While he has been in detention for 1 year, the first court hearing for Mayor Erion Veliaj will be held at the GJKKO on March 9. The first hearing on the merits for Veliaj will be held at 09:30, while the presiding judge of the trial panel will be Judge Ėngjëllushe Tahiri, while the two rapporteurs will be Alma Kodraliu and Rudina Palloj.
We recall that on February 9, the Special Court decided to proceed to trial the case against Veliaj, his wife, Ajola Xoxa, as well as 28 individuals and companies associated with him.
Erion Veliaj was arrested on February 10, 2025, after being accused of having, together with his wife, built a complex corruption and money laundering scheme to illegally benefit from Tirana Municipality funds and bribes from contractor businessmen. According to SPAK, the suspicions are that the money obtained, around 1 million euros, was mainly used for luxury online purchases by Ajola Xoxa.
