Albanian authorities have arrested the administrator of an online news portal on charges of fraud and extortion after he allegedly demanded tens of thousands of euros in exchange for halting defamatory publications, prosecutors said Thursday.

The Tirana Prosecutor’s Office said the arrest followed an investigation under criminal proceeding No. 627 of 2026 into alleged offenses of “fraud” and “extortion through threats or violence for the purpose of obtaining property,” as provided by Articles 109/b and 143/3 of the Penal Code.

The suspect, identified by initials Eldi Laze, is the administrator of the portal Priza.al.

The investigation was launched after a complaint filed on Jan. 23, 2026, by a citizen identified as K.Sh., who alleged that the portal had published defamatory and threatening articles about him. According to prosecutors, in 2024 the portal reported that K.Sh. was involved in laundering money for associates, including another individual identified as B.K.

Prosecutors allege that after being contacted by the complainant, E.L. said he had “nothing personal” against him but demanded 40,000 euros to stop publishing articles about him on the portal and across his network.

Authorities say a similar demand was made days ago, when E.L., through a relative, sought a meeting with K.Sh. and allegedly requested 20,000 euros, warning that defamatory articles would continue if the payment was not made. After the complainant refused to pay, an article was published containing the content E.L. had allegedly threatened to release.

Prosecutors said there are suspicions that the suspect attempted to obtain 20,000 euros through deception and abuse of trust by presenting unverified information as fact and threatening continued defamation if the payment was not made.

Following the use of special investigative methods in cooperation with the State Police’s General Directorate, authorities arrested E.L. in flagrante on Feb. 12, 2026, while he was allegedly receiving 5,000 euros.

The investigation is ongoing.