FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Journalist Artan Hoxha has made strong accusations about the informal economy and the circulation of money in Albania, stating that during 2023 alone, around 12 billion euros were exchanged at foreign exchange points outside the banking system.
Invited to the show "Çim Peka LIVE" on SYRI TV, Hoxha said that developments in recent years have confirmed many of the claims made earlier by former Deputy Prime Minister Arben Ahmetaj, which according to him were received with skepticism at the time.
" What Arben Ahmetaj said, they even considered me crazy, and it took years to prove that they were true. I took them as credible, why? Because I knew that Ahmetaj was there at the table. And we know, even when he said about the bottle of wine. Yes, that he drinks that wine. If it were another person who drinks raki, I wouldn't believe it. But Arben Ahmetaj knows wines, their quality and their price ," declared Hoxha.
The journalist also touched on the former debate over the "Rothschild" wine bottle, claiming that the reactions after the publication of this episode showed that the issue had a greater impact than was publicly presented.
" You saw what happened here. They were more concerned about removing the labels of the wines there, because it would prove what Ahmetaj said, that bottles of 'Rothschild' wine were drunk at 33 thousand euros a bottle. So all night they removed the labels there, took the expensive wines, left the others for the whole world to drink. But when a state official drinks a 33 thousand euro wine, do you understand what impact it has on the international media and European politicians? These are details that stick and remain ," he said.
Speaking about investments on the coast and major tourism projects, Hoxha said that many of the answers are found in the constructions that have been carried out in recent years.
" Then when the part came about what is in Aruba in 2019, then in Monaco in 2021, then in Majorca and so on. And you find them today in resorts built on the Albanian coast, then you no longer need proof. The proof is that resort that looks like it's from the moon. It's that simple. What proof do you need anymore? Was this resort built back then? Was it built? Yes, the film is finished. So this has been implemented. How was the resort built? With a permit approved by the Albanian government ," the journalist declared.
One of Hoxha's strongest statements was related to the exchange rate and the circulation of informal money in Albania. According to him, the figures for 2023 best explain the drastic decline of the euro in the domestic market.
" And the fact that they managed to be so decisive, so important in the Albanian economy, in Albania, that we cannot explain. When the meeting took place in Aruba, how much was the euro in Albania? So 1 euro was exchanged for 132 lek. How much is the euro today? It is 94. So we also could not explain how the euro went down the drain. From there, a big disaster began. And I am saying that in 2023 alone, in the year of the municipal elections in Albania, outside the banking system, in the currency exchange points in Albania, 12 billion euros were exchanged. Do you understand? No matter how much the Central Bank tries to buy in the market and intervene in the market, why is the euro where it is. Twelve billion euros in all the currency exchange points that Albania has ", declared Artan Hoxha.
Lini një Përgjigje