Russian money, Ristani says for the first time: I turned off the phone and went to the Prosecutor's office myself, Basha did not want

2022-09-15 19:40:06Politikë SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Russian money, Ristani says for the first time: I turned off the phone and went
Lulzim Basha and Arben Ristani

Politician Arben Ristani, former Secretary of the DP at the time of Russian lobbying in 2017, said that he went to the Prosecutor's Office himself. The issue has been reopened in recent days, after a DASH report revealed that the Democratic Party received $500,000 from Russia in the 2017 elections.

Ristani, taken as a defendant by the Prosecutor's Office of Tirana for the case of lobbying, said to Syri TV that Lulzim Basha at the time of the investigations had asked DP officials not to go to the prosecution body.

"I went to the Prosecutor's Office myself. I hung up the phone and went to the Prosecutor's office. Meanwhile, Basha asked us not to go to the Prosecutor's office. He made decisions on his own, he did not respect the statute. The matter went so far that on January 8 it managed to bunker the DP", said the former Secretary of the DP.

Furthermore, Arben Ristani stated that Russian lobbying has nothing to do with the Democratic Party because Lulzim Basha personally moved the money.

"Basha is right when he says that PD has not received a penny from foreign funding, even less from the Russians. They are money that he moved personally and that really have nothing to do with the DP. My knowledge was zero until the prosecution's investigation began.

This issue has nothing to do with PD but Basha's personal decision. It has not been authorized by the Presidency of the DP to develop lobbying agreements with anyone. His activity with money that has not entered and has not left the PD", concluded Arben Ristani.


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