By Gautier Lecardonnel
A castle, millions of euros in bank accounts, a small plane, two apartments in southern France, cars and a yacht. Since arriving in France at the age of 16, Ermal Beqiri, now 44, an entrepreneur and information technology expert, has experienced a dizzying rise up the social ladder. Today, from a remand cell in Beauvais, the Albanian businessman is trying to get out of the difficult situation he finds himself in.
This Tuesday, 20 October, he asked the Investigating Chamber in Amiens for release from pretrial detention for the second time. His case is being reviewed by the Court of Appeal in Amiens, since the businessman lives in the Oise department, at the Auteuil castle in Berneuil-en-Bray, a 16th-century historic monument which, according to Albanian media, he bought for around 2.6 million euros at the end of 2024.
Hundreds of thousands of euros seized from his accounts
Ermal Beqiri is behind bars after Albanian authorities requested his extradition. The Special Prosecution Against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) in Tirana suspects him of being one of the main figures in a network that obtained public contracts in the field of information technology from the Albanian state, manipulating competition and using threats to drive out rivals./ Courrier-picard
In Albania, this case has caused a major uproar. Under investigation are 19 public procurement procedures, with an estimated value of 59 million euros.
The case also involves the former director of the National Agency for the Information Society (AKSHI), Mirlinda Karçanaj, as well as another businessman, Ergys Agasi, who was arrested in Albania in August.
The scandal also touches the government of Prime Minister Edi Rama, at a time when Albania is seeking membership of the European Union and the fight against corruption is one of the main issues in the integration process.
“He has no reason to be in prison”
It was his passion for flying that got Beqiri into trouble. On 24 July of this year, while piloting his small plane, he flew over the Penly nuclear power plant in Seine-Maritime before being forced to land in Méaulte, near Albert, in the Somme department.
For this violation, he was fined 7,000 euros in Paris. He was then placed in pretrial detention as part of the extradition procedure, the review of which has been prolonged due to the difficult situation in Albania.
Beqiri himself opposes the extradition and in September filed an asylum application in France, to which he has yet to receive a response.
“A major cleanup operation is underway in Albania. Everyone understands that there are people who do not want to appear before the Special Prosecution Against Corruption,” said the representative of the French Public Prosecutor’s Office.
His lawyer, Nicolas Paganelli, described the businessman’s continued detention as unnecessary.
“Mr. Beqiri offers exceptionally strong guarantees that he will be available to justice. Aware that he was being sought by the Albanian authorities, it was he himself who, on 11 March, notified the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Amiens. He has not left his home and has remained at the disposal of French justice. Today there is no reason for him to be in prison,” the lawyer stated.
The defense has requested that Beqiri be placed under electronic monitoring, wearing an electronic ankle bracelet.
However, the Public Prosecutor’s Office opposed this request. According to the prosecution’s representative, electronic monitoring would give the businessman the opportunity to contact third parties and “organize things.”
“A major cleanup operation is underway in Albania. Everyone understands that there are people who do not want to appear before the Special Prosecution Against Corruption,” the prosecution’s representative said.
In addition to his movable and immovable assets, French authorities have also seized funds in three bank accounts in his name.
The first account held 15,000 euros, the second 919,000 euros, and the third 1.2 million euros. In total, the seized amount reaches 2 million 125 thousand euros.
The decision on Ermal Beqiri’s request to be released from pretrial detention is expected to be announced on Friday, 23 October.