Several directors and former directors of the Albanian Road Authority have been arrested, investigated, tried and convicted for numerous abuses of office, causing huge damage to the state coffers. Intentionally or unintentionally, the phone of former director Evis Berberi has revealed numerous pieces of evidence for the Special Prosecution Office, evidence that continues to emerge, implicating a multitude of officials who predetermined zero-sum tenders.
If Berberi, Balluku, Gjyli and Elezi have been taken as defendants, a former director is continuing to scramble from one side to the other, trying to escape the "claws" of justice, despite having a "mountain" of evidence implicating him in many procedures. This is Ergys Verdhon, currently the General Director of the Albanian Railways, while previously he headed the Albanian Road Authority and the Albanian Electric Power Corporation.
Verdho was catapulted from private businesses to the top of institutions with a lot of money, and he is even one of the former deputy prime minister's most trusted people, as Belinda Balluku gave the "blessing" and the order in all the appointments that were made to him. Vox News has analyzed several documents from the National Business Center, tenders, notarial deeds and other decision-making, some of which we will discuss below, which shed light on Verdho's actions in the same way as Berberi.
As a reminder, the former director of the ARRSH, Evis Berberi, is under indictment and arrested, where one of the episodes is related to favoring his former firm in several tender procedures. Meanwhile, Verdho has shown himself to be a little more cunning, as he did not give tenders to his firm, but took them from his "comrades" or successors in office. During the time he was appointed director of the ARRSH, he opened a design and construction company, where he owned 50% of the shares of the company "V&CE studio".
Vox News has learned that Verdho was appointed as an employee of the Albanian Road Authority in 2018, initially holding the position of deputy director. Then, in October 2019, he was appointed as the General Director of the Albanian Road Authority.
According to documents researched by Vox News, upon assuming the position of director of the Albanian Real Estate Agency, Ergys Verdho surprisingly registered a company called “V&CE Studio” with the National Business Center, where Verdh had 50% of the shares and Ndriçim Allkaj had 50%. The company’s business objective is “real estate valuation, construction design”.
So, a high-ranking state official is "headfirst" into business, at a time when the law clearly defines conflict of interest. There are suspicions that during this time, many companies that Verdho awarded zero-sum tenders to, fictitiously contracted this firm, while investigations by the Special Prosecutor's Office or another law enforcement body may shed light on this affair.
Other documents researched by Vox News shed light on a genuine dossier, as the former director of the ARRSH and currently the General Director of Railways, is suspected of having favored the firm he owned to put pressure on construction firms.
According to the above document, on November 24, 2020, Ergys Verdho left his 50% shares in the firm "V&CE Studio" in writing, transferring them to the other shareholder Ndriçim Allkaj. The value of the transaction is only 5 thousand lekë, which raises serious suspicions of fictitious actions.
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