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'Harabel' and 'BYL-A', money laundering and corruption within the Veliaj family

2024-12-11 22:13:00, Denoncim CNA

'Harabel' and 'BYL-A', money laundering and corruption

Erion Veliaj and Ajola Xoxa

Erion's colleagues took care to make the next show, after great public pressure, which ended with a statement that we are investigating. Today, the Plug show will help Erion's colleagues with incriminating information, since the time of Mjaft.

On May 6 of this year, the Dutch journalist Vincent Van Gerven published an investigative article, which shows the implication of the wife of the mayor of Tirana Erion Veliaj, Ajola Xoxa in such schemes.

In the article titled: "How money is cleaned through art and waste management concessions", published in " The Albanian Mechanism ", the Dutch journalist unravels the threads of Ajola Xoxa's financing from the incinerator company of Sharra.

That's Xoxa

This is how the Dutch journalist describes Ajola Xoxa's platform

"Harabel" is a non-profit foundation that "focuses on the promotion of contemporary art" founded in 2018 by artist Driant Zeneli and "cultural promoter" Ajola Xoxa, a lawyer specializing in energy law, who also happens to be the wife of Mayor Veliaj. Shortly after its founding, Harabel launched a series of high-profile public art projects, featuring internationally renowned artists such as Anri Sala (also on Harabel's board), Adrian Paci and Xhafa. With Tirana's contemporary art scene struggling both in terms of funding and space, and considering that neither Zeneli, then an immigrant, nor Xoxa were firmly rooted in that scene, Harabel's meteoric rise was remarkable. .

On Harabel's current website, Xoxa lists herself as "co-founder" and "creative director." She is also the founder of NAAN Gallery and GurGur Gallery, where "Harabel" has organized exhibitions.

'Harabel' and 'BYL-A', money laundering and corruption

The official address of "Harabel" in Sky Tower, in the most expensive area of ??Tirana, is in the same building as Ajola Xoxa's company The Partners.

Harabel's former program director and current legal coordinator, Xhoi Skënderasi, also holds a seat on the board of Xoxa's publishing company, Botimet Enciklopedike, and has been employed by Partners Law since its inception.

In other words, "Harabel" is closely related to Xoxa's business interests.

The journalist closes his article by raising rhetorical questions, regarding the interest that Klodian Zoto and Mirel Mërtiri had in financing the contemporary art of Ajola Xoxa. He answers this question by stating that the financing has ulterior motives.

Photomontage - Mirel Mërtiri and Klodian Zoto

So, it would not be unreasonable to think that even their sponsorship of the artistic events of Harabel has hidden motives, just one of the episodes in a mutual exchange of favors between the municipality of Veliaj and businessmen. So, perhaps, after presenting a factual account, we can conclude with a brief speculation: As evidenced by the Ahmetaj file, Integrated Energy BV SPV was granted the Sharra concession thanks to the initiative and support of Mayor Veliaj, whose municipality is also responsible for payments to Integrated Energy BV SPV for a period of 30 years. In return, the company made the small gesture of supporting the mayor's wife's fledgling curatorial career by sponsoring a sculpture park at the landfill it manages.

Erion Veliaj

Also, the journalist qualifies this action of the artist Sislej Xhafa as artwashing of a concession managed on a land bathed in blood and at the expense of the citizens of Tirana.

For this investigation, the Dutch journalist has requested a statement from the names mentioned in the article, but according to him, no one has deigned to answer. However, some time earlier on July 3, 2021, the Instagram profile of "Harabel" reacted by claiming that there was never a financial relationship between this association and the Tirana incinerator company. Then the Dutch journalist is threatened by the associates of Ajola Xoxa.

Referring to Ajola Xoxa's property declarations, it turns out that during 2023, only from the "Harabel" center, he collected an amount of 22,481 euros. The year 2023 is the only moment that Ajola Xoxa declares income from the "Harabel" center, although the latter has existed since 2018, even one of the contemporary art exhibitions in this center was made by the son of the Prime Minister Edi Rama. Greg Rama.

In 2023, Ajola Xoxa, among the many financial incomes from businesses, consultancy, rents, also declares an amount of 22 thousand euros net income from independent professional activity. Specifically, this amount was paid to Ajola Xoxa by the association "Balkan Youth Link-Albania", which has the abbreviation "BYL-A". This payment would open a new track of investigation for PLUG./ Syri.net