Albania Opposition Leader Faces Money Laundering Charges

The leader of Albania's opposition Democratic Party, Lulzim Basha, has been ordered to appear before prosecutors on Monday to answer questions in a case related to payments that his party made to US lobbying firm Muzin Capitol Partners that were not declared in Albania.

Two other members of the Democratic Party, Arben Ristani and Ilir Dervishi, have also been summoned.

Prosecutors say they have identified "elements" of money laundering and falsification of state documents during their initial investigation.

The case was first revealed in November 2017 by a BIRN investigation, which showed that the Democratic Party had paid around 825,000 US dollars for two lobbying contracts in the US but had only declared a fraction of this sum to the Central Election Commission, CEC.

Most of the payments were made through an offshore company named Biniatta Trade for Muzin Capitol Partners.

Following the news about the charges being brought against him, Basha told supporters on Facebook that prosecutors were being misused by Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama. Basha also questioned why the same prosecutors had not acted on scores of allegations concerning Socialist Party finances.

"Albanians are now seeing the true face of the politicised prosecution of Edi Rama: an institution that protects Rama and other corrupt officials and works only to fight the political enemies of the regime," Basha wrote on Facebook.

The investigation into Basha comes amid continuing anti-government protests in Tirana, which Basha has been leading. Thousands of people have taken to the streets since February, calling for the resignation of Rama and his ruling Socialists over allegations of corruption.

Albanian parties and politicians have spent millions of...