By Tirana Times Staff
Tirana 20, November 2025.The suspension of Albania’s Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku by the Special Court Against Corruption and Organized Crime marks one of the most consequential judicial interventions against a senior government official since the creation of SPAK. The court accepted the Special Prosecution’s request to remove Balluku from office and imposed a travel ban by blocking her passport, effectively preventing her from leaving the country. The decision comes just ten days after SPAK formally communicated to her the charge of violating equality in public tenders during the construction of the Llogara Tunnel, a €190-million infrastructure project in southern Albania. Prosecutors allege that Balluku personally oversaw and influenced every step of the process and predetermined the winner in violation of procurement rules. According to sources within the Special Prosecution, further charges are expected, including a newly opened investigation into the fourth lot of Tirana’s Outer Ring Road, another highly controversial tender flagged for irregularities and disproportionate disqualification of competing bidders.
Balluku, who has served as Minister of Infrastructure and Energy since 2019 and later as Deputy Prime Minister, is the most senior member of the cabinet to come under criminal indictment in the ongoing anti-corruption campaign. Her influence over the largest portfolio in the Albanian governmentroads, energy, transport, and strategic projectswas a central element in the court’s reasoning. Judicial sources emphasize that her position, authority, and long-standing control over key institutions created a “clear possibility” that she could interfere with evidence or intimidate witnesses if she remained in office, a risk the court described as sufficient to justify suspension and travel restrictions.
The political impact has been immediate. The opposition responded by demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation, accusing him of presiding over a government eroded by systemic corruption. Balluku is the latest in a growing list of high-ranking figures close to the prime minister who have faced charges or lost their positions, following earlier cases involving former deputy prime minister Arben Ahmetaj, Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj, former health minister Ilir Beqaj, and former interior minister Saimir Tahiri. The opposition argues that this pattern reveals a deeper governance crisis rather than isolated wrongdoing. Yet the prime minister publicly defended his deputy, accusing critics of engaging in a “popular prosecution” and insisting that judicial processes should remain independent from political pressure.
Balluku, who addressed Parliament just days before the ruling, rejected the allegations as baseless and politically amplified, saying she owed the public “clarity against speculation and half-truths.” Her statement came as the government presented its draft budget for 2026an appearance that now stands in stark contrast to her abrupt suspension. Only three days earlier she had traveled to Rome on an official visit, underscoring how sudden the shift in her status has been.
The court decision also extends to two other senior officials involved in the Llogara Tunnel tender, who have been placed under house arrest, while further measures are expected as other individuals are notified. The secrecy surrounding the rulingsstandard procedure for ongoing investigationshas left the public with limited official details, even as major national media outlets cite investigative documents, intercepted communications, and internal records that allegedly link procedural irregularities directly to Balluku’s instructions.
This is not the first instance in which a high-ranking Albanian official remains in office until a court order forces removal, despite serious accusations. The episode deepens the debate about political accountability, ministerial responsibility, and the boundaries between judicial action and executive authority in Albania’s evolving anti-corruption framework. The coming weeks will determine whether Balluku will formally contest the ruling, how the government will handle the political cost of losing its number-two official, and whether the case signals a turning point or merely the latest chapter in Albania’s turbulent struggle against corruption at the highest levels of power.
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