Since February 21 the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecution Office (SPAK) has requested approval from court to confiscate sixteen properties in seven cases.
Meanwhile, for the first time since the government approved the controversial anti-mafia laws, SPAK ceased the confiscation of a house in Shkodra belonging to a murder and kidnapping suspect. SPAK ruled that the February 22 confiscation was “in contradiction with the provisions of the Normative Act” as it “did not come about as a result of crime-related income.”
The requests come following the implementation of controversial legal changes passed as Special Anti-Mafia Package, drafted by the government to fight organized crime and corruption. Although the laws have been criticized for granting excessive power to a special unit that operates directly under the Prime Minister, outside of the judicial system and lacking any supervision, the EU Delegation in Albania, as well as the US Embassy, have come out in full support of them.
