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"Becchetti" Arbitration Bill, Albcontrol company at risk of bankruptcy

2024-01-22 11:49:51Politikë SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

"Becchetti" Arbitration Bill, Albcontrol company at risk of bankruptcy

Prime Minister Edi Rama has claimed in recent years more than once that he does not intend to pay the heavy fine imposed by the International Court of Arbitration against his government in favor of the controversial Italian businessman Francesco Becchetti for the illegal confiscation of the Agon Channel television by the Albanian authorities in 2015. But unlike what Rama claims, it seems that the Albanian taxpayers are not only paying the 108 million euros determined by the court as compensation for the violation of the Italian businessman's rights by the Albanian government, but with likely, they are also paying additional interest.

Payments are being made through the accounts of the public company, Albcontrol, at the Eurocontrol organization.

"During the year 2022, as well as during the year 2021, the company did not collect any income from the en route service and terminal charge as a result of a decision of the first instance court of Brussels, to freeze the accounts of Albcontroll Sh.A. near the Eurocontrol organization," says Albcontrol's report on the balance of 2022. The total of these amounts blocked until December 2022 was ALL 6.75 billion [over EUR 60 million at the rate of time].

The public company, Albcontrol is currently at risk of bankruptcy as a result of the fact that it is unable to withdraw its income from the services sold because the Belgian courts have accepted Becchetti's request to freeze its accounts to repay the compensation that the Court of Arbitration has given him.

In December, the government granted Albcontrol a loan worth nearly 30 million euros without giving any explanations. But it appears that the loan is related to Albcontrol's inability to carry out normal operations in the face of blocked accounts.

While the government does not provide explanations for the situation, additional data appear in the balance sheet of the company Albcontrol, which was recently filed with the National Business Center. The balance sheet, which was filed six months late, represents the situation at the end of 2022, and the balance sheet auditor has "suspended" the financial reporting of the company's administration, noting that the blocking of its income in Belgium suggests that the company is in a different financial state. from what is reported.

Blocked money

Albcontrol is a joint stock company owned by Albanian taxpayers. It offers the service of air flights that land or take off in Albania or that pass over the Albanian sky. The company's ordinary income for 2022 was over 2.7 billion lek [about 24 million euros]. But since the company operates as part of an international system of civil air transport services, its customers' payments are deposited in Brussels, not in Tirana, before they are transferred to the company.

In at least two cases, Albcontrol's accounts in Belgium have been blocked as a result of the Albanian government's unwillingness to comply with court decisions. In the first case was the General Electric company, which demanded and received 25 million dollars in compensation when the government of former Prime Minister Sali Berisha decided to unilaterally cancel a contract that the previous government had signed with the American company for the construction of a railway line .

This time, however, the stakes are huge. Albcontrol's balance sheet appears to have classified blocked accounts as "accounts receivable". The statement of financial position shows that these "accounts receivable" were 6.7 billion ALL at the end of 2022, a figure that is likely to have increased further during 2023. The company appears to have borrowed 2 billion ALL during 2022 to cover expenses in the conditions of revenue blocking, except for the 3 billion that was given to him by the Council of Ministers in December.

In fact, the loans from the government to Albcontrol seem to be a play on words, and the company's auditors have "withheld" the financial reporting of the administrators, giving a "qualified opinion". The auditors note that the company is a non-profit joint stock company, its aim is to guarantee the public service it offers and not to make profits. And its fees are determined based on cost. As a result, the company cannot generate profits to pay off the loans the government has granted it with taxpayers' money, and in the final instance, taxpayers are paying Becchetti's fine bill indirectly, despite Prime Minister Edi Rama claiming that this is not happening. .

According to the auditors: "we have encountered public information, as a result of the decision of the Court of Appeal in Brussels, that may create the existence of a material uncertainty on the Company's ability to continue as a going concern". The auditors also note that Albcontrol according to the law "is not a profitable entity." It covers its needs with income, which should be equal to profits. For this reason, the Albanian government is obviously giving Albcontrol a loan, which has zero chance of being returned.

Becchetti's fine is one of the financial consequences of the behavior of various governments towards foreign investors. Recently, a number of companies have raised additional claims against the government for unilateral termination of contracts in connection with Rama's sudden decision to grant a concession for the construction of buildings in the port of Durrës./reporter.al


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