Today, the Independent Qualification Commission (KPK) dismissed Supreme Court judge Admir Thanza, who had concealed a previous criminal conviction.
Admir Thanza had been sentenced to 40 days in prison and a fine by the Pisa First Instance Court in Italy, for assisting in a robbery.
The incident took place in 1999 when Thanza was serving in the Shkodra Court, however, none of the Albanian institutions responsible for conducting background checks had found out about this sentence for years. It was experts and representatives form the International Monitoring Operation (ONM) that unearthed the conviction.
Besides the issues with his background, Thanza also had a problematic wealth declaration. The KPK investigation concluded that there were discrepancies in the documents of at least two of Thanza’s properties, a Tirana garage, and a duplex in Gjiri i Lalzit.
In a previous wealth declaration, the Thanza family has declared a negative balance, therefore, according to KPK, their purchase of real estate with legal income is not feasible.
Regarding his background check, the National Security Agency (DSIK) deemed Thanza unfit to remain on duty, as a result of his connections to criminal figures.
The Prosecution Office has launched an investigation into Thanza, who stands accused of having falsified his self-declaration forms in order to conceal his previous conviction.
During his time within the judiciary system, Thanza has reviewed cases like the one of the Gërdec tragedy or that of MPs Mark Frroku and Tom Doshi.
