Ex-government officials found guilty of corruption to the tune of more than EUR 2 million have been sentenced to prison for one year and less in a decision announced yesterday.
The Tirana Special Court of the First Instance decided that the 10 accused officials from the Ministry of the Interior were guilty of violating the equality of a tender for new police uniforms, worth 2,8 billion ALL (EUR 2.3 million).
Judges Atalana Zeqiraj, Flojera Davidhi, and Erjon Cela sentenced the former Director of the Purchasing Agency Edlira Naqellari to one yea and six months in prison and on appeal, this will likely be reduced to 1 year. She will be prohibited from holding public positions for five years. The same sentence was applied to Flutura Cekrezi.
Another three were sentenced to just 10 months in prison, and a further four got suspended for 10-month terms. The last defendant received a 10-month prison sentence converted into 80 hours of community service.
According to the prosecution, the defendants brought unfair advantage and privileges in qualifying the merger of legal entities who were declared as winners in the procurement competition, resulting in the violation of equality rules in the tender process.
