Today, the Tirana Appeals Court dismissed charges against Democratic Party (PD) leader Lulzim Basha and two other high ranking party officials regarding lobbying in the US in 2017.
The Appeals Court agreed with the decision of the Tirana District Court that found no evidence to suggest that PD had paid a sum of $500,000 for lobbying, which led to both accusations, that of falsifying in wealth declaration forms, and of money laundering, could not be proven.
Tirana prosecutors investigated a $500 thousand payment for the American lobbyist Nick Muzin, which had declared in his FARA registration that the payment was made on behalf of the Democratic Party of Albania. The Court found no credible evidence that a contract between PD and Muzin existed and that the money was actually paid by the Democratic Party.
Following the Appeals Court decision, Socialist Party second-in-command Taulant Balla announced that he would ask the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SPAK) to investigate Basha again over PD’s funding.
