Albanian Minister Hints Euro 110 Million Arbitral Award to Italian Businessman May Not Be Final – Release
Albanian Finance Minister Anila Denaj has suggested that the court ruling obliging Albania to pay 110 million euros to businessman Francesco Becchetti may not be final.
“In the case of Becchetti, we are awaiting a response from the prosecution. We cannot legally budget for the process if the state attorney does not say whether the decision should be implemented. “
She made the comments to state broadcaster RTSH yesterday.
The minister added that in the dough, they had agreed to pay the damages in several installments. She did not indicate whether such an agreement had been reached with Becchetti.
“There are processes and contracts which, if negotiated on time, could have compensated for the damage caused by the lawsuit,” she said.
Albania has been ordered to pay 110 million euros to Italian businessman Francesco Becchetti following the government shutdown “for political reasons” of his television channel Agon in 2015.
ICSID concluded at the time that in the expropriation of Becchetti’s television station, there was evidence of a politically motivated campaign. The court concluded that the evidence “strongly supports[s] an inference that the foreclosure decisions were the culmination of a political campaign against the plaintiffs. Becchetti initially claimed 650 million euros in damages, but the court awarded him 110 million euros.
Earlier this week, Bechettei rented a billboard in one of Rome’s main squares to announce his victory in his arbitration case against Albania.
“My name is Francesco Becchetti. I have fought against the political persecution of at least one government. I won, ”reads the billboard erected in Piazza di Spagna in Rome, with a photo of a provocative Becchetti.
Rama maintains that the case is not yet over and that his government will win in the end.
It is still not clear what the government’s plan is, as the court’s decision is final. Prime Minister Edi Rama has refused to reveal his approach to the case from now on, saying Albania’s next step should be kept from Becchetti.