From Melia to Iberostar/ How the world's biggest hotel brands fell into the drug money trap

2026-06-17 11:19:01, Aktualitet CNA

From Melia to Iberostar/ How the world's biggest hotel brands fell into the

A day earlier, the Special Prosecution Office announced the seizure of several companies and their assets suspected of stemming from trafficking money. Among the seized assets was a hotel affiliated with the large international chain Melia.

At the request of the Special Prosecution Office, the Special Court of First Instance for Corruption and Organized Crime, with decision no. 438 dated 15.6.2026, has imposed the asset security measure "Preventive Seizure", provided for by article 274 of the Criminal Procedure Code in relation to 491 movable and immovable assets, directly or indirectly owned by the persons under investigation, which includes the "Hotel Elisa Tirana", affiliated by Melia "Hotel Structure 2, 4, 5, 8 and 10 floors on 3 underground floors at the address on Dibra Street" Tirana, SPAK officially announced.

From Melia to Iberostar/ How the world's biggest hotel brands fell into the

This is the Elisa hotel on Dibra Street, which bears the name of the giant Melia. This hotel is owned by a group suspected of drug trafficking, according to SPAK led by Shpëtim Bibaj. This group has managed to sign an agreement with the Spanish giant Melia to affiliate their hotel with this chain.

But Melia is not the only international hotel chain that has fallen into the trap of Albanian cartels. Iberostar is another.

From Melia to Iberostar/ How the world's biggest hotel brands fell into the

This in the photo above is the Iberostar hotel that would be built in Jalë by the company Seaview Development shpk. This company is owned by Isa Ali, for whom the Court issued an arrest warrant a day ago on charges of organized criminal group and narcotics trafficking.

The construction permit for this hotel was approved only a month and a half ago, precisely on April 29 of this year, and the hotel has not yet begun construction. But SPAK decided to seize its construction company, Seaview Development shpk, and several other companies owned by Mr. Aliu.

From Melia to Iberostar/ How the world's biggest hotel brands fell into the

Building permit for Iberostar hotel

What is happening in Albania is a global precedent, at least on this scale. Global entertainment giants have managed to preserve their name by not entangling it with drug cartels even in the narco-states of Latin America.

But in Albania, they seem to be falling one after another into this trap, which indicates the extent of the spread of drug trafficking phenomena in the economy and the infection it is causing even to the healthy part of society./ Kapitali.al