SPAK Opens Investigation Into Edi Rama and Controversial Tourism Projects in Albania
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Albania's Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SPAK) has registered a criminal investigation into Prime Minister Edi Rama, public officials and private companies over controversial tourism developments in Zvërnec, Rrjoll and Divjakë-Karavasta, local media reports.
SPAK has confirmed that criminal proceeding No. 97 was registered on September 10, 2026, following a complaint filed on August 12 by a group of experts and environmental protesters. The case was officially confirmed in a letter dated November 6, signed by SPAK head Klodjan Braho, and remains under investigation.
The complaint concerns alleged abuse of office, unlawful influence over public officials, passive corruption involving senior officials and participation in a structured criminal group.
It focuses on three major tourism developments in protected coastal areas:
- Rrjoll (Baks-Rrjoll): The Blue Borgo resort, approved through National Territorial Council (KKT) Decision No. 39 of December 17, 2024, signed by Edi Rama and Belinda Balluku. The complainants question its strategic investor status, citing two confirmations from AIDA that no decision by the Strategic Investment Committee exists.
- Divjakë-Karavasta: The Kingscoast master plan, proposing a new city within the national park, despite the area's protected status in the official registry.
- Zvërnec: A tourism master plan initially developed in 2022 for Kastrati Group. The project is now being developed by a company registered through a Dutch trust structure, with its ultimate beneficial owners not publicly identified.
The complaint draws heavily on investigations published by Citizens.al, including The Albanian Files, research into resorts planned in protected areas and a database documenting 252 decisions of the National Territorial Council.
Architect Entela Spahivogli, one of the initiators of the complaint, said the legal action translates the protests in Zvërnec into documented legal allegations. Lawyer Irena Dule described SPAK's decision to register the case as significant, noting that similar complaints had previously been dismissed without investigation.
The complainants are urging prosecutors to examine not only the three projects but also other developments allegedly approved through the same decision-making mechanisms, with particular attention to the role of the National Territorial Council, chaired by Prime Minister Rama.