Prosecutors indict Albania's ex PM on corruption charges

PRISTINA (Reuters) - Albania's main opposition leader Sali Berisha said he had been officially indicted on Wednesday on corruption charges for actions he took when he was prime minister, describing the indictment as a political vendetta.

Prosecutors accused Berisha in October of using his influence as prime minister between 2005-2009 to exert pressure to conclude a privatisation procedure in favor of others including his daughter's husband. Berisha denies any wrongdoing.

"Can you imagine, they say I was corrupted by my son-in-law," Berisha said on emerging from the prosecutors' office in Tirana on Wednesday, where he said prosecutors gave him a 500-page indictment and had also indicted his son-in-law.

"This is the continuation of a political vendetta, the implementation of a political mafia order."

Berisha, who was put under house arrest in December, accuses the current prime minister, Edi Rama of orchestrating the prosecution against him. Rama denies any involvement.

There was no official confirmation of the indictments from the prosecutors' office and it was unclear when a trial would begin.

In 2021 the United States barred Berisha and his family from entering, saying that, as prime minister, he had been involved in "corrupt acts" and used his power for "his own benefit and to enrich his political allies and his family members". A similar ban against Berisha was issued by Britain.

Berisha served as president from 1992 to 1997, immediately after the fall of communism in Albania, and as prime minister from 2005 to 2013. He is the leader of the biggest opposition party, the Democratic Party.

(Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; editing by Philippa Fletcher)