Albania: Former President Ilir Meta arrested

Police in Albania arrested former President Ilir Meta on corruption charges Monday, saying they had to use force in detaining the 55-year-old.

Meta served as Albania's president from 2017 to 2022. He now leads the center-left opposition Freedom Party.

Freedom Party officials denounced his detention as a "criminal kidnapping."

Video of the arrest showed Meta's car being stopped by masked police upon his return to the capital, Tirana, from Kosovo.

"Meta is accused of charges of passive corruption, failing to declare his wealth, and money laundering," his defense lawyer told reporters.

Ilir Meta accused of receiving kickbacks, hiding assets 

Albania's SPAK anti-corruption office said that he had accumulated a "considerable amount of money," through a foreign debt-collecting scheme.

SPAK officials also accuse Meta and his former wife, Monika Kryemadhi, also a politician, of having profited from dubious business deals stemming from their ability to influence policy. The oldest of the charges stem from Meta's time as finance minister from 2010 to 2011.

While Meta was speaker of Albania's parliament, he and his then wife reportedly lived in a villa given to them by a businessman that they helped, by, among other things, facilitating the change of laws.

Meta is also accused of illegally accepting lobbying payments from a US firm, as well as failing to declare €100,000 ($108,000) in income and a €335,000 apartment.

"Investigations are continuing regarding other persons suspected of being involved in this illegal criminal activity," said prosecutors who also cited international assistance and cooperation from the US, Austria, Italy, San Marino, and Cyprus.

In the past, Meta has denied all accusations of wrongdoing. On Monday, his lawyer said the charges had to do with next April's parliamentary elections.

Shifting political alliances in one of Europe's poorest countries

Formerly a close ally of Prime Minister Edi Rama — who will seek his fourth consecutive term in office next year after coming to power in 2013 — Meta has recently become close to Sali Berisha, the leader of the opposition Democratic Party.

Berisha, who has also fallen afoul of Albanian prosecutors and is awaiting trial on corruption charges, called Meta's arrest "political."

Meta says that it is not he but rather Prime Minister Rama who is corrupt, accusing his former ally of running a "kleptocratic regime."

Ilir Meta has held numerous high-ranking positions in Albania's government since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, being first elected as a deputy in 1992.

Albania is one of the poorest countries in Europe. Corruption in Albania "remains an area of serious concern," according to the EU, preventing the country from membership of the bloc.

If found guilty, Meta could serve up to 12 years behind bars.

Representatives from the Freedom Party warned that his continued detention would result in protests.

js/jsi (AFP, Reuters)