Press Release

The Prosecution Office at Gjirokastra Court of First Instance of General Jurisdiction based on the information submitted by the Judicial Police Officers of the Prosecution section has registered criminal proceedings under case no. 471, of 2023, on its own initiative, for the criminal offense "Computer Fraud", as provided for in Article 143/b/2 of the Criminal Code.

Within the scope of this criminal proceeding, the prosecution in cooperation with the Economic and Financial Crimes investigation sector, in the Criminal Police Department, as well as in cooperation with the Directorate of the Special Operational Force involved the use of proactive methods to identify two premises in the city of Tirana, which were adapted as "Call Centers", where the activity of deceiving foreign citizens, from several different continents was carried out, by luring these citizens to invest in the markets of fictitious cryptocurrencies and then misappropriating significant sums of money in foreign currencies. 

On November 8, 2023, the law enforcement operation related to this criminal proceeding concluded in the city of Tirana. The operation was conducted under the oversight of the Gjirokastra Prosecution Office. During the operation, thorough inspections conducted at two premises linked to fraudulent activities, it was discovered a total of 75 unregistered employees in the tax authorities. These individuals were involved in deceiving foreign citizens through deceptive platforms.

The following items were confiscated as material evidence: 2 servers containing data, 2 "DVR" devices, 75 laptop computers, 25 desktop computers, 35 mobile phones, several notepads containing the names of the defrauded individuals and the misappropriated amounts. Additionally, a sum of 13,500 euros in cash and a recently manufactured luxury car were seized, with suspicion arising that the vehicle is linked to money laundering resulting from fraudulent activities.

Eight individuals were arrested in flagrante delicto, revealing them to be co-owners and employees of two "Call Center" entities. The arrested citizens include E.S., a 32-year-old resident of Tirana; E.P., a 28-year-old resident of Tirana; M.S., a 29-year-old resident of Tirana; E.H., a 23-year-old resident of Fushë Krujë; A.H., a 32-year-old resident of Tirana; S.B., a 35-year-old resident of Vlora; F.H., a 27-year-old resident of Tirana; and E.M., a 26-year-old residing in Tirana.

On November 11, 2023, Gjirokastra Court of First Instance of the General Jurisdiction has decided to legitimize the arrests made in flagrante delicto and has imposed the "Remand in custody” security measure for citizens E.P. and A.H., and "House Arrest" security measure for citizens E.S., M.S., E.H., S.B., F.H., and E.M.