Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08TIRANA412
2008-06-02 10:26:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Tirana
Cable title:  

WEAK SENTENCES IN HIGH PROFILE ALBANIAN CORRUPTION TRIAL

Tags:  KCRM PREL PGOV AL 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO8630
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHTI #0412/01 1541026
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 021026Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY TIRANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7134
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TIRANA 000412 

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR EUR/SCE
DEPT OF JUSTICE FOR ICITAP, OPDAT

E.O. 12958:N/A
TAGS: KCRM PREL PGOV AL
SUBJECT: WEAK SENTENCES IN HIGH PROFILE ALBANIAN CORRUPTION TRIAL

REF: May 5, 2008 Tirana DAR

-------
Summary
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TIRANA 000412

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR EUR/SCE
DEPT OF JUSTICE FOR ICITAP, OPDAT

E.O. 12958:N/A
TAGS: KCRM PREL PGOV AL
SUBJECT: WEAK SENTENCES IN HIGH PROFILE ALBANIAN CORRUPTION TRIAL

REF: May 5, 2008 Tirana DAR

--------------
Summary
--------------


1. (SBU) Albanian justice is off to a slow start in fighting the
country's endemic corruption. On May 19, the Tirana District Court
sentenced Nikolin Jaka, former Deputy Minister of Transportation, to
19 months in prison and Ilirjan Berzani, the former General Director
of Roads, to three years in prison following their convictions in a
high-profile corruption scheme dating from July 2007. Both Jaka and
Berzani were imprisoned after their arrests in September 2007.
Three other government officials and two businessmen were also found
guilty and sentenced to similar prison terms. This prosecution case
represents the first criminal conviction of a senior politically
appointed government official since Prime Minister Sali Berisha
assumed power in 2005 after campaigning on an anti-corruption
platform. Although the arrests were trumpeted as a victory in the
fight against corruption, the lenient sentences handed down raise
doubts whether the punishment fits the crime. In the eyes of
average Albanians, this case reinforces the perception that crime in
Albania actually does pay.

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Corruption Scheme Gone Wrong
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2. (U) On September 18, 2007, following a two-month investigation
spearheaded by the Albanian State Police, law enforcement
authorities arrested the Deputy Minister of Transportation, Nikolin
Jaka, the General Director of Roads, Ilirjan Berzani, three other
senior officials from the Department of Roads and two businessmen on
charges of being part of an organized corruption scheme that awarded
road tenders to pre-assigned companies in exchange for bribes. The
police investigation revealed that in July 2007, Road Director
Berzani met at the premises of the Triss Construction Company with a
number of construction businessmen to reach an agreement over the
allocation of upcoming road tenders. Berzani and the companies
agreed that companies would bid and win certain tenders in return
for the remaining companies winning future tenders. By eliminating
competition, high bids would not be undercut and the overall amounts
awarded would be greater, thus ensuring more money for the companies
and bigger bribes for the officials.



3. (U) To put the corruption scheme in context, the Albanian
Department of Roads manages a budget of approximately USD 730
million annually, which equates to nearly 50 percent of the total
funds available for investment by the GOA. Prosecutors suspected
that in return for awarding a single tender, a payment of USD
150,000 was made to Berzani. Despite the initial agreement
regarding the first two tenders, several companies backed out and
entered the competition process. Following a tip-off by one of the
businessmen involved, the police began an investigation which
included wiretaps on several members of the group. The wiretap
evidence documented attempts by Deputy Minister Jaka and Director
Berzani to urge several companies to stay out of the competition on
the agreed tenders in order to ensure that the pre-assigned
companies would win.


4. (U) In September 2007, the audit office within the Ministry of
Transportation discovered many irregularities in the tenders and
ordered the tender process halted until an audit was complete.
Fearing that the officials, whose scheme was not uncovered by their
own ministry auditors, would flee the country, prosecutors obtained
arrest warrants for the officials.


5. (U) Although initial reports by the police indicated that the
evidence was sufficient to prove charges of corruption, the
investigation did not succeed in bringing serious charges that would
ensure a punishment that was commensurate with the gravity of the
criminal offense originally made. Jaka was initially arrested for a
crime committed during the exercise of his official office, but was
only charged with exercising unlawful influence on public officials,
a criminal offense generally applicable to regular citizens rather
than state officials. The latter charge carries a maximum penalty
of four years rather than the eight-year term applicable to the
former. According to prosecutors, although Jaka pressured Berzani
and others to obtain bribes relating to the tender of road
contracts, Jaka was not acting in the exercise of his official
duties, a necessary element for proving the crime of passive
corruption. The prosecutors also claimed they lacked the evidence
necessary to charge the officials for being part of a "structured
criminal group," which would have added a five-year sentence to the
terms of each of the defendants found guilty.


6. (U) Upon the conclusion of the trial, Jaka only received a
19-month sentence and a fine of USD 15,000. He was released on May

TIRANA 00000412 002 OF 002


30, based on time already served. (Time served under pre-trial
detention counts as 1.5 days for each day served.) The court also
prohibited Jaka from exercising any public functions for a period of
three years. Berzani received the longest sentence; three years in
prison and a fine of USD 30,000 with a prohibition from exercising
public functions for five years. With the exception of the two
indicted businessmen, the leaders of the other companies who took
part in the illegal deal-making were never charged or sanctioned for
their involvement in the scheme. It is unclear whether the
prosecutors will appeal the sentences.

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But In Albania, It Is Always About Politics
--------------


7. (U) The arrests came at a time when Prime Minister Berisha was
engaged in a battle to remove former Prosecutor General Sollaku from
office. Most of the officials arrested in this case were members
of the Christian Democratic Party (PDK),a junior coalition partner
in the Government coalition which had often publicly disagreed with
the Prime Minister. While many Albanians welcomed the arrests,
others criticized the Government for undertaking selected attacks
aimed at exerting pressure on unruly coalition partners rather than
actually fighting corruption. Caught in a difficult political
position, the head of the PDK, Health Minister Nard Ndoka, failed to
distance his party from the arrested officials. Ndoka publicly
charged that the case was politically motivated and that the
officials were unfairly targeted.

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Comment
--------------


8. (SBU) The detention and sentencing of a former Deputy Minister
is a positive development in a country where corrupt senior
officials have consistently escaped criminal punishment. (The
conviction of the Ministry of Labor Secretary General reported Ref
differed as a Secretary General is not technically a political
appointee or member of government. That sentence, however, was a
more credible one.) The lenient sentences handed down in this case
reinforce the public perception that the Government is not serious
in its fight against public corruption. This perception was noted
in a recent opinion piece in a leading Albanian daily newspaper:
"At a time when American taxpayers keep pouring money to help
Albania, [this trial] showed again that theft is a worthwhile
activity for our officials. It is worth doing a bit of time in
prison in exchange for ensuring the wealth of your descendants for
up to three generations." While such statements do not take into
consideration the technical aspects of the case, this sentiment does
reflect a commonly held opinion of many citizens. The lenient
sentences have reinforced the perception that political connections
and money still protect officials from the fair application of the
law. The great fanfare of the arrests followed by the letdown of
the reduced sentences highlights the continuing communication
problems between police and prosecutors and the failure of the
judicial system to effectively prosecute senior officials. The
handling of evidence presented in the case, which consisted mainly
of intercepted phone calls between the defendants, also reveals the
need for additional training for prosecutors and judicial police
officers.

WITHERS