Albania’s left-wing former President Meta is arrested on corruption allegations

Associated Press

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albanian prosecutors have arrested former President Ilir Meta on suspicion that the left-wing Freedom Party leader engaged in alleged corruption, money laundering and hiding of personal income and property. A lawyer for Meta, who was president from 2017-2022 and is now an outspoken critic of the current Prime Minister Edi Rama, denounced the case as a politically motivated attack on an opposition leader. Former EU ambassador to Albania Romana Vlahutin welcomed the arrest as a sign that nobody in Albania is above the law. The Special Structure Against Corruption and Organized Crime, which deals with senior political and state officials, said in a statement that Meta’s arrest followed a five-year investigation.