Këlliçi: Rama should come and answer for the connection with the businessman accused of fraud

2026-04-16 13:05:00, Aktualitet CNA

Këlliçi: Rama should come and answer for the connection with the

Democratic Party MP Belind Këlliçi, during his speech in the plenary session, accused Prime Minister Edi Rama of having "corrupt" ties with businessman Ron Yeffet. The latter, according to Këlliçi, is accused of defrauding an American businessman of $6.7 million.

The MP stated that the evidence that proves Rama's relationship with Yeffet is a trip by Prime Minister Rama to France, which according to him was not for an official agenda but "to celebrate the birthday of his friend's wife."

Among other things, he states that Rama's relationship with the businessman is a threat to national security and that the Prime Minister should appear in Parliament and answer the questions he asked two days ago.

"On Thursday, October 8, 2020, Rama did not travel to France for an official agenda. On that Thursday, Edi Rama, as always happens, is not present in the parliament. He had traveled to Paris to celebrate the birthday of his friend Ron Yeffet's wife. This, dear Albanians, is not simply a friendly trip, but it turns out that it will also be proof of the power of the accused of fraud, Ron Yeffet, to extort a full 7.6 million dollars from an American citizen, Mark Fajst. So, honorable citizens, this trip is evidence that directly connects and proves the corrupt connection between Ron Yeffet and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.

Today, the deceitful friend has the fate of the arms industry in Albania in his hands. With two nominal VKMs, Edi Rama has left in Yeffet's hands not only this industry, but also our fate in NATO. This is the reason why the urgent interpellation with Defense Minister Ermal Nufi was actually canceled today. Edi Rama continues to remain at the head of the government, even though not only his close friendship with Ron Yeffet has already been billed, a formal and informal public fact that every citizen in Tirana knows, every business circle in Tirana knows, but the gift of hundreds of millions of euros that was given to him with two personal VKMs by the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, has also been billed.

Today, in fact, Edi Rama should have been in this hall and answered the public questions that I have been asking him for three days when I denounced the conclusion of a contract between the SMX company and the RNI Trading company in New York, owned by citizen Ron Yeffet in January 2024. I once again ask the questions from this assembly hall addressed to the Prime Minister of Albania. Is Albania a NATO member country in the unspecified contract with SMX and the company of the fraudster Ron Yeffet? If Albania is this country, in which competitive legal procedure was Ron Yeffet's company selected to mediate for our country in a contract with a NATO member? Is the head of the Albanian government endangering national security and that of its alliance partners by leaving Albania's arms industry in the hands of someone accused of fraud? Is Albania endangering its NATO membership with these corrupt maneuvers after the integration process was blocked by the Belinda Balluku case? "In a normal country, dear friends, the shadow of doubt would be enough to demand full transparency about this mega scandal. In a serious country, the danger to NATO is enough to demand political responsibility and immediate explanations from the head of government and the minister of defense ," said Këlliçi. /CNA