Behgjet Pacolli’s company, Mabco, has formally accused the Albanian government in an arbitration proceeding of seeking to terminate its concession for Vlora International Airport and transfer the project to Israeli businessman Ron Yeffet.

The allegation is contained in a legal filing submitted by Mabco to an arbitration court in London, where the company is seeking interim measures to prevent the Albanian government from terminating the concession agreement.

It remains unclear what evidence Mabco has provided to support its claim that the concession is being terminated in order to hand the airport project to Yeffet. The allegation was confirmed to Kapitali by two confidential sources within Albania’s State Attorney’s Office and the Ministry of Infrastructure, who said they had reviewed the document.

According to the same sources, Mabco’s lawyers told the arbitration court that Yeffet is a businessman with close ties to the Albanian government.

Mabco has retained the prominent U.S. law firm Patton Boggs to represent it in the dispute with the Albanian government. Lawyers from the firm traveled to Tirana in recent days and took part in a joint meeting involving Mabco, VIA and 2A Group, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Infrastructure.

The meeting marked the parties’ first attempt at resolving the dispute after the Albanian government announced that it had initiated proceedings to terminate the concession agreement.

So far, neither Mabco, VIA nor 2A Group has launched a substantive arbitration case seeking financial compensation from Albania.

Instead, VIA and Mabco have currently initiated proceedings in London seeking interim protective measures that would require the Albanian government to halt the process of terminating the airport concession.

The dispute places the future of the Vlora airport project at the center of a growing legal confrontation between the Albanian government and the companies involved in the concession.

The allegations made by Mabco remain claims presented in arbitration proceedings and have not been independently established.