The investigative show Vetting, News24
On October 23, 2025, the show "Vetting" published the problems and violations that burden the tax administration, violations that are reported by the Supreme State Audit and the International Monetary Fund. In this material, the fact was exposed that the Director General of Taxes, Ilir Binaj, has exercised and exercises his public duty in a clear conflict of interest and in violation of several laws. This is because the father of the tax chief Binaj, Agim Binaj, owns two auditing companies, while the law prohibits the family members of the tax chief from having auditing companies.
But these facts were not well received by Agim Binaj, who contacted one of the people who spoke about the problems the Tax Administration had and the conflicts of interest. This person would be the lawyer Muharrem Doku, who worked as an audit director in taxes.
Conversation captured by hidden camera, meeting between Agim Binaj, father of the chief tax officer Ilir Binaj, and lawyer Muharrem Doku.
AV. MUHARREM DOKU: I am very responsible.
AGIM BINAJ: Wait! Don't rush.
AV. MUHARREM DOKU: Did I write it?
AGIM BINAJ: Okay, come out and say it publicly, these are not my words.
AV. MUHARREM DOKU: That you need it? That you need it?
AGIM BINAJ: Do I need/need it?
AV. MUHARREM DOKU: I'll burn you!
AGIM BINAJ: I don't even give a damn.
AV. MUHARREM DOKU: All right.
AGIM BINAJ: Why? Because I'm so pure, I'm so pure that you can't even imagine.
AV. MUHARREM DOKU: I realized how pure you are!
AGIM BINAJ: Oh well, okay.
AV. MUHARREM DOKU: I realized how pure you are!
AGIM BINAJ: Okay then.
AV. MUHARREM DOKU: Ok.
AGIM BINAJ: Dear…
AV. MUHARREM DOKU: Come on, goodbye.
AGIM BINAJ: I hear you well!
AV. MUHARREM DOKU: Thank you!
AGIM BINAJ: To hear the good, not the bad!
AV. MUHARREM DOKU: Thank you!
AGIM BINAJ: Don't mess with honest people... because you'll be talking to yourself tomorrow.
AV. MUHARREM DOKU: You will speak, not me!
AGIM BINAJ: Me?!
AV. MUHARREM DOKU: Don't threaten me! You will speak, not me.
AGIM BINAJ: Will I speak?
AV. MUHARREM DOKU: Don't make threats...
AGIM BINAJ: I am right.
AV. MUHARREM DOKU: Things will work out with me. Things will work out with me!
AGIM BINAJ: With me?
AV. MUHARREM DOKU: Uh…
AGIM BINAJ: For what?
AV. MUHARREM DOKU: That you are threatening me.
AGIM BINAJ: I don't make threats.
AV. MUHARREM DOKU: You'll break your head, I'm honest (referring to threats from Agim Binaj), things will work out...
AGIM BINAJ: I say you'll break your head because you accuse in vain.
This is just one of the cases we showed today, where the father of the tax chief Binaj threatens lawyers who have simply spoken about the evidence and facts that "Vetting" has exposed. For "Vetting", lawyer Muharrem Doku, who has been a victim of pressure from the father of the tax chief Ilir Binaj, declares that he will address law enforcement institutions.
"Since I received a form of threat from Mr. Agim Binaj, I thought I would pursue this matter legally, that is, by filing a report with the prosecutor's office," said lawyer Doku, concerned.
In continuation of this article, below you have a summary of the previous article published on October 29, 2025. In that article, the legal violations of the current director are highlighted, where his father Agim Binaj should have sold the shares so that his son would not be in a conflict of interest or the head of the tax office Binaj himself should not have accepted the position, which did not happen.
The broadcast of October 23, 2025
Vetting reveals the conflict of interest of Tax Chief Ilir Binaj! Dad audits, son signs! Experts speak: There are legal violations, suspicions of corruption!
For several years, the Albanian Tax Administration has been at the center of scandals involving violations of conflict of interest, double employment and a marked lack of transparency at its highest levels. In October 2024, Mr. Ilir Binaj, a figure with international experience in the field of auditing, was to be appointed as the head of taxes. But his appointment, which was initially considered the beginning of a reform, has turned into a serious case of violation of the law.
Binaj is in an open conflict of interest, as his father, Agim Binaj, owns two auditing companies “ASC CPAs” and “TPA Albania” that are licensed by the Institute of Authorized Accounting Experts and operate in the same sector that is supervised by the Tax Directorate itself. This situation, according to lawyers and former tax administration officials, conflicts with the law on conflict of interest and the amended law “On Tax Procedures”, which prohibit any form of interaction or possible influence between private family interests and public duty.
According to lawyers, the case of a General Director whose father owns an audit company is a violation of these legal provisions, as the General Directorate of Taxes cannot exercise control over his father's companies without risking institutional conflict and pressure on the officials who conduct audits. This situation, according to experts, undermines the integrity of the administration and creates a public perception of favoritism and unfair influence in the audit market.
This conflict is further deepened by the fact that the Chief Tax Officer Binaj, according to his statements to the High Inspectorate for Declaration and Control of Assets and Conflict of Interest, was simultaneously employed by the international auditing company “Crow LLP”, which has active branches in Albania. This constitutes a clear case of dual employment and conflict of interest, as the Director of Taxes oversees businesses, while being himself part of a company that operates in the field of auditing. The law categorically prohibits senior public officials from receiving financial benefits from companies in the field that they control.
These suspicions are aggravated by the lack of reaction of the High Inspectorate for Declaration and Control of Assets and Conflict of Interest, which in violation of the law has not published Binaj's self-declaration documents and has not opened any administrative investigation into the case. This institutional silence raises questions about the functioning of the control mechanisms and the independence of the HIDACCI itself, the main responsibility for which lies with Chief Inspector Evgjeni Bashari and Secretary General Arbër Basholli, persons who were made aware after the broadcast of the show on October 29, 2025.
Binaj’s case is not isolated. His predecessor, Ceno Klosi, currently a Socialist Party MP, is under investigation by SPAK for document forgery and fraud while he was head of the Tax Office. Klosi has also been accused of conflict of interest, as he owns a private company in the United Kingdom (“First Bar Limited”) that is not listed on the self-declaration forms. The lack of punishment for Klosi, according to legal experts, has set a dangerous precedent that encourages other officials not to be afraid of such violations.
In this context, the reports of the Supreme State Audit Office reinforce the idea of a tax administration caught up in personal interests and a lack of internal control. The audit highlights that tax control procedures are beyond legal deadlines, with hundreds of unresolved files since 2017 and serious shortcomings in the management of human resources and public assets.
In conclusion, what emerges from the investigations shows a tax administration in a crisis of credibility, where family interests and lack of transparency have become part of daily functioning.
The Binaj case and its predecessor, Klosi, serve as examples of a structural problem that requires a full investigation by law enforcement institutions and deep reform to restore trust in the Albanian tax administration, among businesses and the public's interests.
