Tirana Prosecution Office in cooperation with the Economic Crime Section of Tirana Police Directorate and the General Directorate of Customs and Taxes has sought the imposition of preventive precautionary measures on assets belonging to citizens E. A., M. T., K. B., D. B., E. B., V. A., E.B., as well as several commercial entities under their management. This action pertains to the criminal offense of “Laundering the proceeds of the criminal offence or criminal activity” as stipulated in Article 287, second paragraph of the Criminal Code. A preliminary assessment estimates these assets at 50 million euros.

Following the investigation, sufficient evidence indicates that citizens E. A., in complicity with K. B., E. B., and others, have committed "Laundering the proceeds of the criminal offence or criminal activity " as stipulated in Article 287, paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code. It is suspected their spouses are also involved in this scheme. E. A. has prior convictions in Belgium where he has served the sentence for being involved in criminal groups. Additionally, there is reasonable suspicion of E. A. engaging in " Smuggling of goods requiring license" under Article 173 of the Criminal Code.

In the course of his illicit activities, E. A. has established a number of commercial enterprises to mask his illegal actions under the guise of legitimate business activities. These companies, including those managed by K. B. and V. A., were set up as part of a sophisticated scheme to launder proceeds from criminal activities.

The investigation revealed several fictitious transactions: simultaneous vehicle sales and purchases followed by immediate legal cancellation and resale at inflated prices, obtaining unjustified loans from second-tier banks with unusual guarantees, creating fictitional companies with significant increases in capital, substantial loans extended without verifiable sources for their origins and establishing joint-stock companies with inflated but unverified share values between citizens E. A. and K. B., or K. B. and E. B., the purchase of hydroelectric power plants at considerable values, but with illegitimate sources of income, etc.

Therefore, based on Article 274 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the Prosecution demanded:

Imposition of the property security measure "Preventive sequestration" against 14 (fourteen) commercial companies:

Imposition of the property security measure "Preventive sequestration"on the assets of the company "F......." Ltd :

• Land property, total area of 820 m2, located in Vrinë Village;
• Building property, registration no. 00006769 dated 15.07.2021;
• Building property, total area of 2,300 m2;
• Property registration no. 00006769, dated 15.07.2021;
• Building property, no. 264/40ND1, total area of 276 m2;
• Land Property registration no. 00006769, dated 15.07.2021;
• Land property, total area of 4,900 m2; and
• Building property, registration no. 00006769 dated 15.07.2021

Imposition of the property security measure "Preventive sequestration" on the assets under the name of K. B., as follows:

• Unit property, purchased for 9,300,000 Lek;
• Unit property, purchased for 600,000 Euros;
• Shop property, with an area of 222 m2;
• Shop property with an area of 220.8 m2 and a veranda with an area of 285 m2;
• Apartment, with an area of 201.8 m2;
• Garage, with an area of 18.9 m2;
• Garage, with a total value of 25,000 Euros or 3,425,000 Lek (each 25,000 Euros); and
• A vehicle, "Mercedes Benz", valued at 117,000 Euros.

Imposition of the property security measure "Preventive sequestration" on the assets registered under the names of E. A. and M. N., as follows:

• Villa property, with a building area of 171.6 m2 and land area of 300.8 m2, valued at 370,000 euros;
• Land property, purchased for 370,000 euros;
• A Villa "Single A2", with a building area of 3342 m2 and plot area of 550 m2, purchased for 480,000 euros.

Imposition of the property security measure "Preventive sequestration" on their entities’ bank accounts at second-tier banks.