Prosecutors indict former Albanian prime minister on corruption charges

PRISTINA (Reuters) – Albania’s main opposition leader Sali Berisha said on Wednesday he has been formally charged with corruption over actions he took while prime minister, describing the charges as a political vendetta.

Prosecutors accused Berisha in October of using his influence as prime minister between 2005 and 2009 to pressure him to complete a privatization process in favor of others, including his daughter’s husband. Berisha denies any wrongdoing.

“Can you imagine, they say I have been corrupted by my son-in-law,” Berisha said as he left the prosecutor’s office in Tirana on Wednesday, where he said prosecutors had given him a 500-page indictment and also charged his son-in-law.

“This is the continuation of a political feud, the implementation of a political mafia order.”

Berisha, who was placed under house arrest in December, accuses current Prime Minister Edi Rama of orchestrating the persecution against him. Rama denies any involvement.

There was no official confirmation of the charges by the Public Prosecution Service and it was unclear when the trial would begin.

In 2021, the United States banned Berisha and his family from entering the country, alleging that he had engaged in “corrupt acts” as prime minister and had used his power for “his own benefit and to enrich his political allies and family members.” A similar ban was imposed on Berisha by Britain.

Berisha was president from 1992 to 1997, immediately after the fall of communism in Albania, and prime minister from 2005 to 2013. He is the leader of the largest opposition party, the Democratic Party.

(Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; Editing by Philippa Fletcher)