From Genc Pollo, former minister and deputy
Much has been written and spoken about the January claim by the team of US prosecutors led by Matthew Graves against Charles McGonigal, the former senior FBI agent (chief of the New York office), who took bribes from government officials. Rama to act in violation of FBI rules and US law. Federal judge in Washington D.C. mrs. Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on February 16 accepted these charges and sentenced the former agent to 2 years and 4 months in prison.
From this claim and from the indictment of the US Department of Justice published in January 2023, the public learned that McGonigal received large sums of money and information on the opposition from KM Rama’s trustees to move the FBI against the Democratic Party and US lobbyists. agreed by her; he also learned that McGonigal & co blackmailed and extorted regional Albanian oligarchs by playing the “non grata” card. Sources in America consider that McGonigal also played a role in the “Berisha file” that led to the determination of the former prime minister’s “ban-entry to the US”.
But the defendant’s partial admission of guilt led to a “plea deal”, a common practice in American criminal justice, according to which the prosecution drops the rest of the charges in exchange; the defendant thus secures a more lenient sentence and a summary trial. As a rule, prosecutors gain valuable information for their work and avoid hundreds of hours of work and not insignificant expenses typical of a jury trial. In our case, the Biden Administration, of which the Department of Justice is also a part, spared itself an embarrassing exposure with the details of McGonigal’s abuses, which turns out to have been thoroughly investigated by the FBI.
A year ago, bearing in mind the above, I wrote that the parliamentary investigation launched in the House of Representatives gives hope for the full disclosure of this scandal; there, the Republican majority, in opposition to the Biden Administration, has no political ties; they just need to research the Albanian aspect of the McGonigal scandal, which I don’t know if it is directly related to their interest and the debate of the day in the USA. I also noted that since SPAK would be put under governmental and perhaps even diplomatic pressure in Tirana, a parliamentary commission of inquiry in the Assembly would be more useful. Time showed that Rama would not ask about the Constitution and laws to prevent this commission, bringing the anomaly to the Assembly that continues today.
The above is generally known to the reader. But the January claim has a new element: an assertion that implicates a socialist minister of the Rama government in a criminal offense. On its pages 3-4 it is written:
“On September 9, 2017, in Albania, he (McGonigal) met with both of them: the former Minister of Energy and the Prime Minister of Albania. At the request of person A (Neza), the defendant (McGonigal) suggested to the Prime Minister of Albania that regarding the granting of licenses for oil fields in Albania, he should avoid Russian companies (with a different facade); at the same time, person A (Neza) and the Minister of Energy had a financial interest in the decisions of the Government of Albania regarding the granting of licenses for oil fields.”
So the US Department of Justice claims that Minister D. Gj., who was responsible for granting licenses for oil fields, actually granted those licenses to himself; that is, companies where he was personally a shareholder. This affair was publicly denounced by Marc Crawford, Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Albania at the time of Charles McGonigal’s visits to Tirana. He spoke about the masked penetration of Russian interests in the oil sector to the detriment of American companies, as well as non-transparent and irregular actions of the government.
In 2017 there were no sanctions against Russia, the operation of Russian firms in the field of hydrocarbons was not legally prohibited in us; but it was also not in line with the proclaimed Euro-Atlanticism of the Rama government. But the denunciations of Mr. Crawford for non-transparent actions of the government find a transparent confirmation in the claim of the Department of Justice. A minister who with his official actions gives himself economic benefits is not only in conflict of interest but has committed the criminal offense of corruption and abuse of office according to the Penal Code.
Of course, the former minister has the right to consider this assertion of the claim of the prosecutor Graves as untrue and claim the presumption of innocence. Even before the Special Court (GjKKO) if that day comes.
But in the meantime the public, and with a little courage the journalists, have questions to ask. The charges presented against McGonigal have been one of the rare points of consensus between the government and the opposition if you see the supportive statements of Rama and Berisha. But the prime minister has interpreted them by removing any guilt and responsibility from himself.
In the above case of the licensing-beneficiary minister, KM Rama must explain: did he know that from the oil licenses that he was discussing in his office in September 2017 with McGonigal, his minister and person A (Neza), the latter two would to be beneficiaries? Did he report the minister as the Penal Code obliges state officials?
On the political level, Rama should also explain why he did not immediately dismiss the licensing-beneficiary minister but did so only after two years? Why did you re-nominate him as the chief deputy in the 2021 parliamentary elections? Why did he continue to entrust him with important party and parliamentary duties?
Like the reader of these lines, I don’t believe there will be any revelation in KM Rama’s answers (if there will be any). But questions should be asked anyway. Just as the tireless opposition is required to make summons for this case as well and submit them to the Special Prosecutor’s Office. Like many others; let them be vandak there.
