An Albanian company linked to businessman Besnik Sulaj, known as "Beso of Taiwan," (Beso i Tajvanit) reported $1.71 million in lobbying payments to Ballard Partners in 2025. The Washington firm's previous work for Edi Rama's Socialist Party raises questions about the potential political implications of the new lobbying arrangement.
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| Besnik Sulaj (Beso of Taiwan) and Edi Rama seated in the stadium stands during a football match. |
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| Lobbying disclosure data for Balkan Energy DMCC detailing filings, lobbying firms, and financial amounts for 2025 |
The company's ownership structure leads to the family of Albanian businessman Besnik Sulaj. Documents from Albania's National Business Center (QKB), cited in an investigation by Kapital.al, identify his brother, Skënder Sulaj, as the company's 100% shareholder. Besnik Sulaj himself served as its legal administrator throughout 2025, before stepping down in April 2026, Florida Politics reports.
$1.71 Million in Lobbying Fees
US disclosure filings show that Ballard Partners reported the following payments from Balkan Energy DMCC:
- First quarter 2025: $80,000
- Second quarter: $230,000
- Third quarter: $650,000
- Fourth quarter: $750,000
The fourth-quarter payment alone amounted to $750,000, bringing the annual total to $1.71 million. The declared lobbying activities concerned the energy sector and included contacts with the US Department of State, the National Security Council and the White House Office.
An additional question concerns Balkan Energy's financial position. According to Kapital.al's examination of Albanian company balance sheets, the business recorded cumulative losses of approximately 148 million lek (around €1.6 million) over four years.
This raises questions about the source of the funds used to finance such substantial lobbying expenditure.
Ballard Partners Previously Worked for Edi Rama's Socialist Party
The connection attracting particular attention is Ballard Partners' previous relationship with Albania's Socialist Party.
In 2017, the party, led by Prime Minister Edi Rama, hired the Washington lobbying firm under a contract worth $20,000 per month, or $240,000 annually, to promote communication and relations with US government officials.
The firm is led by Brian Ballard, a prominent Republican lobbyist known for his political connections to Donald Trump.
The 2025 Balkan Energy filings identify lobbying activities involving senior US government institutions, including the State Department, National Security Council and White House Office. The declared objective was to provide assistance and guidance on accessing foreign energy markets.
The overlap between the lobbying firm previously employed by Rama's Socialist Party and the company linked to the Sulaj family raises legitimate questions about the broader network of Albanian business interests in Washington.
However, the publicly available filings do not establish that Balkan Energy's lobbying was conducted on behalf of Rama or the Albanian government, nor do they demonstrate a direct connection between the two contracts.
The central unanswered question is why a company reporting substantial accumulated losses committed $1.71 million to political lobbying in Washington in a single year, and what specific business objectives it sought to achieve through such an expensive operation.