Enrichment of the "Veliaj" family / Wife 617 thousand euro bank account, brother's company 30 million euro income

2024-12-25 21:44:00, Denoncim CNA

Enrichment of the "Veliaj" family / Wife 617 thousand euro bank

Arbër Veliaj, Ajola Xoxa and Erion Veliaj

On December 6, 2024, two officers of the National Bureau of Investigation appeared at the door of the Tirana Mayor's house with an authorization from the court to exercise control.

The officers stayed for two hours in the building of the mayor's palace in the area known as "Kodra e Diellit" and seized the phone of his wife Ajola Xoxa. Then they searched for several hours the offices of the Harabel center in the area of ??the former Block.

According to the decision of the Special Court, SPAK has received the approval to exercise personal and apartment control of Ajola Xoxa, wife of Erion Veliaj, Arbër Veliaj, brother of Mr. Veliaj, Elman Abule, a close friend of Erion Veliaj, Marisa Nito, co-habitant of Elman Abule. and Ajola Xoxa's friend, Adela Kondakçiu, Ajola Xoxa's friend and Driant Zeneli, Xoxa's collaborator in "Harabel" center.

Prosecutors have received approval to check the offices of several businesses and centers related to the activities of Mr. Veliaj's family members: "Partners Law" shpk, the law office managed by Ajola Khokha, Naan Gallery SHPK, a cultural center where Ajola Xoxa is employed, "Harabel Center" which is managed by artist Driant Zeneli and where Ajola Xoxa holds the post of creative director, Ava Studio LLC, which is managed by Ajola's mother Xoxës, Valbona Xoxa, the company Gogel shpk owned by Arbër Veliaj, the brother of the mayor of Tirana. The controls also authorized the control of Adela Kondakçi's company, a firm in the field of marketing and design, and the offices of Rametal shpk, owned by Elman Abules.

But how does SPAK connect all these names to each other and what are they suspected to have done with the help of the positions of the mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj? In the decision of the Special Court, it is established that the prosecutors have found "concrete data that close family members as well as other family members close to the Mayor of Tirana, citizen Erion Veliaj, have received illegal benefits through several companies and individuals, who have direct interests in the Municipality of Tirana." The procedure was registered at the beginning of this year with the suspicion of the criminal offense "Passive corruption of high state officials or local elected officials".

SPAK

"All that many-year halo that the mayor of Tirana had created for his brilliance in office, for an indisputable success for a public that adores and loves him, has now been destroyed with an investigation that has been launched by the Special Prosecutor's Office and why he tried to demotivate him by saying that they are 'colleagues', but they do a very good job," says journalist Denis Dyrnjaja.

The data processed by Kronos in the property declarations filed by the mayor Erion Veliaj show that the mayor is the owner of an apartment with an area of ??111 m2 bought on September 13, 2013, two days before he was sworn in as Minister of Youth and Social Welfare where he served for two years in the first cabinet of the Rama government. The house is stated to have been purchased for 51,000 euros with income from the sale of his mother's apartment and salary, a property that was then revalued in October of that year for 128,000 euros.

Erion Veliaj

The asset declaration for the value of the apartment results in a red flag, as the revaluation price is 2.3 times more than the declared purchase value, a value that has increased in the span of 2 months.

In total, the balance of the mayor's bank accounts is 10,000 euros and he continues to pay a loan taken in September 2015 with an initial value of 61,000 euros, where he still has 36,000 euros left to repay until 2030. Statement of the property results in problems since the loan was disbursed in 2015, but was declared as a liability by the mayor a year later. For the year 2023, Veliaj has generated 24,000 euros in income from his salary as mayor and 17,000 euros from bonuses and allowances for trips abroad.

At first glance, the analysis of his wealth shows him as a modest office worker who has an apartment, a loan and a token deposit and who makes a living from his salary income. The contrast in this whole picture is made by his family circle.

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Mr. Veliaj's wife, Ajola Xoxa, has declared several bank accounts with a total value of 617 thousand euros, where approximately one third of these accounts come from inheritance. Xoxa owns 2 apartments, one with an area of ??162 m2 purchased in 2016 for the value of 88.6 thousand euros in the "Hill of the Sun" area, and another purchased in 2018 with an area of ??107 m2 for the value of 105 thousand euros with donated and earned income. Ajola Xoxa owns 367 m2 of taxing area of ??a land in Fier benefited by inheritance. By inheritance, she owns 19.8% of shares in the company "Encyclopedic Publications" and also owns the legal office "Partners Law".

During the year 2023, Xoxa declares that it has generated a total of 97.3 thousand euros in income from work in various centers, mainly in the field of culture and from the companies it administers. 22.4 thousand euros were received from the professional activity at the Harabel Center, 22 thousand euros from the Balkan Youth Link - Albania project, 15.7 thousand euros from other activities, 12 thousand euros from the rent, 12 thousand euros from the salary as an administrator at Botimet Enciklopedike and 13.2 thousand euros from the law office Partners Law shpk. From this income, it turns out that he saved 90.6 thousand euros and spent 6.7 thousand euros throughout the year 2023. Xoxa does not appear to have bank obligations.

That's Xoxa

In recent years, Ajola Xoxa has focused on the field of art, where through several centers and companies she has become the curator of many exhibitions, events and organizations that take place in the capital.

Most of these exhibitions and events are organized by the Harabel Center, Naan Gallery and Gur Gur Gallery, organizations where Xoxa is employed and one of the main collaborators. All these centers have the address in the area of ??the former Block, while the Naan Gallery itself is located in a villa near the wTower, whose premises are often used to promote exhibitions and artists.

What has been happening for years with these organizations is the open conflict of interest that the exhibitions curated by the capital's first lady are sponsored with public funds and in the vast majority, the funds are from the capital's municipality, which is run by her husband!

According to the data of the state treasury, the Ministry of Culture has made 7 direct payments to the Harabel Center in the amount of 39 thousand euros, to sponsor the exhibition "Divine Comedy", the project "Antiquity in contemporary Albanian art", the international exhibition of fine arts Zabel and a project to digitize contemporary art.

Ministry of Culture

In a good part of these exhibitions, the curator is Ajola Xoxa. In the case of the woodcut illustrations bearing the name of Salvador Dali that appeared in the "Naan" "Divine Dream" gallery, the curators were Zef Paci and Ajola Xoxa. For this exhibition, the Ministry of Economy, Culture and Innovation paid 12 thousand euros in August of this year. Xoxa is the curator for the contemporary art platform, which has received funding from the Ministry of Culture, but also in many other events that have been implemented in the Harabel, Naan, Gur Gur and Balkan Youth Link centers and galleries.

"Kirjues Village" event organized by the Harabel Center is supported by the Creative Industry Agency, the Tirana Youth Capital Fund and the Municipality of Tirana. "Visual Arts by Harabel" has also received funding from these agencies and from the Municipality of Tirana itself, in addition to the contribution made by the Italian Institute of Art and the University of Arts.

The "Red Shoes Installation" held on March 8 in the "Mother Teresa" square, implemented by the Harabel center, has received support from the Municipality of Tirana, in addition to other organizations that have supported it, such as Un Women, United Nations Albania and the Swedish fund.

Municipality of Tirana

"JR Insideout" is sponsored by the municipality of Tirana, the Creative Industry Agency and D18 Paris. The implementation of the project was done by the Harabel center.

Harabel and Balkans Youth Link have received support from the Ministry of Culture to organize the performance of the ballet "The Down of Time".

Harabel has been supported by the Ministry of Culture and private companies for the development of the International Festival of Contemporary Dance. Naan Gallery and Harabel have received support from the Ministry of Economy, Culture and Innovation for the Starburster project at the Durrës Children's Cultural Center. Gur Gur Gallery and Harabel Center have received the support of the Ministry of Tourism and Environment to develop the Fashion and Textile atelier in the fall of 2023 in Petrelë.

The income for 2023 generated by the Harabel center and the Balkans Youth Link for Ajola Xoxa amounts to 44.5 thousand euros. Xoxa offers her work as a curator in organizations that are supported by funds provided by the municipality of Tirana, headed by her husband Erion Veliaj!

Erion Veliaj and Ajola Xoxa

"The cleaning of the products of the criminal offense is a process that must include the closest and most trusted people, so the investigation starts with the close circle of the person being investigated for the criminal offense. Mrs. Xoxa and Mr. Arbër Veliaj are being investigated for benefits they have had from Erion Veliaj's position as mayor," says economic expert Pano Soko.

Another millionaire, worth more than the wife of the Mayor of Tirana, is his brother Arbër Veliaj. It seems that the success of his company in the field of marketing, events and management of advertising campaigns, Gogel shpk is closely related to the career in politics and leadership positions of his brother.

Arbër Veliaj bought in 2011 all the shares in this company which was previously founded by Gentian Zguri and Floran Pustina for the price of 1 thousand euros. According to the data deposited in the company's balance sheet, Gogel results in this period with an annual turnover of 106 thousand euros and a profit of 10 thousand euros. In 2012, the company's income was 50,000 euros and the profit was 5,000 euros. In 2013, the income is 78 thousand euros and the profit 4 thousand euros.

Arber Veliaj

The immediate growth of the Gogël company comes in 2014, when Mr. Erion Veliaj took the post of Minister of Social Welfare and Youth, after this year, the income for Arbë Veliaj's company doubles and reaches an average turnover of 3 million euros per year between period 2018-2022, in 2023, the turnover is increased by 2.6 times to reach the figure of 8 million euros. In the same year, Arbër Veliaj founded another company that owns Gogël shpk, Gogël Holding, with activity in the field of administration of participations in other companies and technical, financial and legal consultancy, which has marked an annual turnover since the first year of operation. in the amount of 1.66 million euros and a net profit of 1.65 million euros.

In total, from the activity of his companies in Albania, Arbër Veliaj has generated approximately 30 million euros of income in the last 10 years and 4.5 million euros of profits.

The mayor's brother turns out to have a duplex in the Kodra e Dielli area, real estate with an area of ??112 m2 and a villa on the coast of Qerret with a land area of ??446 m2 and a building of 80 m2. Arbër Veliaj recently lives between Tirana and Vienna, where he founded two other companies "Gogel GMBH" and "Reg Investitions GMBH".

Photomontage - Arbër Veliaj and Erion Veliaj

"Until 2013, the company that Arbër Veliaj bought for 1,000 euros had a normal turnover, but surprisingly, in the year that Erion Veliaj ran for and was elected mayor, he began to multiply the turnover and turned over a total of 30 million euros in 10 years. Who is this important businessman who makes this trip suddenly out of nowhere?! And in this case, he is the brother of the Mayor of Tirana and he and his company are the key person who distributes advertisements in the media in the country. It is the key person who benefits and is paid by companies that benefit from public tenders." says the head of the district for Tirana in the Democratic Party Belind Kelliçi.

SPAK has also requested the exercise of control for the company of the friend of the Mayor of Tirana, Elman Abule. Businessman Abule turns out to own a total of 6 companies in Albania, mainly in the field of metal processing, power plants and construction.

From the balance sheets filed with the National Business Center, it appears as if these companies circulate and spin off each other's money, but do not make a profit. Most of them result in losses. What connects the citizen Elman Abule with the mayor of Tirana is the company Fidalba, founded in 2011, but in the first years it did not exercise activity, while on January 10, 2024 the company owned by the citizen Elman Abule, is the construction and developer entity for a 7-storey building in the Kombinat area owned by Keid Kalaja and Burgen Strati.

Elman Abule and Erion Veliaj

The construction permit in this flower garden to build the palace was given by the head of the municipality of Tirana Erion Veliaj, while previously he had rejected the request of the residents of Llambi Bonata street to build there the palace that would serve to house the families damaged by the earthquake of November 2019 after the demolition of their homes, with the argument that the land had the status of a flower garden.

The family members of Erion Veliaj appealed the procedures followed by SPAK to the Special Court, but apparently the battle with the new justice is strong, since the first instance decided to uphold the decision on the control of Arbër Veliaj's apartment and rejected the request of Thank you for returning the phone. In another request submitted to the Court of Special Appeals, the defense lawyers have requested the dismissal of the checks carried out by the officers of the National Bureau of Investigation with the claim that they were made in violation of the procedures and in the absence of a legal cause. On Monday, the wife of the head of the Tirana Municipality was interrogated for 3 hours by SPAK prosecutors in connection with the investigative process they have opened regarding the wealth and benefits of the mayor's close family circle./ MCN