Corruption in Albania

Corruption in Albania is a long-standing political, economic and institutional problem affecting public administration, elections, public procurement, the judiciary, law enforcement, local government, media ownership and the private sector. In Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index for 2025, Albania scored 39 out of 100 and ranked 91st among 182 countries, declining from 42 points and 80th place in 2024; a higher score indicates lower perceived public-sector corruption.

The European Commission's 2025 Albania report assessed the country as "moderately prepared" in the fight against corruption and said that some progress had been made, particularly through the work of the Special Structure against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) in high-level cases. However, the Commission also stated that corruption remained widespread in vulnerable sectors and affected both the public and private spheres, while preventive institutions had limited impact and weak coordination with law enforcement.

Since the launch of the justice reform process and the creation of SPAK, Albanian anti-corruption institutions have brought investigations and prosecutions against senior politicians and officials, including former ministers, mayors, former presidents and former prime ministers. At the same time, domestic and international monitors have continued to identify structural problems such as political patronage, clientelism, vote-buying, abuse of public resources, opaque public procurement, media capture and the influence of organised crime and connected business interests.

Overview

Albania's post-communist transition has been marked by weak institutions, politicised public administration, informal patronage networks and close links between political parties, business groups and parts of the media. The collapse of the pyramid schemes in 1997 became one of the earliest symbols of weak regulation and political corruption in the post-communist period. Later forms of corruption have been associated with public procurement, concessions and public–private partnerships, electoral clientelism, construction and real estate, tax and customs administration, the cadastre, local government, healthcare and education.

The Bertelsmann Transformation Index 2026 report stated that Albania's high-level corruption cases frequently revealed patronage networks in which senior politicians placed political associates in key positions, enabling state contracts and resources to be redirected toward family members, connected businesses and, in some cases, criminal networks. The same report described corruption as a permanent problem in Albania's democratic transition, while also noting that the work of specialised anti-corruption bodies had begun to challenge the perception that senior figures were "untouchable".

International rankings

Transparency International's 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index gave Albania a score of 39 out of 100, ranking it 91st out of 182 countries. The score represented a decline of three points from 2024, when Albania scored 42 and ranked 80th out of 180 countries.

The 2025 score remained slightly below the global average reported by Transparency International. Albania's score has fluctuated since 2012, with improvements in some years attributed to justice reform and high-level investigations, but setbacks linked to persistent public-sector corruption, weak prevention mechanisms and limited transparency in political finance and public procurement.

Legal and institutional framework

Albania has adopted a number of anti-corruption laws and strategies as part of its EU accession process. The European Commission reported in 2025 that the legal framework was broadly in place but still needed improvement, especially in preventive measures, conflict-of-interest rules, whistleblower protection, political party financing, lobbying, donations and sponsorships, anti-money laundering, internal control and financial inspection.

In 2024 Albania adopted the Anti-Corruption Strategy for 2024–2030, targeting sectors considered vulnerable to corruption, including property, public procurement, health, education, customs and tax, local governance and the private sector. The Commission also stated that the institutional framework for prevention had limited impact and that checks of asset declarations and conflicts of interest by the High Inspectorate of Declaration and Audit of Assets and Conflicts of Interest needed to become more effective and transparent.

SPAK and justice reform

Main article: Special Structure against Corruption and Organized Crime

The Special Structure against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK), composed of the Special Prosecution Office, the National Bureau of Investigation and the special anti-corruption courts, was created through the judicial reform process supported by the European Union and the United States. It is responsible for investigating corruption and organised crime, including cases involving senior officials and politicians.

According to the European Commission, SPAK further consolidated its results in the investigation, prosecution and conviction of high-level corruption cases in 2024 and 2025. In 2024, the Special Court of Appeal for Corruption and Organised Crime delivered 24 final convictions involving 106 persons in corruption cases, including 13 high-level cases, while the first-instance special court convicted 93 persons in corruption cases. The Commission also noted that SPAK's growing workload, the need for more proactive referrals from other institutions and the need to improve financial investigations and asset confiscations remained challenges.

Public procurement, concessions and public–private partnerships

Public procurement and concession contracts are among the most frequently cited corruption-risk areas in Albania. The European Commission has repeatedly recommended stronger competition, compliance and professionalisation in public procurement, and its 2025 report listed public procurement, property and local governance among the sectors targeted by the national anti-corruption strategy.

Concessions and public–private partnerships have been controversial because of allegations of opaque tendering, weak competition, cost overruns and links between winning companies and political actors. The most prominent public-procurement investigations have included the waste-incinerator contracts and, from 2025 onward, the Llogara Tunnel and Tirana Outer Ring Road cases involving former Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister Belinda Balluku.

In September 2025, Prime Minister Edi Rama announced the appointment of the AI-generated virtual figure Diella as a "minister" responsible for public procurement, presenting it as a measure to make tenders free of corruption. The initiative drew international attention but also scepticism and constitutional criticism over accountability, oversight and the legal status of an artificial-intelligence minister.

Electoral corruption and clientelism

Albanian elections are generally competitive, but international observers have repeatedly reported problems linked to the misuse of administrative resources, pressure on public employees, intimidation, vote-buying and the use of patronage networks. In its final report on the 2025 Albanian parliamentary election, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights stated that the election was competitive and professionally managed, but that contestants did not enjoy a level playing field. The report cited reports of intimidation, misuse of public resources and pressure on public employees, as well as concerns about vote-buying and ballot secrecy.

Electoral corruption is closely connected to the broader system of party clientelism. The Bertelsmann Transformation Index report stated that Albanian political parties rely on patron-client structures to collect votes, control the state apparatus and shape public policy.

Media capture and business-political influence

See also: Mass media in Albania and Transparency of media ownership in Europe

Media ownership and political-business links are also considered part of Albania's corruption environment. Media-freedom and media-ownership monitors have reported that many major media outlets are owned by business groups with interests in construction, telecommunications, public procurement or other regulated sectors, creating incentives for favourable coverage of the government in exchange for access to public contracts, concessions, licences or regulatory benefits.

These ownership patterns have been associated with self-censorship, limited investigative reporting and highly polarised coverage of corruption allegations. Reports by media monitors have described Albania's media system as formally pluralistic but vulnerable to capture through ownership concentration, opaque funding, state advertising, public tenders and pressure from owners' political or economic interests.

High-profile cases

Incinerator contracts

The waste-incinerator scandal became one of Albania's most prominent corruption cases. In September 2023, the Special Court against Corruption and Organised Crime sentenced former environment minister Lefter Koka to six years and eight months in prison on charges of corruption, abuse of power and money laundering connected to the Fier incinerator contract. The court found that Koka had accepted a bribe of €3.7 million; several other officials and businessmen also received prison sentences. Criminal proceedings and investigations have also concerned other incinerator projects, including Tirana and Elbasan.

Sali Berisha case

Former president and prime minister Sali Berisha was publicly designated by the United States Department of State in 2021 over alleged significant corruption during his time as prime minister. The State Department alleged that Berisha was involved in corrupt acts such as misappropriation of public funds and interference with public processes; Berisha denied the allegations.

In 2024 Berisha was formally charged by SPAK with corruption in connection with a property deal involving the former Partizani sports complex in Tirana. He has denied wrongdoing and has described the case as politically motivated. His trial began in July 2025.

Ilir Meta case

Former president and former prime minister Ilir Meta was arrested in October 2024 following a SPAK investigation on allegations of corruption, money laundering and concealment of assets. Meta denied wrongdoing and described the case as politically motivated. His former spouse, Monika Kryemadhi, was also investigated.

In May 2025, Meta was formally charged with corruption, money laundering, tax evasion and hiding property from authorities, according to his lawyer.

Erion Veliaj case

In February 2025, the Special Court for Corruption and Organized Crime ordered Mayor of Tirana Erion Veliaj into custody and accused him and others of corruption involving public funds. Prosecutors alleged that public money had been awarded to businesses that then benefited Veliaj's family. Veliaj denied the allegations and said neither he nor his family were connected to corruption.

The case became politically sensitive because Veliaj was a senior figure of the ruling Socialist Party and had served as a minister in Rama's cabinet before becoming mayor of Tirana.

Belinda Balluku case

In November 2025, Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister Belinda Balluku was suspended by an anti-corruption court after SPAK indicted her in connection with public tenders. Reuters reported that the allegations concerned two 2021 tenders, one for the Llogara Tunnel and another for part of the Tirana Outer Ring Road, and that prosecutors accused Balluku of steering tenders to favour specific companies. Balluku denied wrongdoing.

In February 2026, Rama dismissed Balluku from government as the corruption investigation continued. Reuters reported that SPAK had indicted her on suspicion of interfering in the award of two construction contracts worth more than €200 million and that the allegations had triggered opposition protests.

Tom Doshi designation

In April 2018, the United States publicly designated MP Tom Doshi, then an influential politician and later chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Albania, under Section 7031(c) of the appropriations act due to alleged significant corruption. Doshi and members of his family were made ineligible to enter the United States. Doshi denied the allegation.

Public response and protests

Corruption has been a recurring theme in Albanian protests. Opposition-led protests in 2023, 2025 and 2026 accused the government of corruption and clientelism, while the Balluku investigation triggered demonstrations calling for government accountability.

In 2026, the Flamingo Revolution began as a protest movement against luxury development projects linked to Jared Kushner in environmentally sensitive areas, including Sazan Island and the Vjosa-Nartë Protected Landscape. The protests developed into a broader anti-government movement against corruption, public land transfers, oligarchic politics and lack of transparency in major investment projects.

Corruption and human development in Albania

After 1990, Albania passed from a centralised economy to a liberal one. Liberalisation brought major political, economic and social changes, but also created opportunities for weakly regulated privatisation, informal markets and public-sector abuse. Two broad components are often used to measure a country's progress: economic growth and human development.

During the last two decades, economists have paid increasing attention to economic development as a combination of income, health and education rather than economic growth alone. Corruption is generally considered a significant obstacle to development because it reduces public trust, weakens institutions, distorts competition and lowers the quality of public services.

Empirical research by Hysa (2011) found a statistically significant negative relationship between corruption indexes and human development. The study compared Albania with EU member states and suggested that countries with higher perceived corruption tend to have lower levels of human development. In the Albanian case, the relationship between corruption and human development was found to be stronger than in EU countries.

See also

• Special Structure against Corruption and Organized Crime
• Corruption in Kosovo
• International Anti-Corruption Academy
• Group of States Against Corruption
• International Anti-Corruption Day
• ISO 37001 Anti-bribery management systems
• United Nations Convention against Corruption
• OECD Anti-Bribery Convention
• Transparency International
• Mass media in Albania
• Politics of Albania