Declan Ganley and Albania. Transparency or just the same old Elites?

Article from an Albanian perspective on Declan Ganley and his Ganley International , Anglo Adriatic Investment Fund. This article alleges collusion between Ganley's AAIF and the Albanian Government and asserts the funds were used as leverage for Bulgarian business Cable net.
Ganley' s business affairs are fascinating if not transparent.
People Korps

Rinascita Balcanica, 14.04.08

"Albanians gambled on the stock exchange."

by
Alketa Alibali


The shares of 45 thousand share holders of the financial concern Anglo Adriatika where "played with" on international stock exchanges by the directors of the foundation. This is according to official sources of the "Ganley Group" who explain that the company succeeded to gather 45 thousand share holders through the Anglo Adriatika foundation in Albania, amassing a capital of about 120 million US dollars in 1997. A declaration by the organism dealing with privatisations of Albanian public property indicates that the Irish group used the issuing of vouchers to place the amount as the company's own funds on international markets. But in reality, they represented 120 millions transferred by 45 thousand Albanians, described as the shares of the "Ganley Group".


The Irish company "Ganley Group" has collected the 1997 120 million dollars in he market for savings, thereby enrolling 45 thousand Albanian shareholders through the Anglo-Adriatika foundation in Albania. The Irish group acquired such securities, as their own property and then sold them on international markets as values representative of the company.


In 1997 "Anglo-Adriatika" deposited securities at the former Bank for Savings in anticipation of the privatisation of strategic companies in Albania. In the same year, the Ganley Group declared that it held 120 million dollars of "Anglo-Adriatika", and deposited, in collaboration with officials of the Bank for Savings, a certificate that guaranteed the ownership of shares, and granted the right to sell them on. We are talking about an amount of around 160 million dollars, at present dollar values, whereas when it was made when the dollar was quoted at 133 lek. The Albanian financial concern which got the first licence to exercise such activities in April 1996, was the Anglo-Adriatic Investment Fund controlled 90% by Ganley Group and 10% Rothschild Emerging Markets.


The manoeuvres with the bond privatization came to light in September 2007, during a trial conducted against him in Ireland, highlighting the "dark" collaboration between the Albanian Government and heads of the "Anglo-Adriatika." The court discovered in fact a kind of collaboration between the "Meksi" government and the head of "Ganley Group, Declan Ganley, who had acted as mediator to finance a number of Irish Members of Parliament to help the Albanian government to avoid the collapse of the financial pyramid schemes. According to Irish media, the same Declan Ganley declared before the courts that he brought Deputy Liam Lawlor to Albania, and while there was paid a fee of 340 thousand U.S. dollars by the Albanian government.


But the interest of the judges falls, especially on an Mr Frank Dunlop (Irish), who is thought to have favoured an Irish company in return for the aid and assistance offered to the Albanian Government. This version has always been denied by the President of Anglo-Adriatika, which denies any involvement with Mr Lawlor, or with the Albanian deputy, who is thought to have favoured the increase in shares of the company "VAT".


Currently the Ganley Group continues its activities in Galway in Ireland, with offices in all countries of Europe excluding Albania, and operates on a wide variety of activities worldwide, such as transport, telecommunications and by controlling interests in Rivada, Broadnet and Cable Bulgaria. But the history of the Ganley Group begins with the experience of Declan Ganley at the age of 21 years in Russia, entering the industrial business through the stock exchange in the iron, and a number of other companies, sold at a later time to the "Soros" foundation.

After gathering money in Albania in 1997 through the Anglo-Adriatika, Ganley buys shares of telecommunications companies in Bulgaria and creates Bulgarian Broadnet, a cable television service within the countries of Eastern Europe, with a total investment of approximately 300 million dollars, with an operation which suggests that it most likely was financed partly by the shares of Anglo-Adriatika, presented as assets of Ganley Group on international stock exchanges.

In 1998 he takes the first steps to create the Albanian stock market, sponsoring a regional meeting in Struga (Macedonia), with the participation of senior officials from the Albanian and Macedonian governments. In the same year, Don de Marino (Executive Director of the Fund) is the leading organizer of the "Strategic Conference in Albania." At the same time, the Canadian company "Grand Portage Resources", with the intermediation of Anglo-Adriatic Found, acquires the exclusive joint exploitation of Lake Delvina, thanks to an agreement with Albpetrol.

Next begins the escalation of Anglo-Adriatika by the activation of the shareholders vouchers in mass privatisation, based on the privatisation law approved by the Albanian Parliament in 1998 and the beginning of twinning activity between the Albanian stock market with the Western stock markets, in accordance with the plans of the Anglo-Adriatic.

In 1999, Declan Ganley brings to Tirana a group of powerful investors from"Hyatt Hotels", whom he promised the backing of the Albanian government. At the same time Anglo-Adriatika brings to Tirana the American telecommunications company "Milicom" to participate in the tender for the sale of AMC.
In survey conducted by the newspaper "Albania", it appears that the prominent representatives of the foundation were Pirro Kushi and Kosta Trebicka, today known as entrepreneurs. Of the two, however, Trebicka is now known to the general Albanian public for his involvement in the scandal of the acquisition of weapons for the Pentagon. Trebicka and Kushi have for a long time in constant contact with the President of Ganley Group, Declan Ganley, and still maintain a regular relationship with the manager of the Anglo-Adriatic fund, Declan Ganley. "Yes, I often had meetings with Declan Ganley and his brother, we speak often - declares Trebicka in the newspaper 'Albania' - "we also speak of the 'Anglo-Adriatic' fund, and I do not agree with some media which have presented it as a business linked to Greek interests".

On the role of Don de Marino, the Albanian newspaper says that in addition to being a board member of one of Declan Ganley's companies, he is also a very powerful businessman, linked to the Bush family and President of the Saudi-American Chamber of Commerce. As shown by the newspaper, Don de Marino was also Executive Director of Anglo-Adriatika, and in 2000 was in Tirana seeking to reactivated the share vouchers and threatening the Albanian government with an international legal action, but without any great results. Finally, it must be noted that de Don Marino and Declan Ganley asked insistently in 1996 that the Tirana stock market be opened, seen as an important to quote at the international level the securities of "Anglo Adriatic." "Yes, I have excellent relations with him - confirmed Trebicka - I do not understand what's wrong on this. Of course, it is true that he is a very influential person, and it is also true that Don Marino also has many friends at the Pentagon."

A mystery remains about the 120 million dollars belonging toAlbanian citizens, even though in 2006 the Parliamentary Commission for Economy and Finance decided to open an deep inquiry into Anglo-Adriatika, questioning even Governor Fullani. It is not known, therefore, whether the "Anglo-Adriatika" or "Ganley Group" have bought property in other countries through the "unlawful use the stock of financial securities of Anglo-Adriatika." Certainly, Albanian citizens' money from a financial harvest at a time when all financial pyramids were about to collapse, was re-invested in industrial activities, more or less speculative, a foreign financial group, with the full complicity of the Government and Institutions.

Alketa Alibali

Article
NB Libertas.eu did have a "facts" page attempting to refute some of the issues raised here but they have taken the page down. Some cedit for this may be claimed by People Korps who used Libertas employee David Cochrane's Politics.ie board to show the lack of credibility.