By Kastriot Dervishi
The third part
– The names of the merchants and rich people of Albania who were robbed by the communist regime and where did the amount of 43,816,682 gold coins collected by the State Security go?!
Memorie.al / An article published years ago, in the magazine “In the service of the people” (former organ of the Ministry of Internal Affairs), by Nuri Mehmeti, has opened a considerable controversy in the years of transition, with the title “When the economic foundations of popular power were laid”. This article was published on pages 14-15 of the August 1984 issue, in the magazine in question, with the headline “40 years of liberation, the path of war and victory”! Later controversy regarding this article arose because the figure of 43,816,682 gold coins mentioned in the article, stolen from the State Security, was an official figure.
Continues from last issue
– WHO DEPOSITED THE GOLD IN THE WEST?!
The monetary values of the Hoxha family, according to some testimonies, were circulated in the West and beyond by a person close to Enver Hoxha’s son, Sokol. This man was called Shkëlzen Doçi. He roamed for many years in France, Canada and South America, to circulate and deposit the values of the Albanian treasure, on behalf of the Hoxha family. In 1983, Shkëlzen Doçi was arrested together with the conductor Gaspë Çurçia, as a “forger of train tickets”. Shkëlzen Doçi did not speak at all in court.
In the end, he and Gaspë Çurçia were sentenced to death. Precisely, the biggest discovery about the person of Shkëlzen Doçi, will shed more information about the place where a significant part of the stolen Albanian gold is located. Also, there is not a lot of information circulating that, for South America, the veteran communist, the Brazilian Zhoao Amazonas, the man who was present more than anyone else at the Congresses of the Labor Party, has a not insignificant role. There is only a certain amount of Albanian gold in Switzerland. The biggest one has crossed the ocean.
– WHO CHECKED THE TRANSMISSION? COULD THIS BE A FORM TO SECURE OTHER BANK ACCOUNTS ON THE THRESHOLD OF BANKRUPTCY OF THE COMMUNIST REGIME
Through decisions no. 5, 430 and 84, dated January 7, 1988, December 7, 1988, and March 8, 1989, was transferred abroad for exchange purposes, 4,072 and 13,193 kg of silver. Such a justified sum for exchange, it is impossible that it all went to the stated destination. On June 26, 1991, the newspaper “Rilindja Demokratike” also wrote about the scandal in question. According to the newspaper, the specialists of the International Monetary Fund discovered that the currency balance accounts did not match.
The newspaper “RD” also criticized the silence of the director of the State Bank, Niko Gjyzari, and the director of Foreign Relations, Kamber Myftari. In this article, it is said that the man who dealt with the “campism” is Dhimitër Gazhda, who, according to the newspaper, had been living in Greece for two months. The losses that the Albanian state had, in such a case, according to the newspaper, were about 200 million dollars.
Undoubtedly, the so-called “exchange”, on the eve of the capitulation of the communist regime, was nothing more than a disguise for passing accounts, in favor of senior communist leaders. By means of a secret letter, dated October 6, 1987, the Minister of Finance, Andra Nako, informs Ramiz Ali and Adil Çarçan, as follows: “The notification on bank account 01 on September 30, 1987, reached about 17 million dollars. During the 4th quarter of 1987, the following amounts are also foreseen in this account:
– From bank interest, for foreign currency accounts held with foreign banks – 200 thousand dollars.
-From currency exchanges, taking advantage of the conjuncture, the forecast is for 5 million dollars, but about 1.4 million dollars will be used, for various purchases according to the decision of the Council of Ministers…. 3.6 million dollars.
– From commission companies, 400 thousand dollars”.
From looking at the whole process of “Kambizm”, it can be seen that the communist authorities wanted to lose willingly. Even the so-called “loss” is nothing but the most ideal form to justify the deposit of a certain amount of gold. On the other hand, according to a testimony that appeared in the press 11 years ago, the Albanian State Bank for the period 1983 – 1987 ordered 396 pieces of crates that serve to transport gold. Of these, 196 pieces were ordered in 1983 alone, while the rest were ordered in 1987. According to specialists, this amount of boxes could only serve for an amount of 180 tons of gold.
– TO ALSO INVESTIGATE INVESTMENTS IN COMPANIES WITH LOSSES AT THE END OF THE 80’S
Another form used for the transfer of amounts of gold, or foreign currency income to the West, is the one used at the end of the 80s, through the so-called “Western” firms, in factories or combines that traditionally had with loss. Such an investment was also noticed in the Metallurgical Combine “Party Steel” in Elbasan, in 1990, where 40 million dollars were “invested” in Plant 12 and that of Nickel – Cobalt, in cooperation with a phantom German company, completely unknown, like the “Salsiger” one. This scandal was denounced as early as May 11, 1991, in the hall of the Parliament of Albania by the deputy of Elbasan, Argjir Panariti, (for this see “Works of the Parliament, year 1991”, no. 1, page 529).
Such a staggering amount can never be invested in such a figure. The firm in question, being anonymous in this field, seems to have played the role of money launderer. Here it is worth saying that another anonymous firm, such as “Rukert”, in the period in question, engaged in foreign exchange and converted an amount of 45 thousand dollars into deutschmarks. It is not known whether or not there can be a connection between the amounts “invested” in Metalurgjik, with the amount used by the “Rukert” firm, for the account of the communist leadership.
Also, we can remember that a firm known for its close ties with the ‘Hoxha clan’ was also the one run by Hajdin Sejdia, under the name “Iliria Holding”. Of course, the external debt created by the communists (in violation of their constitution) at the end of the 80s, which reached about 500 million dollars, should not be left out.
-WHERE HAS RUBIK’S GOLD GONE…?!
In addition to the massive robbery of gold among Albanian citizens, a robbery of invisible proportions is also the one that took place in the Rubik’s Factory, where a considerable amount of gold was produced. While in Tirana, a special Rubik’s gold acceptance sector operated, which at a significant and delicate time was directed by Reshat Alia, who was the uncle of Ramiz Ali and the father of Teuta Hoxha, who was the wife of the eldest son of Enver Hoxha, Illyria.
In the complete absence of any kind of transparency, year after year, it has been possible to obtain a large amount of gold in Rubik, at a time when the State Treasury has obtained a completely negligible amount of it. The former Minister of Finance, Andrea Nako, through a secret announcement, dated October 9, 1987, informed the Prime Minister that: from Rubik’s production, about 120-130 kg are provided gold per year. For the years 1968 – 1990, taking as minimum production the figure of 120 kilograms per year, about 2,640 kg of gold were secured.
While according to state documents, it appears that only 1,777 kg of gold were delivered to the Treasury. The difference between the two amounts is 873 kg of gold. However, here we must bear in mind that, for such sectors, the communists had an unprecedented mobilization, which knew neither tours nor anything else. This leads to the conclusion that; the amount of Rubik’s gold can be even greater.
-THE FIRST STEP WAS TAKEN BY THE TEMPORARY PARLIAMENTARY COMMISSION IN 1992
After many articles in the opposition press, in 1991, it was considered important that this process go further. In order to verify the State Treasury, from 1938 – 1990, as well as the seizure process in the first years of the communist regime, at the end of 1991, at the initiative of the Democratic Party, a temporary parliamentary commission was set up, which had this composition:
- Blerim Çela, DP – deputy of Shkodra (chairman of the commission)
- Gëzim Luli, PD – MP from Shkodra
- Behadin Bakalli, PD – MP from Shkodra
- Vehbi Gruda, PD – MP from Shkodra
- Teodor Keko, DP – deputy of Tirana
- Qemal Disha, SP – MP for Mati
- Sami Kushta, SP – Member of Parliament for Librazhdi
- Shkëlqim Cani, SP – deputy of Erseka
- Thoma Miço, “Omonia” – deputy of Saranda
After a considerable amount of work, Deputy Blerim Çela, on January 22, 1992, read the report on behalf of the commission. After a detailed argumentation, deputy Çela, on behalf of the committee, presented the following conclusions:
“1-In Albania, there was several tens of tons of gold in circulation and hoarded by the population, before November 28, 1944.
2-Ex – King Bird, signed, 183 kg. gold, as personal income of the Royal Court, from the differences in foreign exchange with customs.
3-The Ministry of Internal Affairs has forcibly seized, according to the laws of war, the gold of the people, but without keeping double-sided documentation at the time of the seizure. These amounts were kept once in the Departments of Internal Affairs, then in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and then they were handed over to the Treasury, as we argued above and we add that these differences only show the tip of the iceberg, because they remain on 650 unidentified persons, who have delivered gold, which has not been entered into the Treasury.
4-In the documents of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (“History of the Police Weapon”), it is affirmed in writing that; 43,816,682 gold coins were seized, not including gold bars and jewelry. They alone make 283 tons of gold. In fact, in the Treasury, only 3,029 kg of gold were seized…! 280 tons of gold are missing.
5-During the communist dictatorship, 7,600 kg of gold were exported. This, according to the data obtained from the director of the State Treasury…and was used to buy wheat, 224 kg; 37 kg were used for the various departments; 4,072 kg were lost in exchange; were given for Foreign Trade, 3,200 kg. for purchasing goods.
No responsibility has been held for exchange losses, for 4 tons of gold, worth 60 million dollars. The State treasure is sacred, it cannot be played with, otherwise, whoever touches it, must answer with his head. How 3,200 kg was used gold, for the purchase of goods, this requires a second check, by specialized bodies authorized by the parliament.
6-Groups of investigators should be set up, with skilled specialists, to find out where the gold goes in the amount of 280 tons, confronting the unfortunate robbed with the robbers wearing the clothes of the state……!
7- An inspection must be done at the Rubik’s Factory, with a parliamentary and government mandate, to check the amount of gold produced, if it matches the one put in the treasury.
8-To check all the documentation and the Treasury in storage, wherever, by specialists of the State Bank, extracting the balances and movements of gold in the Treasury, in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as that sent abroad”.
– WHY WAS JOHN Mc GOUGH AFRAID?
On February 24, 1992, RTSH, in its news program, broadcast an interview of a foreign citizen, whose name was John McGoey, an interview that had been taken 4 days before. McGoi, in this interview, stated that at the end of 1990, and at the beginning of 1991, he had witnessed the transfer from Albania to Switzerland of 10 tons of gold. He emphasized that, only in November – December 1990, two special planes were sent to Switzerland, from Tirana, whose delivery, gold, ended up at the “Strase” Bank.
According to him, a part of this gold also constituted the basic capital of an Albanian-Swiss bank that existed in Tirana. The bank in question was “Iliria Suisse Bank”. In addition, Mekgoi expressed his doubts about the company “Iliria Holding”, which even in political circles of the time, was rumored to be connected to the Hoxha family, not to mention that it managed the income of this family.
These declarations of McGoey caused a great confusion among the left politics in Tirana. The first reacted the communist president, Ramiz Alia, who, as is known, has been one of the closest people of the Hoxha clan. Just one day later, Ramiz Alia asked the Chief Prosecutor General, Petrit Serjani, “verification of the above facts” and criminal proceedings against McGoi, “if the news is false”.
As can be understood from the statements of the case, John McGoi had also visited with other dignitaries of the state, including the Prime Minister, Vilson Ahmeti. The latter, according to “ZP”, addressed McGoi, with the following words: “Don’t release such balloons”. For his part, the director of the State Treasury, Fahri Hoxha, asked about this problem by the “ZP” newspaper on February 26, 1992, among other things, declares:
“We know nothing about the amount of gold mentioned in the televised interview. Gold has been released from the State Treasury based on the decisions of the Council of Ministers. Without these decisions, not a single gram of gold comes out of the Treasury. Gold has started to come out of the Treasury, starting in 1988. Before, it was not necessary with some rare exceptions, because our needs were covered by exports.
Since 1988, a total of 7.2 tons of gold has been produced. Of these 4.07 tons, it was for foreign exchange, 1.8 tons, for Foreign Trade and 1.3 tons, for the needs of the state. In 1988, we took a special plane offline, with which we took 2 tons of gold out of the country. Other smaller quantities were sent by airliners….! We in the Treasury have never had 10 tons of gold”. Memorie.al
The next issue follows
