“Today, we filed at SPAK criminal charges regarding the abuses with the AZHBR funds, IPARD funds, and other funds of national support,” declared Endri Shabani to the media.

“We are seeking from SPAK today to investigate the former Minister of Agriculture, the director of AZHBR as well as the decision-making chain, who are responsible for that decision that the EU took for the very first time against Albania, that of excluding the country from EU funds,” elaborated Shabani.

‘Nisma Thurje’ representatives sent to the Special Prosecution’s Office among others information that SPAK “had moved away from themselves a long time ago.” The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) had earlier submitted a report to the Special Prosecution’s Office (SPAK).

OLAF had earlier filed their charges in June 2020 and two years later SPAK declared it was incompetent to adjudicate it hence passing the file to Tirana’s Prosecution’s Office which informed Amfora Media that, “criminal charges remain at the early phase of investigation without a name of perpetrator registered in the charges.”

“Criminal charges no. 7471, of 2022 were registered for the criminal offenses ‘Falsification of documents’ and ‘Abuse of office’, stipulated in articles 186 and 248 of the Criminal Code,” previously informed the Tirana Prosecution’s Office.

In 2018, the Agriculture and Rural Development Agency (AZHBR) in Albania was assigned by the IPARD II Program, to distribute grants through a budget of 94.6 million euros, 71 million of which were a contribution of the European Commission and 23.6 million euros were the national contribution of the Albanian state.

The EU Office in Tirana earlier confirmed suspicions of corruption with its funds for Albanian agriculture on July 19. OLAF submitted the European Commission several findings which forced the Commission to suspend funds, until the final assessment report from OLAF’s investigation.

Former Minister of Agriculture, Frida Krifca, led the Agriculture and Rural Development Agency (AZHBR) from July 2017-September 2021 until she was appointed Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. EU’s investigation was focused on the period she led AHZBR, which coincided with the second phase of the program, in 2014-2020.

Amfora Media uncovered in a previous investigation how the IPARD program had turned into an “exclusive club” for big companies which had ties with politics and crime. Recently opened businesses as well as other ones without any experience in agriculture, were exposed in some cases, creating schemes where they profited as a family or committed fraud by changing investments’ destination.

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“When you attack the Agency for Agricultural and Rural Development, you should know that you are attacking the farmers, you are the agro-processors, you are attacking a union of people who are trying hard and are believed to have jointly injected, together with the Agency for Agricultural and Rural Development in the co-financing of over 220 million euros in the last four years”, stated Krifca.

The debates over the suspicions of corruption with EU funds earmarked for Albanian agriculture began after the publication in the media of a decision from the European Commission to temporarily suspend reimbursement of expenses done for the IPARD II Program.

Frida 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.

Minister Krifca called the program an undisputed success and called the opposition to not make the investigation initiated by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), an object of political consumption in the daily agenda. Discussions began after the confirmation of the news that the European Commission has informed the Albanian government to have taken preliminary measures for the EU funds earmarked for agriculture, based on an OLAF investigation over corruption accusations related to the implementation of the IPARD II program.

“As a preventive measure for the protection of the European Union’s financial interests, the European Commission has temporarily suspended the reimbursement to Albanian authorities for the expanses conducted in the framework of the IPARD II Program”, elaborated for Amfora Media, the EU Office in Tirana.

Despite this extreme measure from the European Commission to suspend the reimbursement of funds, the Ministry of Agriculture relativized the issue declaring that such occasions have occurred in most of the countries where such a program is implemented.

“This office immediately moves as soon as there is a denouncement from any citizen who presents reasonable doubts about irregularities, frauds, corruption, and if we would refer to OLAF’s 4-year report for 2016-2020, out of 27 European Union member states, only two had no irregularities”, Krifca said from Parliament’s podium.

Meanwhile, the opposition accused her and the Albanian government that they have abused agricultural funds, going up to the verbal confrontation, on the limits of physical confrontation between MPs from the opposition and the majority.

The IPARD program aims at providing financial support for agriculture and rural development through EU funds, 75%, and funds from the Albanian government, 25%.

The first phase of the IPARD II program was implemented in 2014-2020 and allocated Albania over 71 million euros, while the next phase of the IPARD III program is expected to increase the financial support to 146 million euros.

“OLAF’s investigation is ongoing. When OLAF is going to submit the final report, the European Commission will inform the Albanian authorities and based on the findings of the report, it will take any further necessary measures to protect the financial interest of the European Union”, the EU Office in Tirana had informed earlier.

The post Suspicions of corruption with EU funds, Minister of Agriculture hides behind farmers first appeared on Amfora.

“The European Commission has informed the Albanian government that they have taken preliminary measures based on preliminary information given by European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), following an investigation on corruption accusations related to the implementation of the IPARD II program”, elaborated for Amfora Media the EU Office in Tirana.

Amfora earlier inquired European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), which officially clarified that usually no comments are provided on their cases.

“This is in order to protect the confidentiality of any possible investigations and of possible ensuing judicial proceedings, as well as to ensure respect for personal data and procedural rights”, officially responded the OLAF office.

The EU Office in Tirana confirmed on Wednesday afternoon news about the suspension of funds earmarked for Albanian agriculture, after the initial interest of “Oligarkia.al” online media.

EU clarified that this measure was taken to prevent abuses of the grants given.

“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 IPARD program aims at providing financial support to agriculture and rural development through EU funds, 75%, and funds from the Albanian government, 25%.

The first phase of the IPARD II program was implemented between 2014-2022 and allocated to Albania over 71 million euros, while the second phase of the IPARD III program was expected to increase the financial support to 146 million euro.

The EU Delegation did not comment on OLAF’s findings and mentioned that they are related to the implementation of the IPARD II program, in 2014-2020.

“OLAF’s investigation is ongoing. When OLAF submits the final report, the EU Commission will inform the Albanian authorities and based on the findings of the report, it will take further necessary measures to protect the EU’s financial interests”, concluded the EU Office in Tirana in their reply.

The IPARD program in Albania is implemented through the Agriculture and Rural Development Agency, an institution of the Albanian government accredited for the administration of funds from the EU and other donors.

Suspicions of corruption are now seriously jeopardizing Albania’s further benefit from European Union funds for agriculture after this extreme measure taken from the European Commission.

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Autor: Geri Emiri | BIRN | Durrës

On January 11 this year, the hammering of a pneumatic drill rang out behind fences on Dyrrah Boulevard that runs through the Albanian coastal town of Durres, one of the oldest cities in Albania and known in ancient times as Dyrrah.

Workmen were preparing the foundations of a six-storey building to replace another that had been toppled by an earthquake in November 2019, drilling away at a wall that had survived underground for two millennia but would not survive the earthquake reconstruction work financed by the Albanian government.

“Clearly there are archaeological remains at three sides of the foundation, on the western, eastern and northern sides,” local archaeologist Brikena Shkodra told BIRN after viewing photos of the site taken by this reporter.

“At the western side there is an arch created by bricks and mortar while at its side there is a stretch of a wall,” Shkodra said.

The city of Durres dates to the 6th century BC. In 2004, not far from the construction site on Dyrrah Boulevard, archaeologists discovered a sculpture of Gaea, goddess of the Earth in Greek mythology. Experts fear the now-destroyed archaeological site on Dyrrah Boulevard may have been a religious object or an important public building, possibly even an imperial palace from the 6th Century AD.

While Albanian law requires that construction in such archeologically rich areas be monitored by professional archaeologists, BIRN has discovered that in this case no such monitoring was carried out. And it’s not the only one in a town that bore the brunt of the 6.4-magnitude quake in 2019.

Archaeologists not commissioned

The 2019 quake killed 51 people and left hundreds of families homeless. But it was not the first to strike Durres, which in its long history has been repeatedly destroyed by earthquakes and rebuilt over the ruins. Beneath the current city sit the remains and riches of ancient Greek, Roman and Ottoman-era buildings.

The law requires that redevelopment work be monitored by Albania’s Institute of Archaeology or by private, licenced archaeologists.

The apartment block at No 14, Dyrrah Boulevard, was built in the 1980s as communal housing but was classified as uninhabitable following the 2019 earthquake and torn down.

In June last year, the Institute of Archaeology wrote to the Ministry of Culture and the Municipality of Durres to highlight the archaeological potential of the site, citing previous studies that had found traces of two ancient buildings in the area, according to information obtained via a Freedom of Information request.

The Institute asked for permission to conduct a dig, but received no reply.

“There was plenty of time to carry out the archaeological research,” said Shkodra, who is employed at the Institute of Archaeology. “The construction work didn’t start until January 2021, so there were months available for the research.”

Double standards

The Albanian Development Fund, a state agency, is expected to commence construction work on 780 family homes and 269 apartment blocks, all destroyed by the earthquake. The Fund is also the contracting authority in the reconstruction of 30 schools and other educational objects. One of these is the ‘Shaqe Mazreku’ elementary school in the center of Durres. Back in 2004, during the construction of a nearby apartment block, archaeological remains were uncovered, including elements of monumental buildings, a Byzantine tower and fragments of a black and white mosaic. Albania Prime Minister Edi Rama inspected the building work on the school on July 11, 2020. Video showed that the construction had reached the second floor, yet an agreement between the Albanian Development Fund and the Institute of Archaeology for the monitoring of the site was signed only a few days later. The situation is a little different on reconstruction projects financed through European Union grants and implemented by the United Nations Development Program, UNDP. BIRN looked at eight such projects, all educational objects, and found that in every case the UNDP had contracted archaeologists to investigate the sites and monitor the work. In a letter dated October 29, 2020, Albania’s National Council for Cultural Material Heritage instructed the Albanian Development Fund – a state agency that finances part of the earthquake reconstruction work – to contract the Institute of Archaeology and the National Institute for Cultural Heritage, NICH, to carry out the monitoring.

In a letter dated October 29, 2020, Albania’s National Council for Cultural Material Heritage instructed the Albanian Development Fund – a state agency that finances part of the earthquake reconstruction work – to contract the Institute of Archaeology and the National Institute for Cultural Heritage, NICH, to carry out the monitoring.

Four days later, the municipality issued the construction permit, but the work got underway without any archaeological monitoring, despite the area being classified a Class A archaeological zone.

The Institute of Archaeology told BIRN that it had not been contracted by the Fund, as is required by law. The NICH did not explain why it failed to stop the construction work.

“Currently there is no contract signed and so our specialists cannot carry out observation, which can be done only based on a contract,” the NICH said in a written response to BIRN.

The Inspectorate for the Protection of Territory in Durres Municipality said it was unable to intervene because the construction had valid permits.

It also confirmed that the National Council for Cultural Material Heritage had instructed the Fund to engage the Institute of Archaeology in the archaeological monitoring, but did not explain why no contract was signed.

For its part, the Albanian Development Fund said the construction did not require any archaeological permission since “the new building will be within the footprint of the previous and will go no deeper than its foundations.”

‘Very important monument’ destroyed

At dusk on January 10, a truck filled with earth dug from the site of No 14 Dyrrah Boulevard pulled out of the construction site and drove to another site, just behind the police station.

A security guard, cigarette between his lips, closed the gate and walked over what appeared to be Roman bricks.

“The size of the bricks and their thickness are very similar with those found at a 14th century monument known as the Roman Public Baths,” said Shkodra on viewing video made by this reporter.

As the Albanian Development Fund noted, the project for the reconstruction of No 14 stated that the new building would have foundations of the same volume and depth as the previous building. But the diggers must have gone deeper given that the archaeological remains were destroyed.

“The monument had been damaged also by the previous apartment block but not much, because its foundations didn’t go very deep,” Shkodra said.

“However, now that the digging had gone deeper, we have a clear picture of the arcades, which apparently go another metre below the current level,” she told BIRN.

Both Shkodra and fellow Mikel Nushi, an architect, said that, while the previous building had plinth foundations, meaning the digging was limited only to the area of the plinth and not under the whole building, the new construction had plate foundations.

“The whole area under the building is filled with a thick concrete plate and that is very different from the previous one,” Nushi said.

The damage is immeasurable.

“I can absolutely confirm that these are structural remains of a very important monument, possibly a public building with bricks and mortar, such was characteristic of fourth to fifth century AD constructions,” Shkodra said.

The investor, she said, “could hardly have failed to see that the digging had uncovered monumental structures. Even non-archaeologists can see that. It is absolutely irresponsible.”

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Photo on head: After the excavation of the archeological structures, the workers of the construction company broke their last traces with pickaxes and batons. Photo by Geri Emiri

NOTE: This article was published by the author on May 7, 2021 in the media Reporter.al and is being republished here in accordance with the “new publishing policies” of BIRN Albania. This article was also published by Balkan Insight on May 13, 2021.

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