The date is set, here's when the trial for Mayor Erion Veliaj will begin

2026-03-03 10:30:18Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
The date is set, here's when the trial for Mayor Erion Veliaj will begin
Erion Veliaj

The trial for Mayor Erion Veliaj's case will begin on March 9. Judge Engjellushe Tahiri has scheduled the first substantive hearing for 9:30 a.m.

The presiding judge will be Judge Engjëllushe Tahiri, while the two rapporteurs will be Alma Kodraliu and Rudina Palloj.

On February 9, the Special Court decided to pass on for trial the file indicting the mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj, his wife Ajola Xoxa, as well as 28 individuals and companies part of the same file. 

The mayor of Tirana has been in prison custody since February 10, 2025, while SPAK sent the request to transfer the file to trial only 5 months ago. SPAK has listed 13 charges against Veliaj, such as passive corruption, money laundering, failure to declare assets, abuse of office and bringing items into prison.

The majority of the accusations are of passive corruption committed in 9 cases, in relation to several companies that SPAK says received irregular benefits in the form of monetary sums and real estate, which in turn received construction permits and benefited from public funds from the Municipality of Tirana.

His wife, Ajola Xoxa, is also accused by SPAK of passive corruption in 9 cases related to commercial entities and non-profit organizations, the same as Erion Veliaj. Xoxa is also accused of money laundering, failure to declare assets and concealment of income.

The businessmen are accused of active corruption of high-ranking state officials or local elected officials, concealment of income and money laundering. Former MP Klotilda Bushka is accused of actions that hinder the discovery of the truth, while Fatjon Baci is the Durrës prison guard who gave Erjon Veliaj the phone during his transfer from the cell to the court, on two occasions and is accused of “Introducing or keeping prohibited items in the institution for the execution of decisions with imprisonment”.


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