works as a real estate expert in Tirana. He managed to cut some of the costs by doing things himself, while ordinary farmers cannot invest such loads of money in preparing project ideas that can be rejected.

“Applicants are not actively supported in the filling of documents by the employees of the ARDA. They could be supported by private counselling services (natural persons/ltd.), money which is acceptable for reimbursement according to the guideline,” responded officially the agency in Albania.

“The farmer cannot pay and is not certain whether they will win the project,” declared Preng Doda who is a retired agronomist. He added that documents might be absent from the file submitted for IPARD grants and the preparation of the business plan, according to him, should be done by a paid professional, as he could not do it in advance.

“The huge amount of documents and the huge amount of people you will have to deal with to fill in the documents as you go from office to office makes this task even more difficult,” farmer Rigerta Loku stated.

“I have higher education, my husband has higher education, and last year we failed to prepare documents in time,” Loku added.

Experts say that these are criteria set by the European Union and must be respected, however in the Albanian context they mention several local elements which need to be improved to bring farmers closer to the grants.

To agricultural economy expert Ilir Pilku, farmers by being unable to contact consulting centres, in some cases in applications for construction permits, do not fill in the criteria, hence they need to be facilitated. Furthermore, they need to be aided in cases when there is a lack of documents related to social security arrears or other similar documents.

“There is also low availability of the banking system to finance activities in farms, even in the cases when farmers have presented an IPARD contract,” emphasized Pilku, who is also a consultant in the field of agriculture.

For the other expert on agricultural policies, Ndoc Fasllia, the criteria on the size of the farms and the lack of property ownership documents over agricultural land are the biggest problem, which require specific treatment based on the context of the Albanian farmer.

Out of the IPARD II Programme in Albania, it results that there are beneficiaries who have activities in 50 out of 61 Municipalities of the country.  In the territory of Tirana, where most of the light industry is concentrated, Tirana Municipality tops the list with 73 grants.

Tirana is followed by the Municipalities of Fier and Korçë with 63 and 51 grants respectively. Meanwhile, 75% of the grants (384 out of 510 grants won) were obtained by businesses in 14 Municipalities.

Corruption gangrene

Engineer Romeno Zazarko found himself in front of OLAF investigators shortly after starting the path to his dream, of planting walnut trees in his birthplace, in Albania.

“My project idea was the creation of an orchard at Kolonja country, at a land that I had rented for 99 years with a surface of around 13 hectares,” stated Nazarko

After the 43-year-old man submitted his application file to ARDA on July 2020, the ping-pong for the fulfillment of the requirements began between the agencies.

“Most of the points made it think that it is impossible to submit the file in time, as I had only 15 days. In countries like Albania where you have to go from office to office to obtain a simple document, I had to fill in 21 documents in 25 days, something which was psychologically impossible,” recalled the engineer. 

In the analysis, of IPAIRD II calls, we discovered that there is a shortening of the time available for applications from two months in the first call to an average of 45 days in the three upcoming calls, making the application process very difficult for simple farmers.

After Nazarko interrupted every professional and family engagement, he managed to collect all documents and submit the file in time. Nevertheless, the request of the agency for a rent contract from Nazarko’s partner seems to have blocked the application process, with the engineer declaring to have complained to all respective institutions about this issue.

“They demanded a sub-contract of sub-rent from my co-owner, which is non-sense as I had the rent contract from Kolonja Municipality and I do not have the right to rent out this land,” he recalled adding that this was an attempt to “trap him” because such a contract is illegal.

His only hope was the OLAF office in Brussels, which he managed to reach through Skype on May 4, 2021, presenting his claims.

Various interviewees declared that there are consulting offices which do not only offer legal services but also have corruptive relations with ARDA through which they manage to finalize the grant agreements.

“From people who have applied, it is the institution itself [consulting office] which finds the bait, the middle man within the respective institution [ARDA]. It is enough for the farmer to have a business idea of how much money they will spend as well as pay fees to the agency [consulting office] and it will take care of the whole procedure,” farmer Rigerta Loku elaborated.

“It is not a small percentage. It is 30-40% [of the grant], and they even have the scheme of how to obtain that amount of money,” stated Romeo Nazarko who unsuccessfully applied to IPARD II.

“Every farmer that applies does not have 30-40% “tip” in cash to give them, however, they manage to put you into bank troubles as well as make you obtain loans from financial institutions,” he elaborated.

“A time comes that the farmer gives up. They give up from the system, the corruption, and the illegal activities because it is not only the monetary power that is invested here and we have, but also the life and the future of our children and the future generations,” said the farmer from Mirdita, Rigerta Loku.

Amfora Media submitted inquiries for information to all Prosecution Offices across the country, including specific courts, and did not find any direct investigation for ARDA, apart from the investigation initiated by the European anti-fraud office (OLAF), for which the Albanian Prosecution’s Office is carrying out an investigation which is dragged in time and has no result.

After identifying the case and tracing it through local and European law enforcement agencies, only in May of this year did the Tirana Prosecution’s Office inform Amfora that OLAF has filed a complaint to the Special Prosecution’s Office.

“… it has registered the criminal complaint no. 7471, in 2022, for the criminal offense ‘Forge of documents’ and ‘Abuse of office’, stipulated in articles 186 and 248 of the Criminal Code,” informed Tirana Prosecution’s office regarding the initiated investigation.

OLAF initially filed the complaint at the Special Prosecution’s Office on June 2020 and two years later it announced its incompetency and passed the file to Tirana’s Prosecution Office which informed that “… this criminal proceeding is still in the investigation phase and without the name of the author registered in charge”.

In response, the European anti-fraud office (OLAF) elaborated that they usually do not comment on cases that they might address.

“This is done to protect the confidentiality of every possible investigation and the possible legal process which follow, as well as the guarantee the respect of personal data and procedural rights,” OLAF stated in an official response.

The EU Delegation in Albania confirmed on July 19 suspicions of corruption with EU funds earmarked for Albanian agriculture. OLAF submitted the European Commission several findings, which have forced the EU Commission to temporarily suspend grants until the final report from OLAF’s investigation emerge.

“As a prevention measure for the protection of the European Union’s financial interests, the European Commission has temporarily suspended reimbursement toward Albanian authorities for the expanses done in the framework of the IPARD II program,” explained the EU Office in Tirana for Amfora Media.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Frida Krifca defended at the Parliament’s plenary session on July the IPARD II Program, telling the opposition that their accusations about abuses of EU funds were an attack against the agriculture sector as a whole.

Minister Krifca was director of the Agency for Agricultural and Rural Development from July 2017 to September 2021, before being appointed as Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. The EU’s investigation focuses on the period she directed this Agency, which coincides with the first phase of the program from 2014-2020.

The only case in North Macedonia: A 200 euro bribe

It was dark on April 14, 2014, when two men met at a restaurant near the train station of Skopje. Ivica E. wanted to buy a tractor through the IPARD Programme and met in advance Dragan R., an official of the agency for agriculture.

Ivica held a file with the respective documents of the application for the tractor. Apart from the documents, as Dragan has previously asked, he had inserted 200 euro. Police intervened and arrested Dragan after accepting Ivica’s file.

A year and a half later, Dragan R. was convicted for admitting a reward of EUR 200 for illegal influence. The Court of Appeal of Skopje sentenced him to 2 years of suspended prison and the agency discharged him from duty.

“I have to say that this is an isolated case that cannot be undone,” commented the cases Nikica Bachovski, head of the Agency for the Agency for the Financial Support of Agriculture and Rural Development, in North Macedonia.

The Irregularity Management System (IMS) is also functioning here. IMS keeps close cooperation relations with OLAF. Head of EU audit programmes, Adem Curri, admitted that there are continuous complaints through these channels, from the Agency as well as the IPARD beneficiaries, however, none of them has resulted in criminal proceedings up to now.

So, on record, North Macedonia has only one criminal case for IPARD irregularities – when a civil servant asked for a bribe of 200 euros. But, today there is no word what happened with the announcements of the state authorities in 2016, that they are working on two IPARD related cases with INTERPOL, for alleged misuse of around EUR 200,000. That year (2016), as well as in 2014, North Macedonia had brief spells of unofficial “freezing” of IPA funds in general. Underutilized of available funds, lack of planing and willingness for reforms were cited as reasons for the “punishment”. 

And when recently the government came under scrutiny for the negative remarks in the OLAF annual reports, the authorities were quick to announce that they are investigating a “new” case. The country was forced to return EUR 660,000, they said, for a project in the Ministry of agriculture not related to IPARD, dating from 2015. The current government blamed the former one for the case and vice-versa. The public interest faded in the following days.  

All taken into account, the IPARD programme doesn’t seem to be under jeopardy in North Macedonia as it is the case with Albania. The EU Commission’s measure puts in danger the beginning of the IPARD III Program, with grants of a total value of 146 million euros.

In other investigations in Albania initiated for fraud on behalf of IPARD funds and for money laundry, there are indirect clues and claims for an influence in obtaining grants from ARDA, however, none of the investigations has exposed agency officials.

Through the tapings of Danish authorities which were following a group of Albanians involved in cocaine trafficking, a money laundry scheme was unveiled. Jetmir Kastrati, a 42-year-old man from Shkodra was wired and it resulted that he was the owner of “Rens 2015” company, a poultry farm opened in the northern city of Albania.

In other tapings on December 14, 2018, Kastrati told his collaborator how he is planning to get subvention from the state, however, to do that he had to share part of the “pie”.

“You cannot get anything if they do not take their part of the pie and there is nothing you can do about it. I only give them 50 and I take 150-200 [million] myself,” Kastrati said in judicial documents.

Even though the case exposed the corruption line in agriculture, the transcript filled with reticence and interventions did not identify any person or authority who would help Kastrati. Meanwhile, a former state official, Viola Sterjo, is accused of fraud and obtaining financial amounts of money in exchange for grants from the IPARD scheme.

State agencies: Internal challenges and problems

In North Macedonia, the directors of the Agency for the Agency for the Financial Support of Agriculture and Rural Development admitted that the wages of the employees are low and some of them decided to rather work as independent consultants and benefit 10-20% of the income of the winning projects.

North Macedonia is negotiating with Brussels for the IPARD III programme, so some of the money from IPA Programmes are used for the increase of I{A staff’s salaries to motivate them to remain in the Agency.

“North Macedonia has a low level of absorbing IPARD funds, considering that the State Budget allocated a considerable amount of money to support agribusinesses, around EUR 150 million, which is ten times higher than the EU funds,” elaborated expert Ilir Pilku who has worked with cross-border projects.

“The funds for the support of livestock farming are not spent because many stalls are illegal constructions. EU funds are not in favour of illegal constructions,” stated Nikica Bachovski Director of the Agency for the Agency for the Financial Support of Agriculture and Rural Development.

In Albania, ARDA has supported 20 agro-points which are spreading information across the whole country and PM Edi Rama has been profuse every time new vacancies have been asked from the IPARD structure within the agency.

Amfora Media analysed all reports of Albania’s Supreme State Audit Institution (ALSAI) in the last ten years at ARDA. The agency saw its staff increase twice for IPARD in 2019-2020 taking the overall number of employees in this dedicated structure to 34.

“The improvement of human capacities within ARDA, to increase the process of reviewing and judging applications in time, requires a more professional expertise, especially of the recently employed officials,” suggested expert Ilir Pilku.

Today, ARDA has 239 employees, 74 of whom are dedicated to the IPARD Programme. Fewer employees are in the sector which inspects investments. The “Sector of IPARD investment monitoring” has one chief and 4 specialists, who have to monitor 540 businesses that have benefited from grants.

The Supreme State Audit Institution found that in at least three cases internal procurement processes of ARDA related to the IPARD Programme did not meet the technical specifications and the offers were without a date, casting doubts, according to ALSAI, for factiousness. Furthermore, the employees resulted to lack training in risk assessment and management.

The agricultural agency in Albania “hid files”

IPARD II data for North Macedonia showed that out of 1,726 rejected applications in 8 public calls from 2017-2022, there were 34 complaints. The situation is quite different in Albania. According to ARDA for the same period of the project implementation, 616 applicants were disqualified and 280 filed complaints.

According to ARDA, there were 1,189 complaints for the programme, 540 of which were related to grant contracts and 33 applicants withdrew their complaints.

The publication of this article was interrupted for months considering that from April 13 to July 11, Amfora Media requested ARDA through the Law on the Right to Information to make available the files of complaints from applicants, internal audits, and legal proceedings, for the program that uses EU’s and State Budget’s money.

The agency categorically refused, quoting the agreement signed between the government and the EU “on the protection of personal data”, without being able to argue the damage caused to the Albanian State or the EU from the publication of such information.

The Information and Data Protection Commissioner, the institution which guarantees the implementation of the law on information, called on June 21, 2023, at a hearing session with the team of journalists and ARDA representatives, however even though legal deadlines were surpassed, the Commissioner did not take any decision on the case. 

The team of journalists has started completing the documentation to refer the case to the Administrative Court of First Instance in Tirana, to receive the public documents.

“Audit from local state bodies on the management of these funds has been almost inexistent,” commented Prof. Dr. Ndoc Fasllia.

According to ASLAI reports, it results that the sector for scheme management in 2019 performed 3 “Ex-post” reinspections for the IPARD I Programme and only one “Ex-post” control for 2020, for IPARD II Programme which had 540 beneficiaries.

Whereas in North Macedonia a special institution has been established for the audit and monitoring of EU funds, the “Audit Authority for the Audit of the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance”.

Its head, Adem Curri, declared that the risk of corruption is always present. “Nevertheless, a system has been established within and outside the Agency so every corruption opportunity is reduced to the minimum,” he stated to Amfora Media.

In Albania, even though Romeo Nazarko did not get a solution from the Agency after his complaint, he continues dreaming and has planted part of his walnut trees in the southeast of the country, Erseka. Meanwhile, in the north, in Mirdita, Preng Doda and his family continue wine production with old devices, as IPARD did not create a financing opportunity for their needs.

“This article was developed with the support of Journalismfund Europe”. The views and opinions expressed on the video are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the “Journalismfund Europe”.

Journalists:  Aida Ciro, Aleksandar Dimitrievski and Geri Emiri. This article was published in Albania by the ©Amfora.al and in North Macedonia by the ©“360 Stepeni”. Read this article also in Albanian, by clicking here.

The post The “Exclusive IPARD Club”: Who “farms” the EU funds in Albania and North Macedonia?! first appeared on Amfora.

The creative and graphic videos are focused on informing young people about history and cultural heritage, bringing in about 1 minute information about important events and characters in the history of Albania.

The first season focused on the city of Durrës, from the moment of its foundation to the medieval period, bringing testimonies, facts and documents, some of which were published for the first time in the media.

Amfora published 20 video-series of the cycle “Culture in 1 Minute”, in which 13 experts from different fields were included with their testimonies, which are: Rudenc Ruka, Dorian Hatibi, Ina Ajazi, Bledar Bica, Brikena Shkodra- Rrugia, Jani Kocillari, Enton Bido, Edmond Buharja, Ivo Moja, Erisilda Shpata, Dom Martin Thompson, Kseanela Sotirofski and Samet Vata.

The executive director and author of the cycle “Culture in 1 Minute” is the head of Amfora Media, Geri Emiri. The information was selected by the researcher of the history of Durrës, Dorian Hatibi.

The shooting and post-production was carried out by Arlind Veshti (avmedia), with the assistance of Xheni Shtemari and Livia Kreko, and Klaudio Hyseni, who distributed the video productions on Amfora Media channels.

“Culture in 1 Minute” is an Amfora innovation, which began to be published in 2021 with the support of the “Media for All” Program, funded by the United Kingdom government and carried out by the partnership led by the British Council, together with Thomson Foundation, Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) and INTRAC.

Amfora continued with the second season of the cycle “Culture in 1 Minute” and for more you can follow the new series. If you like our videos and work, you can support us to create new video series and contribute to independent journalism through your donation.

The post Video-documentary “Culture in 1 Minute” – First season first appeared on Amfora.