State Department Silent on Albania’s Growing Corruption Crisis

The State Department has declined to comment on an escalating corruption scandal in Albania that has now reached the highest levels of government, raising questions about U.S. policy toward a key Balkan ally.

The controversy centers around Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, who was removed from her position by an Albanian court following allegations she improperly influenced construction bids. Prime Minister Edi Rama quickly challenged the decision, leading Albania’s Constitutional Court to provisionally reinstate Balluku last Friday pending a “final decision.”

The Special Anti-Corruption and Organized Crime Structure (SPAK), Albania’s anti-corruption prosecutor, filed criminal charges against Balluku on October 31, alleging she improperly favored a specific company for a 3.7-mile tunnel construction project in southern Albania. SPAK filed additional charges on November 21 related to rule violations in a Tirana road construction project, which prompted her removal from office.

Balluku has vehemently denied the accusations, telling parliament that the claims amount to “mudslinging, insinuations, half-truths and lies.”

Her case represents the second member of Rama’s cabinet to face corruption accusations since 2023, intensifying criticism from political opponents and former government officials.

Agim Nesho, who served as Albania’s ambassador to both the United States and United Nations, told Fox News Digital that the situation demonstrates the Rama government’s unwillingness to allow independent judicial action. “The Rama government shows no sign of assuming moral responsibility or allowing justice the space to act independently. Instead, it appears intent on shielding Ms. Balluku, portraying the judiciary’s actions as an attack on the executive,” Nesho said.

The former diplomat suggested more troubling implications, arguing that “influencing the Constitutional Court may be an attempt to set a protective precedent — one that could prove useful if investigators ever seek to involve Mr. Rama himself in their investigations.”

Albania has been struggling with corruption allegations that extend beyond Balluku. Former Deputy Prime Minister Arben Ahmetaj, who fled the country after coming under SPAK investigation, has claimed Rama personally “directed all key decisions on tenders, finances, and public assets,” according to Nesho. Ahmetaj has gone further, alleging Rama has connections to organized crime figures – an accusation the prime minister dismissed, stating that “Albanian politics is not tainted by the mafia.”

The United States has invested significant resources in judicial reform efforts in Albania, partly to support the country’s bid for European Union membership by reducing corruption. However, these reforms have created substantial legal backlogs that have fueled public frustration and, in some cases, violence.

Nesho offered a stark assessment of the situation: “It is hard to see how a government that behaves like a banana republic gains accession to the E.U.” He characterized Albania as “a living contradiction in terms of law and order,” claiming that while Rama’s political opposition has been “decimated by ‘lawfare’ and the compromising of legal institutions,” the prime minister has remained in power despite “documented multi-billion-dollar corruption scandals” and alleged connections to international drug cartels.

Additional controversy surrounds Rama’s reported meeting with Luftar Hysa, an individual sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for alleged connections to Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel. Rama has acknowledged meeting Hysa once but provided little additional detail.

When asked about these developments, Rama’s press office declined to comment on Nesho’s allegations. Similarly, the State Department offered no insight into its position, telling Fox News Digital, “We have no comment on ongoing legal matters.”

The U.S. Embassy in Tirana provided an identical response when questioned about whether it would suspend Balluku’s visa following her removal from office.

The American government’s silence stands in contrast to its previous actions regarding Albanian corruption. In May 2021, the State Department sanctioned former Prime Minister Sali Berisha over corruption allegations and banned him from traveling to the United States.

As public demonstrations continue in Tirana and other Albanian cities, the political crisis shows little sign of resolution, leaving observers to question whether Washington will eventually take a more definitive stance on corruption allegations in this strategically important Balkan nation.