The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has ordered the Albanian state €110 million to Italian businessman Francesco Becchetti. This was announced on June 19 by Becchetti himself.
Last month, Exit already reported on the ICSID verdict of April 24, the contents of which at that point were still unconfirmed. Back then, Prime Minister Edi Rama Prime Minister refused to disclose any details, citing a confidentiality agreement.
The ICSID has concluded that in the expropriation of Becchetti’s Agonset there was evidence of politically motivated campaign. The tribunal found that the evidence “strongly support[s] an inference that the seizure decisions were the culmination of a political campaign against the claimants.” Becchetti had originally claimed €650 million in damages.
At the ICSID, the Albanian state was represented by Gowling WLG, barristers Felix Wardle, Siddharth Dhar, and Peter Webster of Essex Court Chambers and state lawyers. Up to November 2016, the Rama government spent upwards of €4 million on legal fees through special decisions of the Council of Ministers (VKM), outside the control of Parliament. It is unclear how much the government has spent in total on legal fees.
