Former Albanian Prime Minister Berisha says he is accused of corruption and that these are Ram's political accusations

(Patria) - Former Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha said on Saturday that prosecutors are charging him with corruption and money
laundering in connection with land related to property in Tirana, AP reported.

Berisha (79), said that the prosecutor's office responsible for cases against high officials or major cases has ordered him not to leave the country. Berisha also said that his son-in-law, fifty-year-old Jamarber Maltezi, was arrested on the same charges at Tirana International Airport, adding that they are innocent.

"Regarding these accusations, I state that they are absolutely without any basis and are purely and completely political accusations by (current Prime Minister) Edi Rama," he said late on Saturday.

Rama did not immediately respond to Berisha's claim.

The Special Prosecutor's Office for Combating Corruption and Organized Crime states that Berisha's son-in-law used Berisha's position as prime minister to privatize land in Tirana owned by the Ministry of Defense and return it to previous owners, who immediately sold it at a low price to Malltezi, who built apartments there.

The charges followed three years after the Minister of Interior Taulant Balla, then head of the parliamentary group of the ruling Socialist Party, sent a file with accusations against Maltezi and Berisha to the prosecutor's office.

Berisha served as prime minister from 2005 to 2013 and as president from 1992 to 1997. He was re-elected as a Democratic Party MP in the April 2021 parliamentary elections. In May 2021, the US government banned Berisha and his close family from entering the country due to alleged involvement in corruption. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that during Berisha's premiership from 2005 to 2013, the politician was involved in corrupt acts and used "his power for his own benefit and to enrich his political allies and family members".

Blinken accused Berisha of interfering with "independent investigations, anti-corruption efforts, and accountability measures" and that Berisha's "corrupt acts undermined democracy in Albania".

Since then, Berisha's main opposition Democratic Party has been in turmoil with various factions fighting for party leadership and legal registration.

The fight against corruption has been the Achilles' heel of post-communist Albania, significantly impacting the country's democratic, economic, and social development. Berisha was the fourth highest-ranking Albanian official banned from entering the US due to alleged involvement in corruption.