Albanian Road Authority

The Albanian Road Authority, in a written statement to BIRN, acknowledged the arrears but blamed previous administrations and property registration problems, adding that it had asked the government to increase its budget for compensation in the next two years.

An Albanian journalist being sued by Prime Minister Edi Rama, who is demanding 8,000 euros in compensation for alleged defamation, launched a counter-suit on Tuesday, saying that the premier should pay him 16,000 euros.

Rama filed his suit against Ylli Rakipi, a journalist and former media owner who currently runs a TV show called 'The Unexposed Ones', in January this year.

The General Prosecutor's Office in Tirana told BIRN on Friday it would probe allegations that a company had used false documents to win an 18-million-euro public works tender in Albania.

 The Albanian-registered company allegedly pretended to be a branch of a major US-based contractor to get the contract.

Two former directors of the Albanian Road Authority are among 11 people arrested by an Elbasan court order over the procurement of a road that was never properly built.

Dashamir Xhika, former director of the Authority between 2013 and 2017, was arrested and accused of abuse of office.