Albania seizes assets of former top prosecutor

Albanian authorities seized assets of a former chief prosecutor who is being probed for corruption and money laundering, an official said today.

The move comes as Tirana pushed forward with a rocky effort to clean-up its graft-riddled judiciary, a task that Brussels has made a top priority for the country to start accession talks with the European Union.

Adriatik Llalla, once one of Albania's most powerful and feared men, was accused in April of refusing to declare his assets, money laundering and other financial crimes.

The court seized "moveable and real estate assets" worth 98.7 million leks ($915,000)," Denion Ndrenika, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office, told AFP.

The property includes an apartment in the northwestern seaside city of Durres and more than two hectares (4.9 acres) of land, Ndrenika said. Llalla left his post last November after his term ended.

The former prosecutor and his family were barred from entering the United States in February due to his "involvement in significant corruption", the State Department said at the time.

Under EU pressure, Albania has ordered some 800 judges and prosecutors to declare their assets in effort to root out corruption.

According to a report this month by the rights group Albanian Helsinki Committee, some 200 judges and prosecutors examined "had links with the organised crime, corruption, under either direct or indirect form." Around 20 senior judges have stepped down from their posts to avoid the review.

Local media have recently voiced fears that some judicial bodies will soon struggle to function soon due to insufficient number of judges.