Arben Ahmetaj

This record appears in more than one research record. The main text above comes from one; the other versions are kept here unedited.

Biography

• Former Albanian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy. Named by SPAK in the incinerator affair. SPAK requested his arrest in July 2023 and a parliamentary immunity vote was requested; he left Albania before it took place according to Transparency International. He denies the charges and calls the case political. He has been reported as internationally wanted since July 2023.From the research record
• Full record inand(id arben-ahmetaj); this entry covers the cabinet and legal-status angle only.From the research record
• Arben Ahmetaj is a former Deputy Prime Minister. SPAK asked the Assembly on 10 July 2023 to lift his immunity for arrest, over the incinerator affair (see. The Assembly approved on 14 July 2023 with 117 votes. He left Albania before the arrest, was declared wanted, and is being tried in absentia. A separate SPAK case concerns the BUKA bread-factory privatisation, with a hearing reported on 11 Feb 2026. Party membership could not be confirmed from fetched pages: one 2023 search summary calls him a Socialist deputy, but the fetched articles do not state a party.From the research record
• Subject of a SPAK request in 2023 to lift his immunity and authorise his arrest, which the Assembly approved on 14 July 2023 with 117 votes. Charged with money laundering (Article 287 Criminal Code), as reported in July 2023. He was reported to be outside Albania at the time. His party affiliation is not established in the sources read.From the research record
• Former Socialist deputy prime minister. In 2026 he published audio he says involves Ron Yeffet and the KAYO arrangements and confirmed in an interview the authenticity of recordings. His claims are his own and have not been confirmed by a court or prosecutor in the sources reviewed.From the research record

Legal status detail

• SPAK sought arrest in July 2023 (corruption, money laundering, concealment of assets). Declared internationally wanted by SPAK in late July 2023 with Interpol notification (TI CEPI page). Search summaries report SPAK sent him to trial in absentia for a second time (Shqiptarja headline; text not opened). No 2025 or 2026 status found in any source read. The Wikipedia article (undated fetch) also says he is currently declared internationally wanted by SPAK.From the research record
• SPAK notice of charges (Shqiptarja, 10 Jul 2023) for three offences: (1) refusal to declare, concealment or false declaration of assets (Art. 257/a), alone and in cooperation; (2) passive corruption of senior state officials (Art. 260), charged six times; (3) money laundering (Art. 287 para. 2), in cooperation. Criminal proceeding no. 277/1 of 2022. The Assembly approved SPAK's request for arrest with 117 votes in favour (Shqiptarja, 15 Jul 2023; votes against and abstentions not stated). Buka sh.a privatisation case (existing case-buka-privatization): SPAK alleges abuse of office causing about 7 billion lek damage; trial in absentia; Ministry of Justice filed an extradition request with Switzerland (Shteg, 17 Nov 2025). The article does not say where he is. No 2026 verdict found.From the research record
• BUKA privatisation: abuse of office, on trial in absentia at the Special Court (Balkanweb, 11 Feb 2026, fetched). Incinerator file: SPAK request for arrest (10 Jul 2023, signed by Altin Dumani; asked for closed-door procedure; fetched Top Channel); Assembly vote 14 Jul 2023 with 117 votes in favour (Shqiptarja headline, search summary); SPAK charges reported in summaries as hiding assets, passive corruption in six episodes and money laundering; Interpol and extradition request to Switzerland reported (shteg.org title). He is also effectively a fugitive: declared wanted late July 2023. The trial outcome on the incinerator file was not found.From the research record
• Charged as reported in 2023; later status not found in this run.From the research record
• No charge or court proceeding involving Ahmetaj found in the sources reviewed for this topic.From the research record

Response

• Denies the charges and calls them political revenge (TI CEPI page). Telegrafi: from abroad he accuses PM Rama of seeking to influence prosecutors and judges and of seeking his head to hide the truth about the Tirana incinerator (headline only, text not opened). Lobbying in US reported Feb 2024 (TI page).From the research record
• A2news search snippet reports him saying he is innocent and that US lawyers had found him not guilty (article not opened).From the research record
• Not found in fetched sources. A search summary reports defence lawyers saying he is in England; this claim is unverified.From the research record
• Ahmetaj reacted that his letters were in favour of the public interest and that the 2012 recordings were not relevant to lobbying (as quoted in Shqiptarja, 2023).From the research record
• Not applicable (speaker of allegations).From the research record