About 132,000 euros in bribes to favor an Italian company in a tender, the former cabinet director at OSHEE Albana Ferraj is arrested after 2 years, she created a fictitious company in 2016

After two years on the run, the Tirana police arrested the former senior official of the Electricity Distribution Operator (OSHEE), Albana Ferraj, accused of accepting bribes in order to favor an Italian company for a tender in 2016. The 48-year-old was Arrest warrant issued by the Special Court for Corruption and Organized Crime (GJKKO) since October 18, 2020 for the criminal offenses "Passive corruption of persons exercising public functions" and "Cleaning of the proceeds of a criminal offense or criminal activity". Based on the investigations of the Special Prosecutor's Office for Corruption and Organized Crime, the former director of the Commercial and Cabinet Division at OSHEE has received around 132 thousand euros in bribes from the Italian consulting company "Com Metodi" SPA in order to "reward" with a tender worth 138,500,000 ALL (1.

The announcement of the State Police about the arrest of Albana Ferraj

"Services of Police Station No. 2. they caught the AF citizen, 48 years old, resident in Tirana, declared wanted after the Special Prosecutor's Office Against Corruption and Organized Crime assigned her the security measure "Arrest in prison", for the criminal offenses "Passive corruption of persons practicing public functions" and "Cleaning of the proceeds of a criminal offense or criminal activity". The 48-year-old is suspected of having received the sum of 131,000 euros as a bribe, to favor an Italian company, for a tender held in 2016," the announcement of the State Police states.

2 years ago, 3 members of the KVO were arrested in MIE for a 1.1 million euro tender  

In October 2020, the Special Prosecutor's Office for Corruption and Organized Crime revealed that Albana Ferraj, in 2016 the director of the OSHEE Cabinet, had created a fictitious private company in Albania by receiving a bribe worth 131,880 euros from the Italian business legal consultancy company "COM METODI", founded in Milan in 1983. The 48-year-old is accused by SPAK of abusing her duty to favor the Italian company to offer a tender with a limited fund of 138,500,000 ALL (1.1 million euros). This story also includes 3 members of the Bid Evaluation Commission at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, Elis Bushati, Athinta Papa and Irma Dërguti. They are accused that with the actions and omissions carried out for the "Service-Consultancy" procurement procedure, for the conclusion of the contract with the object "Technical assistance for the separation of the activity of distribution of electricity from the supply of electricity together with the improvement of the quality of customer service of OSHEE sh.a". At the end of the investigations, GJKKO approved the request of the prosecutors of the case to execute the "prison arrest" measures for Albana Ferraj and Elis Bushati as well as "house arrest" for Irma Dërguti and Athinta Papa.

OSHEE contracted "Com Metodi" for reforming energy distribution

OSHEE Elektrike contracted the Italian company, "Com Metodi" Spa for consultancy in the process of reforming and separating the activity of electricity distribution from that of supply, defined in the 2015 law "On the electricity sector". As part of the same contract, the Italian company also provided consultancy to improve the quality of OSHEE's customer service. SPAK's investigations raised questions about these procedures as well as accusations of corruption in the selection of the Italian consulting company. "Ferraj hid the origin of the monetary amount he benefited from, even though he knew that this action constituted a criminal offense," says the SPAK request.