Ardian Fullani

A court in Albania has jailed Ardian Bitraj, a former supervisor of cash deposits at the Bank of Albania, for 20 years for the theft of 713 million leks.

He pleaded guilty and said he had lost the proceedings in gambling. Mimoza Bruzia, another bank employee, got 10 years as a collaborator in the crime.

Prime Minister Edi Rama announced the appointment of the Argentinean economist on Thursday on Twitter.  

"The famous economist Mario Blejer, who served as director of monetary policy in the Bank of England, will be an advisor to our governor," Rama wrote.

The Tirana First Instance Court handed down the jail terms on Thursday following a speedy trial.

The ten employees received relatively light sentences following a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to the charges.

One ex-bank employee, Bashkim Xhilaga, received a suspended sentence, based on his health condition.  

"In the candidature of Gentian Sejko, who comes from the ranks of the banking system, I valued the managerial experience, his education and moral integrity," President Bujar Nishani said in a statement accompanying the decree on Monday.

Lawmakers in Tirana have dismissed Bank of Albania governor Ardian Fullani, who was arrested earlier this week over a sum missing from the central bank's reserve.

The move was backed by an overwhelming majority of 72-6, after the bank's executive board pointed he had posed "a serious threat" to the institution's interests, BGNES wire service has reported.

"We want to give the Bank of Albania a governor from the financial or banking system, who would be praised internationally as a professional, moral and uncontestable choice," Prime Minister Edi Rama told a press conference on Monday.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Albania Ardian Fullani won formal support from board members after requests put forward by a board member that he be fired for the theft from bank vaults discovered on 21 July.

Bank of Albania governor under pressure after theft probe

The demand comes after the bank announced employees stole millions over a four-year period.

Civil society in Albania is calling for the Bank of Albania governor to resign after it was revealed that bank employees stole more than $7 million over a four-year period.

Several hundred citizens, including journalists, organized a protest Monday in front of the headquarters of Albania's central bank in downtown Tirana.

Protesters demanded the instant dismissal of Ardian Fullani, governor of the bank, due to the theft of around EUR 5 M from a storage facility of the bank.

BECICI – An annual Southeast Europe (SEE) summit of finance ministers and central bank governors, which will discuss financial future of the region, will start in Becici, a coastal tourist resort in Montenegro, on Friday.