TIRANA, June 29 /ATA/The chair of the Democratic Party parliamentary group, Gazment Bardhi, said that the Special Anti-Corruption and Organised Crime Structure (SPAK) is applying double standards in the case involving former deputy prime minister Belinda Balluku.
In a statement to the media from the Parliament Presidency building, Bardhi said that since June 4, SPAK has been facing a “decisive test of credibility” and called on the prosecution body to submit a request to Parliament for lifting Balluku’s immunity and authorising her arrest.
According to Bardhi, Balluku’s legal situation has further deteriorated following SPAK’s announcement of new suspicions of passive corruption and money laundering.
He said the Special Anti-Corruption and Organised Crime Structure (SPAK) has identified and seized a villa in Dhërmi, which he claims was allegedly obtained as a bribe and concealed through fictitious contracts.
Bardhi said that in December SPAK had requested Parliament’s authorisation to arrest Balluku, arguing that the worsening of her legal position required a stronger security measure. According to him, the majority at the time dismissed the request, arguing that Balluku was not being charged with corruption.
“Since June 4, 2026, the Special Prosecution Office has been facing a decisive test of its credibility in the Balluku case: whether it will promptly address Parliament with a request to lift immunity and arrest Belinda Balluku, or continue applying double standards, giving Edi Rama and Belinda Balluku time for further political manoeuvres. The test is decisive because the legal position of the former deputy prime minister has worsened, according to the June 4 public statement itself, with suspicions of two new criminal offences: passive corruption and money laundering. The Special Prosecution Office announced that it had discovered and seized Belinda Balluku’s hidden villa in a luxury resort in Dhërmi, which it suspects was obtained as a bribe and subsequently concealed through fictitious contracts.
“Why a double standard? Because in December, SPAK requested the lifting of immunity for the arrest of Belinda Balluku based on a standard it is no longer applying today: when the legal situation worsens, the security measure must also be tightened. In December, after the legal position of the former deputy prime minister was aggravated by 11 new episodes of tender-related abuses, SPAK escalated its request for security measures, from a travel ban to a request for arrest. Six months ago, the chief prosecutor of SPAK justified this request before Parliament with the words: ‘The worsening of the legal position increases the risk and requires a more severe security measure,’” Bardhi said.
Bardhi raised several questions to the Special Prosecution Office, seeking clarification on why no new request has been submitted to Parliament following the new suspicions, and whether there had been political interference in delaying the proceedings.
/m.q/r.e/sm/
