Albania’s Former President Ilir Meta Arrested for Alleged Corruption and Money Laundering
In a dramatic turn of events, Albania’s former President Ilir Meta, a vocal critic of Prime Minister Edi Rama, was taken into custody on Monday in Tirana on charges of corruption and money laundering. According to the special prosecutor’s office, the arrest was made while Meta was returning from a visit to Kosovo. The development has sent shockwaves through the country’s politics, with Meta’s party, the Freedom Party, condemning the arrest as a “criminal kidnapping.”
The 55-year-old centre-left politician is accused of involvement in several crimes, including “passive bribery of a senior official,” “money laundering,” and “false declaration of assets.” The charges are linked to his roles as Minister of Economy between 2010 and 2011, as well as more recent activities. Meta’s ex-wife, Monika Kryemadhi, a current member of parliament for the Freedom Party, has also been implicated but remains free, pending regular appearances before the judicial police.
Public statements from Kryemadhi have dismissed the allegations as “political,” while photographs from the scene published in Albanian media show police escorting Meta from his car to a police van. The same van was seen transporting him to jail, with an AFP photographer present to capture his departure.
Under Albania’s penal code, the charges carry a potential sentence of up to 12 years in prison if proven true. The prosecution has acknowledged that international cooperation from countries such as the United States, Austria, Italy, San Marino, and Cyprus has assisted the investigation into “other persons suspected of being involved in this illegal criminal activity.”
Meta’s arrest has sparked heated debate within Albania’s opposition, with leaders expressing solidarity and decrying the move as a ploy by Rama to consolidate power. Tedi Blushi, the secretary-general of Meta’s Freedom Party, has called the arrest a “criminal kidnapping.” Former Prime Minister and President Sali Berisha, current leader of the opposition Democratic Party, branded Meta’s persecution as “political.” Berisha himself faces an ongoing corruption investigation and is currently under house arrest.
Meta, an ally-turned-critic of Rama’s regime, has repeatedly accused the Prime Minister of running a “kleptocratic regime” that amasses all the country’s powers in Rama’s hands. Throughout his career, Meta has served various high-profile positions, from a deputy in 1992 to eventual presidency in 2017, after stints as Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Economy, and Speaker of Parliament.
The arrest has significantly raised the stakes in Albania’s complex and ongoing struggle for political dominance.
