Albania’s Special Prosecution against Corruption (SPAK) is investigating the financing of a Democratic Party assembly held more than five years ago by former Prime Minister Sali Berisha and his supporters.

Belind Këlliçi, currently a lawmaker aligned with Berisha, was questioned for more than an hour on Monday by SPAK prosecutors. At the time of the December 11, 2021 assembly, Këlliçi served as head of the organizing committee. Speaking briefly after leaving the Special Prosecution, he declined to provide details to reporters, saying only that he had been summoned over what he described as a “peripheral issue” by prosecutor Arben Kraja.

According to the local media, the investigation focuses on expenses related to the high-profile assembly held at the Air Albania Stadium in Tirana. The probe is reportedly part of a broader asset investigation involving Berisha and his family, linked to the privatization case of the former Partizani sports complex.

Berisha and his son-in-law, Jamarbër Malltezi, are currently on trial, charged with corruption and money laundering in connection with that case.

Investigators questioned Këlliçi about who financed the assembly, who covered organizational costs, whether expenses complied with legal requirements and whether they were properly declared under Albanian law, Report TV reported.

The December 2021 assembly marked the culmination of Berisha’s internal challenge against then–Democratic Party leader Lulzim Basha, who had expelled Berisha from the party’s parliamentary group after the United States designated him “non grata” for alleged corruption and undermining democracy.

Berisha has never publicly disclosed the costs of the assembly or its sources of funding. Media reports estimate the expenses ran into hundreds of millions of leks, including venue rental, staging, large video screens, advertising, party-branded materials, satellite television time and logistics.

Report TV previously reported that the company managing the Air Albania Stadium received about 1 million leks (more than 10,000 euros) for renting the venue for the event. The assembly followed months of rallies held by Berisha across the country, for which no expenses were officially reported.

It remains unclear whether other organizers of the December 2021 assembly will be summoned by SPAK. Meanwhile, a separate court hearing in the corruption and money laundering trial against Berisha and Malltezi took place Monday, during which Berisha’s lawyers requested that Prime Minister Edi Rama be called as a witness.