Davide Pecorelli, the Italian businessman who faked his death in Puka to escape debts, will be extradited to Albania. The final decision was taken by Italian Justice Minister Carlo Nordio, after the Perugia Court of Appeal gave the green light for the businessman's extradition in May last year.
In a reaction to "Il Messaggero Umbria", businessman Pecorelli stated that he will not appeal the decision.
"The minister's decision surprises me. I accept it, but I am seriously worried about my four children, two of whom are minors, my 90-year-old father and my 60-year-old brother, both with disabilities. I am thinking of not appealing to the Lazio TAR, given the low probability of success, I prefer to go to Albania," he said.
The businessman will be taken into custody by the Albanian police and transferred to prison, where an alternative sentence may be imposed during the first 48 hours of detention, pending the appeal process.
But despite all this, Pecorelli's life has taken a very specific turn: he has married an Albanian citizen, deals in luxury goods and seeks to obtain citizenship of the Balkan country. But first, the details of the 4-year sentence and extradition must be clarified.
In February 2024, the Puka Prosecution requested an 8-year prison sentence for Davide Pecorelli for committing several criminal offenses:
"Fraud" committed in collaboration, "Grave rape", "Acts that hinder the discovery of the truth" as well as "Destruction of property by fire". In April last year, the Shkodra court sentenced him to 4 years in prison on charges of fraud, arson and defamation.
The businessman disappeared in January 2021 in Puka, where the car he had rented was found burned, inside which skeletal remains were also found. And while Italian and Albanian authorities raised the alarm to learn what had happened to the businessman, on September 17 he was found safe and sound. When everyone knew he was dead, Davide Pecorelli appeared in a dinghy near the island of Montecristo, shocking quite a bit and bringing with him the 'story' of where he had been and what he had done during the 9 months he had been declared missing. "I was looking for a treasure," he said, a statement that surprised quite a bit, almost as much as his reappearance.