Albania's former President, Ilir Meta, a fierce opponent of Prime Minister Edi Rama, was arrested on Monday in Tirana for alleged corruption and money laundering, the special prosecutor's office confirmed.
Meta's party denounced what it said was a "criminal kidnapping."
Meta, 55, a centre-left politician who served as president from 2017 to 2022, was arrested while returning to Tirana after a visit to Kosovo.
The prosecutor stated that Meta and his ex-wife, Monika Kryemadhi, along with other public figures, are suspected of several criminal offences, including "passive bribery of a senior official," "money laundering," and "false declaration of assets."
Jail
The oldest allegations date back to his time as Minister of Economy (2010-2011), while others are more recent.
Images published earlier by Albanian media showed police officers escorting Meta out of his car and into a police special forces' van.
A photographer working for AFP saw Meta leave a police station in the afternoon to be taken to jail.
Monika Kryemadhi, 50, an MP of Meta’s Freedom Party, has not been arrested but will be required to regularly appear before the judicial police.
'Political' accusations
In a public statement, she dismissed the accusations against her and her ex-husband as "political."
If the charges are proven, according to the Albanian penal code, they are punishable by up to 12 years in prison.
"Investigations are continuing regarding other persons suspected of being involved in this illegal criminal activity," the prosecution stated, adding that they had international assistance and cooperation on this case from the United States, Austria, Italy, San Marino, and Cyprus.
Earlier Monday, Meta's political party's Secretary-General, Tedi Blushi, called his arrest a "criminal kidnapping."
'Concentrating powers in president's hands'
Former prime minister and president Sali Berisha, the current leader of the opposition Democratic Party, who is himself under house arrest pending a corruption investigation, told a press conference that "the persecution of Ilir Meta is political."
Once an ally of Rama, Meta has since become close to Berisha and now accuses Rama of leading a "kleptocratic regime" and "concentrating all legislative, administrative, and judicial powers in his hands."
Meta is a veteran of the Albanian political scene, having held high positions since the fall of communism in 1991.
Elected as a deputy in 1992, Meta served as Prime Minister (1999-2002), Minister of Foreign Affairs (2009-2010), Minister of Economy (2010-2011), and Speaker of Parliament (2013-2017), before being elected President of Albania in April 2017, a largely ceremonial role.
➤Click here to follow our WhatsApp channel for more stories.
