U.S. Condemns Corruption

U.S. Condemns Corruption

The U.S. Embassy in Tirana has announced that the list of non-grata Albanian officials--those whose entrance into the United States is prohibited by the American government, will be adding 14 more names to the list.

In a post via Facebook, America's diplomatic headquarters in the country says mayor corruption by senior Albanian officials will be a major focus for the United States Embassy.

According to the report, the new names are subject to section 7031 (c), which provides that, in cases where the Secretary of State has credible information that foreign government officials have been involved in significant corruption or a gross violation of human rights, those individuals and their immediate family members are ineligible for entry into the United States.

“The U.S. Government is committed to the fight against corruption and the respect for the rule of law all over the world. Fighting corruption is at the forefront of the U.S. Embassy in Tirana’s work in Albania.

“Each week we will highlight a different initiative that we have taken on to combat corruption in Albania. This week, we’ll explain public designations for significant corruption under Section 7031(c) of U.S. law.

It is further clarified that section 7031 (c) targets officials involved in: (1) major corruption; (2) benefits in exchange for office-based favors; (3) embezzlement of public funds; and (4) interference with litigation, elections, or other public processes.

“When the United States learns that a foreign government official has been involved in significant corruption, the Secretary of State has the authority to designate the individuals and his or her immediate family members permanently ineligible to enter the United States.” stated the U.S. embassy.

Through a Facebook video, the US embassy delivers some of the cases of Albanian officials who have previously been barred from entering the U.S such as (1) former Prosecutor General, Adriatik Llalla, (2) the former mayor of Durrës, Vangjush Dako, (3) and MP Tomi Doshi.

In February this year, the Embassy announced that there were 170 Albanian officials affected by the measure, the majority of them serving as judges and prosecutors who were found to have problems during the Vetting process.

The United States deputy Ambassador in Tirana, Daniel Koski, asks civil society to serve as a guardian over responsible institutions by working and raising their voices for the right concerns.

 

EMISIONET