Ownership as documented
Stela Gugallja, sole partner and administrator (SPAK account as reported). SPAK also names Mirel Mertiri as de facto owner (per Documents seen by AFP, per search summary).
Sole partner and administrator of Albtek Energy (SPAK, per Shqiptarja)
Evidence: Shqiptarja (search summary of SPAK account): Stela Gugallja is sole partner and administrator of Albtek Energy sh.p.k. Cross-ref toperson id.
De jure owner of Albtek Energy, per SPAK as summarised by Wikipedia
Evidence: Wikipedia: Mërtiri de facto owner, Gugallja de jure owner.
alleged de facto owner
Evidence: SPAK: Mertiri de facto owner of Albtek Energy (Wikipedia summary).
Conflicting records. The research disagrees; every version is shown and none has been chosen as correct.
- Ownership
- Stela Gugallja, sole partner and administrator (SPAK account as reported). SPAK also names Mirel Mertiri as de facto owner (per Documents seen by AFP, per search summary).From the research record · cites:
- Ekskluzive: si u hetua 4 vite me pare inceneratori i Elbasanit (Gugalla, Zoto, Mertiri) (opens in a new tab)Shqiptarja · undated · journalism · SQ
- Dosja e SPAK: Ahmetaj kontribuoi, Stela Gugalles, Klodian Zoton dhe Mirel Mertirit (opens in a new tab)Shqiptarja · undated · journalism · SQ
- SPAK: Mirel Mertiri de facto owner; Stela Gugallja de jure owner of the Elbasan incinerator (Wikipedia summary). Not publicly documented beyond that.From the research record · cites:
- Albanian incinerators scandal (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia · wiki · EN
- Former minister is sentenced to 5.8 years in prison for corruption with the incinerators, his second is found innocent (opens in a new tab)Top Channel · 5 Oct 2023 · journalism · EN
- Stela Gugallja, sole partner and administrator (SPAK account as reported). SPAK also names Mirel Mertiri as de facto owner (per Documents seen by AFP, per search summary).From the research record · cites:
- Source label
- OFFICIALLY_REPORTEDFrom the research record · cites:
- Ekskluzive: si u hetua 4 vite me pare inceneratori i Elbasanit (Gugalla, Zoto, Mertiri) (opens in a new tab)Shqiptarja · undated · journalism · SQ
- Dosja e SPAK: Ahmetaj kontribuoi, Stela Gugalles, Klodian Zoton dhe Mirel Mertirit (opens in a new tab)Shqiptarja · undated · journalism · SQ
- UNDER_INVESTIGATIONFrom the research record · cites:
- Albanian incinerators scandal (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia · wiki · EN
- Former minister is sentenced to 5.8 years in prison for corruption with the incinerators, his second is found innocent (opens in a new tab)Top Channel · 5 Oct 2023 · journalism · EN
- OFFICIALLY_REPORTEDFrom the research record · cites:
Description
[cross-ref:] Elbasan incinerator concessionaire. Additional reporting: SPAK says the concession was awarded through a negotiated procedure without prior public notice, breaching concession law; SPAK alleges Albtek and Integrated Technology Services billed nearly 3 million euro for works not done (search summary of Shqiptarja). SPAK names Stela Gugallja as sole partner and administrator of Albtek (SPAK account, per Shqiptarja). Courts ordered the case to trial; a first-instance ruling removed the company's legal personality and transferred shares to the state, appealed by SPAK and defence (per search summary); final verdict not found.
Other accounts in the research (1 field worded differently)
This record appears in more than one research record. The main text above comes from one; the other versions are kept here unedited.
- Description
- [cross-ref:] Elbasan incinerator concessionaire. Additional reporting: SPAK says the concession was awarded through a negotiated procedure without prior public notice, breaching concession law; SPAK alleges Albtek and Integrated Technology Services billed nearly 3 million euro for works not done (search summary of Shqiptarja). SPAK names Stela Gugallja as sole partner and administrator of Albtek (SPAK account, per Shqiptarja). Courts ordered the case to trial; a first-instance ruling removed the company's legal personality and transferred shares to the state, appealed by SPAK and defence (per search summary); final verdict not found.From the research record
- Concessionaire of the Elbasan waste incinerator. BOT concession signed Dec 2014; company incorporated July 2014 (per Wikipedia summary). Confiscated for the state in the Elbasan verdict (Top Channel).From the research record
Contracts and money
Figures recorded for the cases linked to this organisation. A figure here is not necessarily paid to or by this organisation; check payer and payee.
Final value of the Elbasan waste plant per SPAK-appointed expert report
€26,072,756.18
otherSource label: Officially reportedStated definition: Definition: expert's final-situation value of the plant as reported by Shqiptarja (29 Nov 2022). Not the original contract price (a search summary gives about 22 million for the contract; not confirmed on an opened page). Shqiptarja reports the contract estimate and final estimate were the same. Not additive with other figures.
Date: 10 Nov 2022 · Payer: not applicable (valuation) · Payee: not applicable (valuation)
- Ekskluzive: ekspertja e SPAK, inceneratori i Elbasanit kushtoi 22 mijë euro më shumë... (opens in a new tab)Shqiptarja · 29 Nov 2022 · journalism · SQ
Elbasan plant cost (AFP, 2026)
€26,000,000
otherSource label: Under investigationStated definition: Definition: plant cost as stated in AFP reporting ('cost €26mil'). Rounded; close to the SPAK expert's 26.07 million but a different source and not additive. Snippet only.
Date: 9 Oct 2026 · Payer: not applicable · Payee: not applicable
- Toxic dust, blackened lungs and ghost incinerators (Malay Mail / AFP; seen in search) (opens in a new tab)Malay Mail (AFP) · 9 Oct 2026 · journalism · EN
Treasury payments to the Elbasan concessionaire (no end date given)
€18,000,000
1,900,000,000 lek
paymentSource label: Officially reportedStated definition: Definition: 1.9 billion lekë (about 18 million euro) per Balkanweb, citing Treasury data. No end date in the article. Not additive with the 11 billion lekë combined figure, which is a different cut.
Date: Jun 2023 · Payer: Government of Albania (Treasury) · Payee: Elbasan concessionaire (not named in the text read)
- Inceneratorët 'dogjën' 103 mln euro deri në qershor 2023 (opens in a new tab)Balkanweb · 12 Jul 2023 · journalism · SQ
Lease of the seized Elbasan plant to a consortium (1 euro per day)
€1
otherSource label: Officially reportedStated definition: Definition: Wikipedia says a state agency (APSK, full name not verified) leased the seized plant to a consortium for 1 euro per day after SPAK's seizure in December 2021. This is a daily rate, not a total.
Date: Dec 2021 · Payer: State agency (APSK, per Wikipedia) · Payee: Consortium (not named in the text read)
- Albanian incinerators scandal (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia · wiki · EN
Government payments for Elbasan and Fier incinerators (per TI CEPI summary of Wikipedia/BIRN)
€70,200,000
Incomplete figurepaymentSource label: Under investigationStated definition: incomplete. Definition: amount the government paid for the Elbasan and Fier incinerators including VAT at 106 lek/euro, as summarised on the TI CEPI page. Not a Tirana figure. Both cases combined.
Date: Aug 2023 · Payer: Government of Albania · Payee: Concession companies
- Albania: Arben Ahmetaj, deputy PM involved in incinerators concession scandal (opens in a new tab)Transparency International CEPI · Aug 2023 · ngo · EN
Officials and people linked
Sole partner and administrator of Albtek Energy (SPAK, per Shqiptarja)
Evidence: Shqiptarja (search summary of SPAK account): Stela Gugallja is sole partner and administrator of Albtek Energy sh.p.k. Cross-ref toperson id.
De jure owner of Albtek Energy, per SPAK as summarised by Wikipedia
Evidence: Wikipedia: Mërtiri de facto owner, Gugallja de jure owner.
alleged de facto owner
Evidence: SPAK: Mertiri de facto owner of Albtek Energy (Wikipedia summary).
Investigations and cases
Sorted by reported money, then by linked people and their legal status. The money figure is the largest single reported figure, not a total.
From Dec 2014
Elbasan incinerator case
The Elbasan waste incinerator was concessioned in Dec 2014 to Albtek Energy under a BOT contract. Construction started March 2015 and the plant launched in April 2017. SPAK issued seizure and arrest…
Status: First-instance verdict 5 Oct 2023; later appellate and procedural status not confirmed
Elbasan incinerator: appellate and High Court status (2023-2026)
The Special Court of Appeal for Corruption and Organized Crime (GJKKO Appeal) issued decision nr. 43 (87-2024-321) on 8 November 2024 in the Elbasan case. Balkanweb reports that on 19 May 2026 the…
Status: Appeal decision nr. 43 (8 Nov 2024) upheld by the High Court per Balkanweb, 19 May 2026. Zoto, Mërtiri and Gugallja convicted in absentia (High Court report).…
Sources for this record
Every source the research cites for this record, grouped by its source label. 4 sources.
Source label: Officially reportedOfficially reported · 4 sources
- Publisher
- Shqiptarja
- Date
- undated
- Publisher
- Shqiptarja
- Date
- undated
- Publisher
- Wikipedia
- Date
- not recorded
- Publisher
- Top Channel
- Date
- 5 Oct 2023