Albania’s ex-Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku charged with corruption amid parliamentary immunity battle

Special anti-corruption prosecutors (SPAK) announced that former Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku faces nine counts of tender-process inequality, passive corruption involving senior officials, asset concealment and money-laundering linked to two properties. The case, which also implicates other officials, follows her suspension by a Special Court in November 2025 and a contentious cabinet reshuffle that finally removed her from office.

Prime Minister Edi Rama challenged the suspension in the Constitutional Court but the court upheld it, and he later rejected Balluku’s resignation three times before her dismissal was approved by Parliament on March 5. In March, the Socialist-led Parliament voted against SPAK’s request to place Balluku under detention, arguing the cited risks were unsubstantiated. Meanwhile, Rama and his party have proposed amending Article 242 of the Criminal Procedure Code to curb courts’ power to suspend ministers, a move critics say could institutionalise political protection. The saga highlights a broader pattern of high-level corruption probes in Albania and raises questions about the balance between judicial independence and executive authority.