The Italian entrepreneur, Francesco Beketi , is one step closer to receiving millions of euros from the Albanian government, although Prime Minister Edi Rama has often insisted that the former owner of " Agon Channel " will not receive a single cent from the Albanian government.
The Court of Executions in Brussels dismissed on October 17, 2024, the Albanian government's application for the annulment of the decision to block the accounts of the state-owned company Albcontrol with the European airline company, Eurocontrol.
"The Court of Executions considers unacceptable and unfounded the requests of the Albanian government for the lifting of the sequestration on the funds that have been collected on behalf of Albcontrol", the decision states.
According to the data mentioned in the court decision, the amount placed under seizure has reached the value of over 76 million euros, which has already been transferred to the bailiff's account.
On the other hand, this decision may pave the way for another severe penalization of the Albanian government due to the non-implementation of a final decision of the International Arbitration.
Beketi and his associates have considered a second persecution the fact that the Albanian government has refused to implement the decision of the Arbitration, creating the premises to pursue another civil case, which, most likely, will cost them even more dear Albania.
The story of the clash between Francesco Becket and Edi Rama started immediately after the socialist government took power in 2013.
The government launched a series of attacks on Beckett's businesses, which culminated in the issuance of arrest warrants against him and close associates in 2015.
Arrest measures were not executed and Beket managed to provide enough evidence to prove that he was politically persecuted in Albania. In 2017, Interpol removed Francesco Becketti from the wanted list.
The Italian entrepreneur took his case to the Court of Arbitration of the World Bank. The latter, in April 2019, decided unanimously that the Albanian government had committed political persecution against the Italian businessman and fined the Albanian government 110 million euros.
This decision was confirmed in April 2021, when a special Arbitration Commission overturned the request of Edi Rama's government to cancel the previous decision.
In March 2023, the Court of Arbitration finally rejected the request of the Albanian government to review the decision.
The decision was directly enforceable, but Rama refused to execute it. Under these conditions, Beketi asked the court in Brussels to block Albcontrol's accounts with Eurocontrol, created from the fees that international airlines pay for take-off and transit in Albanian airspace./ Syri