Albania Holds Suspects for Bank CEO Murder

Police spokeswoman Laura Totraku announced on Tuesday that two brothers with a criminal background suspected of being connected to the murder had been arrested in the town of Fusha Kruja.

“The arrest of the two suspects was made after police gathered information on their links to the murder and their past criminal background,” Totraku said.

Totraku added that police had also seized a Suzuki motorbike, similar to the one used in the assassination.

Santo, 58-years-old, was gunned down outside his office last Thursday morning in the central Blloku neighborhood of Tirana.  

Security camera videos showed that he was approached by two masked assailants on a motorbike and shot several times.

Santo was the co-founder and executive director of Credins Bank, one of Albania’s largest private banking institutions.

He had formerly served as the executive director of the state-owned Saving Bank of Albania, and was a shareholder in two media companies, Focus Group and TV Scan.

Focus Group is the publisher of the daily Gazeta Shqiptare and owns the 24-hour news broadcaster News 24. TV Scan is a business news station.