Albanian businessman Ermal Beqiri has failed to secure his release from pretrial detention in France, while judicial authorities are reviewing Albania’s extradition request for him. The Amiens court has ruled that he will remain in custody pending a final decision on whether he will be handed over to Albanian authorities. Beqiri, who is wanted by the SPAK in connection with the investigations into abuses in AKSHI tenders, appeared before the French court on Friday, October 23. According to French media, the businessman opposes his extradition to Albania, claiming that the case against him has political undertones.
During the hearing, the court reviewed additional documentation sent by Albanian authorities following a request made in August. The documents include legal guarantees from the Ministry of Justice, the Special Prosecution Office and the General Directorate of Prisons.
His lawyer, Nicolas Paganelli, disputed the validity of these documents, describing them as incomplete and questioning the credibility of the guarantees provided. “They are drafts, this is not serious work. You are not the after-sales service for incomplete diplomatic guarantees,” the lawyer declared.
Beqiri himself leveled accusations against Albanian justice, claiming that proceedings against him are political. “If I have corrupted someone, it is the state. But on this side, no one is in prison. Anyway, there is a problem here. This case is purely political,” the businessman said.
On the other hand, the General Prosecutor’s Office in Amiens requested approval of the extradition, arguing that the French court is not tasked with assessing the functioning of the Albanian judicial system. Ermal Beqiri was initially arrested in France after flying his private plane at low altitude over the Penly nuclear power plant. For this incident, he was fined 7,000 euros, but remained in pretrial detention due to the extradition request submitted by Albania.
French authorities have also seized considerable assets, including a 16th-century castle near Paris, bank accounts with over 2.1 million euros, two apartments in southern France, vehicles, a yacht and a light aircraft. SPAK is seeking the businessman within the framework of investigations into the AKSHI tenders, in which charges have been brought against him for a series of criminal offenses, including active corruption, money laundering, violation of equality in tenders, unlawful deprivation of liberty and participation in a structured criminal group.
Beqiri remains held in Beauvais prison, while the French justice system’s decision on his extradition to Albania is awaited.