The Special Appeal Court against Corruption has sentenced former general prosecutor Adriatik Llalla to 2 years in prison for not declaring his assets, and banned him for 5 years from exercising public office.
The appeals court upheld the first instance court ruling in May 2021, which includes the confiscation of an apartment and of 22,000 square meters of land.
Llalla was initially charged on 4 counts: hiding assets, hiding money at the border, abuse of office, and money laundering. However, the court found enough evidence to sentence him on charges of failure to declare assets only.
The hiding or false declaration of assets by public officials is punishable with a fine or imprisonment for up to three years.
Adriatik Llalla resigned from his post in 2017 and did not submit to the vetting process under the justice reform.
The Special Anti-Corruption Structure (SPAK) started investigations against him three years ago, in March 2018. In February of the same year, the US government had banned him and his family from entering the country.
Llalla has claimed his sentence was politically motivated.
It’s not clear whether he will appeal the case to the High Court, however today’s ruling is final, which means that under normal circumstances Llalla should immediately start serving his sentence.
