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A mega-scandal on the horizon: Taiwan's Beso paid 2.7 million USD for secret lobbying in the US, is Rama hiding?!

2026-11-07 14:18:00Fokus SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
A mega-scandal on the horizon: Taiwan's Beso paid 2.7 million USD for
Beso of Taiwan/ Edi Rama

A new lobbying contract with staggering amounts has exploded in Washington, which involves an Albanian businessman publicly denounced by the opposition for close ties to Prime Minister Edi Rama and a powerful lobbying company in Washington, which also turns out to be the latest lobbyist for the Socialist Party and the Albanian prime minister in the US government.  

We are talking about the company Balkan Energy DMCC, which paid a full $1.7 million last year to Ballard Partners for lobbying in the United States. 

The lobbying funds were paid through Dubai, but US lobbying laws dictated the disclosure of the ultimate owners of Balkan Energy DMCC. That is the company Balkan Energy sha registered in Tirana.

Behind this company stands the family of renowned Albanian businessman Besnik Sulaj, widely identified in public as the "Beso of Taiwan".

Official documents from the National Business Center (NBC) confirm that the sole owner with 100% of the shares of this company is his brother, Skënder Sulaj.

However, the history of the registration points reveals that Besnik Sulaj himself served as the company's direct legal administrator throughout the intense period of 2025, when millions of dollars were poured into lobbying in Washington, before officially handing over the keys to administration in April 2026.

Record payment

According to official documents disclosed in the US, Balkan Energy DMCC quickly became the main and highest-paid client of the firm Ballard Partners.

Of the total amount of $2.7 million, in the last quarter of 2025 alone the company paid a hefty bonus of $750,000. 

To put it in context, this amount is higher than what American tech giant Palantir paid the same lobbying firm for the entire year.

Before this aggressive move, Balkan Energy had spent only $25,000 in early 2024 through another law firm.

Official data from the balance sheet shows that Balkan Energy has recorded a total loss of around 148 million lek or 1.6 million euros in the last four years taken together. 

This figure creates an extraordinary investigative paradox: how can an economic entity, which according to official balance sheets submitted to Albanian tax authorities operates at constant losses and does not produce sustainable profits, have the financial capacity to pay a full $1.71 million in cash (about 160 million lekë) for lobbying in Washington within a single year?

Edi Rama's lobbyist 

This is not the first time that the powerful Washington firm, Ballard Partners, has appeared behind the scenes of Albanian politics and business.

In 2017, the same firm was contracted as a foreign agent by the Socialist Party of Albania, led by Prime Minister Edi Rama. 

At that time, the Socialist Party was paying Ballard a full $20,000 a month to provide the government with support and communication with US leaders, precisely when the Rama government was facing great pressure from the European Union and criticism from the opposition for electoral manipulation and irregular practices.

The documents show that Ballard Partners lobbyists — including Brian Ballard himself, senior partner Sylvester Lukis, and Middle East partner Jasmine Zaki — have been advocating for the firm directly to the State Department, the National Security Council, and the White House. The firm's stated mission was "to provide assistance and guidance on penetrating foreign energy markets."

The mission of the Ballard Partners lobbyists — led by Brian Ballard himself (a man with enormous influence on Donald Trump) — was to directly intervene in the State Department (DASH), the National Security Council, and the White House Office.

After successive international scandals, Prime Minister Edi Rama has faced major problems in Washington, being practically isolated diplomatically and without direct access to the highest levels of the American administration.

Was the use of a private company the instrument of underground diplomatic efforts to provide a new channel of communication with official Washington, especially in periods when direct state access has been difficult?/ Kapital

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