Denada Jushi
The Special Prosecution Office against Corruption and Organized Crime, in the 7 years since its establishment as a structure, has played an essential role in the fight against crime and corruption.
Klodjan Braho has been at the head of the institution for 7 months now, and today he made a report on the work of the institution during his leadership.
The Special Prosecution Office against Corruption and Organized Crime reported an increase in performance during the period January 1 – July 15, 2026.
The data shows that SPAK has completed 183 criminal proceedings, or 64.9% more compared to the same period in 2025.
The promise made by Mr. Braho upon his election as head of SPAK was to focus on asset seizures and investigations.
This report shows that assets worth around 440 million euros have been seized and dozens of new files for corruption and organized crime have been sent to court.
According to the six-month report, at the beginning of 2026 SPAK had 616 active proceedings, while on July 15 their number had decreased to 551, or about 10.5% less. At the same time, the ratio between completed proceedings and new proceedings has increased from 61% in 2025 to 166.4% in 2026, which shows that the institution has closed more files than it has registered new ones.
During the period 1 January – 15 July 2026, 110 new proceedings were registered, compared to 182 in the same period last year, or 39.6% less. According to SPAK, more than half of them, 62 proceedings or 56.4%, were initiated by the Special Structure itself and not as a result of external reports, reflecting a more active role in identifying criminal offenses.
The report also highlights progress in reducing backlogs from 2019–2021.
In the field of investigations against high-ranking officials, where there is the greatest interest, SPAK reports that during this period, 13 criminal proceedings were investigated, involving 16 officials or former high-ranking officials and heads of institutions. Among them are 5 mayors or former mayors, 5 heads or former heads of central institutions, 3 judges, former judges or prosecutors, 2 ministers or former ministers and 1 MP.
One of the strongest findings of the report is related to the financial crackdown on criminal groups. SPAK reports that during this period, courts have imposed preventive seizure measures in five criminal proceedings, with a total value of around 440 million euros. The seized assets include over 150 thousand square meters of property, more than 60 villas, apartments and hotels, over 10 commercial companies, 620 bank accounts, as well as around 100 vehicles and vessels. For comparison, during the entire period 2020–2025, the total value of seized assets was around 220 million euros.
But one of the issues that has been discussed in relation to the work of SPAK has been the security measures, considered an "excess" of restrictive measures.
Regarding security measures, the report shows that they have been assigned to 7 high-risk criminal groups. In total, the courts have imposed 97 security measures against 94 persons, of which 37 measures, or 38.1%, were “prison arrest”. On July 15, 2026, there were 292 persons related to SPAK cases in pre-trial detention institutions, of whom 233 were in the trial phase and 59 in the preliminary investigation phase.
International cooperation also remains one of the main pillars of SPAK's activity. During the six-month period, 40 requests for legal assistance from foreign authorities were processed, while Albanian prosecutors sent 107 requests for legal assistance to countries in Europe, Latin America and the region. In addition, 6 new joint investigation teams were created, bringing the total number of active teams to 33. In the same period, 36 people were declared internationally wanted, while in cooperation with foreign authorities, 4 residential premises, 3 plots of land, 2 vehicles and 1 motorbike were seized.
The head of SPAK, Mr. Braho, also responded to the interest of journalists when asked about the case of Ms. Balluku. Regarding expectations for new developments, he stated that he will wait for the completion of the investigations to continue further with this matter.
Regarding the case of Ermal Beqiraj's arrest, Mr. Braho said that SPAK has been aware of it for several days and has been closely cooperating with the French authorities to carry out the actions. He said that more new details will be known in the coming days.acqj.al
