The Special Prosecution against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) has arrested four people for allegedly exchanging a €2,000 bribe in the village of Petrela, near Tirana.
Two civilians are suspected of having bribed two local public servants in order to change the experts’ assessment of earthquake damage to a building under their ownership. This, SPAK argued in their press release, was done in order to receive more money from the government’s post-earthquake reconstruction fund.
Albania was rocked by a devastating earthquake in November 2019, after which the international community pledged €1.1 billion to be used by the Albanian government for reconstruction.
SPAK was established about two years ago as part of the ongoing justice reform in Albania, with the main purpose of fighting organized crime and corruption among high officials.
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