Dashnor Kaloçi
Memorie.al publishes an unknown document extracted from the fund of the former Central Committee of the ALP which has been detached from a voluminous file belonging to 1962 and speaks of a correspondence between the Bank of the Albanian State (General Directorate) ), with the Directorate of Trade-Finance at the Central Committee of the ALP, where a report-information is given with details and details of the work done by the Commissioning Society in cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, regarding the income derived from the sale of movable and immovable property, and of bank deposits of Albanian political emigrants in different countries of the world, such as in Italy, Turkey, Egypt, Congo, etc. How did the Ministry of Internal Affairs obtain the power of attorney of some of the rich Albanian families who had bank properties and deposits in different countries of the world, taking the signatures of their heirs in Albania, such as Vangjel Manushi, Mediha Libohova, Enver Libohova, Ihsan Libohova, Vllazë Gurashi, Vllazë Dabërdaku, Ismail Tartari, Behire Vila, Vllazë Leka, Ali Hasho, Emine Shaska, etc? Enver Hoxha’s note with relevant suggestions on how to obtain those properties and assets he had in Congo, the Albanian citizen from Gjirokastra, Theofanis Fotolalos, as well as the efforts of the “competent bodies” to enter into negotiations and invite them to Albania, the merchant Mynyr Topulli (originally from Gjirokastra and Lebanese citizenship), to charge him with the sale of property in Egypt and Turkey, and Rrok Prenushi from Shkodra who lived in Trieste, for him to be associated with Italian merchants engaged in the sale and purchase of the property.
“Prosecutors are preparing Isuf Beshiri, Hysen Beshiri, and others for the sale of their assets, which amounts to $ 250,000. Despite the work done, there are still many people who have not given a power of attorney for the sale of assets and for the withdrawal of deposits in foreign banks. This is due to two reasons: Some of these people are not clear on foreign exchange issues, while others have a bad political attitude. The value of these assets, which are considered real estate in Italy and for which a power of attorney has not yet been granted, is estimated at $ 236,000. During this period it was taken over by the Commissioning Company, the estate of Theofanis Fotolalos’ heirs in Congo, as well as the partial collection of the 60,000-dollar deposit, and we are awaiting the realization of another deposit located in Leopoldville. With the efforts made, we were able to collect $ 51,200 from the Qorralinje heritage in Egypt, from V. Manushi’s rents and the sale of A. Lekë’s house for $ 21,000, etc. Cooperation between the Bank and the bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on the issue of assets owned by Albanian citizens abroad has recently been strengthened. With the help of the Internal Affairs Bodies, it has become possible that many citizens who were reluctant to give power of attorney for the sale of property have now been given it. Among them, we mention the persons who have given a power of attorney for the sale of the property, who are…. ”
This is stated, among other things, in some archival documents extracted from a voluminous file with the initials “To top secret” which is in the fund of the former Central Committee of the ALP, which belongs to 1962 and speaks of correspondence between Bank of the State of Albania (General Directorate), with the Directorate of Trade-Finance at the Central Committee of the ALP, which provides detailed and detailed information from the work done by the Commissioning Commission in cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, regarding with the income derived from the sale of movable and immovable property and bank deposits of Albanian emigrants in different countries of the world, such as Italy, Turkey, Egypt, Congo, etc., who had their heirs in Albania. As we will see from the documents in question that belong to 1962, which are headed by Enver Hoxha, as well as the Secretary of the Central Committee of the ALP that covered the finances, Haki Toska, Director of the Directorate of Trade-Finance, Pjetër Kosta, all movable and immovable property, as well as the bank deposits of Albanian citizens located in different parts of the world, such as Italy, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, the United Arab Republic, up to the Congo, were ‘ did the Albanian state of that time take and rob, through the power of attorney it received from their heirs in Albania, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, using violence against them and with various means of pressure. But this robbery that the Albanian state used at that time against its citizens, was the continuation or more precisely the prologue, as that thing had started with his coming to power in December 1944, were among the first steps taken by the communist government and Enver Hoxha, in the framework of “major reforms of the people’s power to increase the welfare of the people”, was the action of sequestration and collection of gold to all those Albanian and foreign citizens who had at least some of the precious metal. The gold collection campaign, which was carried out with repressive measures, such as arrests, imprisonment, torture, deportations and even extrajudicial executions, mostly fell on the backs of Albanian merchants, the rich and large Albanian families who owned significant quantities of gold in coins, jewelry, etc., which they had put on with sweat from the work done over the years or had inherited them. At this time, many Albanian merchants and rich people, in order to save what they could from their wealth, began to break the gold by converting it into money. But even this method, Enver Hoxha’s communist government found the “medicine” and in 1946, it issued a decree-law to change the currency, by which all Albanian citizens were obliged to appear at the Bank’s branches. of the Albanian State, to exchange their money. The largest amount allowed for each person or head of the family was up to 5,000 francs. And any other amount exceeding this amount was seized by the state without the right of return. Likewise, in the decree-law that came into force immediately on July 11, 1946, for which the communist government of that time, among other things, stated: its replacement with the new currency of the Albanian State Bank is a step forward towards recovery, and strengthening our economy is a very important step for the good of the people which from now on will have its own currency ”. This law clearly sanctioned strict penalties for all those citizens who would hide their income, or who would give money to others to exchange. They would be called saboteurs and would be tried by the Supreme Military Court. These alibis used by Enver Hoxha’s communist government in the early days of its rise to power, which under the guise of reforms that were propagated as being undertaken “to increase the welfare of the people,” made it possible to seize and extort gold and money. all those rich Albanians, who had put their wealth in sweat or inherited it from their ancestors. And from what was left unattended at that time, it continued in the early ’60s and onwards, through the Commissioning Society, which is what these archival documents that Memorie.al is publishing are talking about.
Continued from the previous issue
Report of the Directorate of Trade-Finance to the Central Committee of the ALP, for the sequestration of bank deposits and properties of some Albanians in different countries of the world
R E L A T I O N
ABOUT
Implementation of some tasks of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the ALP, No. 311 dated 11 / IX / 1961 “On the possibilities for increasing revenues and reducing foreign exchange expenditures”
Let’s see Comrade Enver
A legacy of considerable value has been discovered by Spiro Kallcho in Libya, in the city of Tripoli, which consists of two large houses, a warehouse, shares, and a large garden planted with oranges and their value is for a sum of considerably. To solve this practice, the interested party will soon be sent to the Book together with a friend of the Commissioner Society, who will take over this property, collect the rents, and sell it.
In Turkey, in addition to the 71 practices followed by the Commissioner Society, the following practices have recently been discovered:
The wealth of the heirs of the Zhapas. According to lawyers in Istanbul (now the Turkish Defense Minister), this wealth is quite large and consists of an entire neighborhood, houses, shops, warehouses, etc. Heir Noli Konomi, who according to the lawyer’s data is valued at 1,000,000 Turkish lire, equal to 120,000 dollars. The sales power of attorney has been prepared for the latter, etc.
Of particular interest are the assets of Albanian citizens in Greece. From the work done so far, it has resulted that 137 different people have assets in Greece and their value is considerable. In this regard, efforts have been made to realize their value, the owners generally give power of attorney for sale and do not hesitate. Considering that our country does not have diplomatic relations with Greece and we are making efforts to resolve these issues through a Swiss firm, which has undertaken their realization on our behalf, against the payment of a commission. In this regard, the owners have received three proxies for these assets located in Greece, which according to an estimate made by a Greek company, amount to 150,000 acres of land or equal to 1,300,000 dollars. It should be noted that, in addition to the value of the property, the proceeds from the rental of these assets, which are deposited in the name of the owners in Greek banks, are to be collected. As for the issuance of other proxies for the sale of property in Greece, these are being met. Of course, it should be borne in mind that it will be difficult to collect the value of these assets.
A better job has been done to increase foreign exchange earnings by selling stamps. An agreement was signed last year with a Swiss firm to sell stamps worth $ 400,000. Of that amount, $ 200,000 will be collected this year, and $ 200,000 next year. So far, $ 22,000 has been raised. In order to have good results, the Council of Ministers decided to strengthen the work in the foreign trade sector (a special branch was created for this) as well as the PTT that deals with the stamp sector. With these measures, there are opportunities to generate large foreign exchange earnings from the sale of stamps.
TASKS FOR GREAT GROWTH GROWTH IN VALUE
The work is done so far by the Bank and the Commission Company, as well as the assistance provided by the bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the work done so far by the Trade Bodies for the sale of stamps, create the possibility for future growth. foreign exchange earnings. However, in order to increase this income as much as possible, it is necessary to pay due attention to this important issue. We think that in order to increase foreign exchange earnings, it is necessary to consider the following issues:
To show great care and interest in completing property practices abroad.
The State Bank and the Companies Association should step up their efforts to bring to an end the practices that have now taken a solution and that the owners have given the proxies for their sale. To cooperate even more with the party committees and with the bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, to obtain the power of attorney from the persons who have not given it so far, for the assets and deposits abroad.
In order to solve issues related to abroad, it is necessary to activate the friends of the Bank and the Commissioner Society, who must be sent from time to time abroad, as has been done so far, to solve some problems that we have had in Italy and elsewhere. On the other hand, the Commissioning Society, assisted by the Bank and the bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, should do a greater job of discovering other assets that Albanian citizens have abroad. At the same time, good work must be done to bring the deposits that Albanian citizens have abroad.
Work on collecting life policies:
Before the liberation, some Albanian citizens have secured their lives in various Italian societies. We have been constantly interested in the realization of these, but foreign companies have refused to pay them. Recently, it has been indirectly mediated and this in one case has given positive results. The Bank and the Commissioning Company are extracting from the state archives documents available on this issue. They have to work to collect the income in the vacuum from this source.
The Ministry of Trade should follow the problem of trading the stamp abroad more closely. In particular, measures should be taken to implement the contract concluded with the Swiss firm for the sale of stamps for a price of $ 400,000 and to find other firms that can buy stamps from us and at favorable prices for us.
Efforts should be made to maintain the level of foreign exchange inflows from emojis.
As it is known, the income from emigration is decreasing, after the emigration, some of them are repatriated and another part, having been in emigration for a long time, have severed ties with their relatives in Albania. Therefore, it is the duty of the Bank and the Commission to follow up on the arrival of foreign currency from emigration, to find relief measures for the transfer of their savings, especially for those countries where there are strong foreign exchange restrictions.
Our legumes should help more with these problems. Our Legation in Italy has worked well in this direction. Pork has also had cases where Legatas like Turkey and Egypt have not followed these problems properly, they have even dragged them.
We think that by relying on the work done so far and the measures that are thought to be taken, opportunities are created to increase foreign exchange earnings from foreign assets, from the sale of stamps, immigration to use according to the needs of the state. ours as well as to increase our foreign exchange reserve in dollars.
In the current situation, and in support of the decision of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the ALP, the State Bank and the Commission Company should take measures to strengthen the work in the future. Compared to the past, the work of increasing foreign exchange earnings from these bodies has marked a further improvement: but the tasks that are now being set are large and cannot be adequately met by the Commission. The current chairman of the company, Esat Dëshnica, has not exercised sufficient control over subordinates, and this has led to some issues not being resolved quickly. We and the State Bank are preparing the project for strengthening the work of the commissioner company.
An important issue is a problem of pursuing overseas practices to collect their value. Last year and at the beginning of this year, such work began. But this work needs to be intensified. This form of work does not burden the state with expenses, because these are done on behalf of the owners. At the same time, it accelerates the realization of practices and consequently affects the increase of foreign exchange earnings. There have been several requests from the owners of these properties, at the time when the sales power of attorney was taken from you. Thus, Vangjel Manushi requested a passport in Tirana, after he built a house, and at the time of the sale of the property to be given a sum of 100,000 lire equal to 200 dollars for the purchase of some household items. Felatun Villa, living in Kavaja, has requested his arrival in Tirana. We think that these requests can be studied and accepted by the competent authorities.
DIRECTOR OF THE MARKET-FINANCE DIRECTORY SECRETARY OF K.Q.T. P.P.SH.
Pjetër Kosta Haki Toska
Tirana, on 3 / IV / 1962
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