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Shkruar nga PamfletiThe “Bankers Petroleum” file has been transferred to the Special Prosecution Office SPAK for further investigation. The Fier Prosecution Office has declared its incompetence and transferred the case to SPAK, after finding that several arrested persons acted as a structured criminal group, with the aim of stealing financial sums from “Bankers Petroleum”.
The Bankers Petroleum file has been transferred to SPAK. The Fier Prosecutor's Office has declared incompetence because senior officials were involved during the investigation, and as a result, the file has been transferred to the Special Prosecutor's Office.
Bankers Petroleum's CEO, Chinese Hongping Xiao, and former director Leonidha Cobo are in prison for this case, both accused of a VAT fraud scheme and tax evasion. Cobo is also suspected of money laundering.
The action at “Bankers Petrolium Albania” was carried out by the Fier Prosecutor’s Office on July 2, which executed 10 security measures while 4 foreign persons are still wanted. The investigations were conducted for 6 months by the prosecution, in cooperation with tax and police structures, and are related to suspicions of false tax declarations and evasion of financial obligations on a large scale. According to the prosecutor’s office, for 20 years in a row, the largest oil extraction company in Albania has evaded taxes, causing millions of euros in damage to the state budget.
During the period 2004–2024, the Chinese company is accused of having sold and exported oil worth a total of 532 billion lek, but despite this amount, the company has declared losses for each year, totaling 11.7 billion.
According to the prosecution, through this scheme, the company has avoided paying corporate income tax for 20 years in a row and has also benefited from fictitious VAT refunds, causing financial damage in the millions of euros to the state budget.
The company itself denied the allegations through a statement, and pledged to fully cooperate with Albanian authorities on the matter.
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