By Gautier Lecardonnel, CourrierPicard.fr/ Ermal Beqiri returned to the French court of Amiens this Friday, October 23, 2026. After his request for release, reviewed three days ago by the court, the Albanian businessman heard the judges' decision: "Rejected."
He will remain behind bars while the court decides his fate, whether or not he will be handed over to Albanian authorities.
The Albanian, who lives in the Château d'Auteuil in Berneuil-en-Bray (Oise), refuses the extradition request sent by Tirana. The special anti-corruption prosecutor's office in Tirana (SPAK) suspects that he is part of the mastermind of a network that secured IT contracts for the Albanian government by manipulating competition and using intimidation. The case has caused a major uproar in Albania: 19 public procurement procedures, with a total estimated value of 59 million euros, are under investigation.
Albania has submitted documents to the French justice system. In August, the French investigative chamber requested further information before making a decision. This Friday, it examined the extradition request on its merits, following reactions from the Albanian justice system: a letter from the Minister of Justice, another from the head of the anti-corruption prosecutor's office regarding legal guarantees and a third from the General Directorate of Prisons.
In his defense, lawyer Nicolas Paganelli argued that these documents were as suspicious in form as in content: "These are drafts, not serious work. You are not the after-sales service for incomplete diplomatic security," he declared. In the dock, the defendant explained how difficult it was to trust his country's justice system: "If I have corrupted someone, it is the state. But from that side, no one is in prison. There is still a problem. This matter is purely political."
The Amiens public prosecutor's office, for its part, believes that the extradition should take place: "You are trying to take a stance on the Albanian judicial system, but this is not the role of the investigation chamber," argued the public prosecutor, who had already summed up the case: "In Albania there is a large-scale organized cover-up," he said.
Beqiri was arrested at the end of July in Méaulte near Albert, after flying his plane over the Penly nuclear power plant (Seine-Maritime). ©Taken from “Courrier Picard”. Adapted in Albanian by LAPSI.al
