From L'Express/ From the secret service, under house arrest. The head of Albania's intelligence service (SHISH), Vlora Hyseni, surrendered to authorities on Tuesday, September 22, after an arrest warrant was issued by the Special Prosecution Office against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK). Former head of the State Police, Ilir Proda, dismissed earlier this year, also appeared in court on Tuesday in connection with the same case.
Prosecutors said Hyseni is suspected of leaking classified information to unauthorized individuals in a corruption case at the National Agency for the Information Society (AKSHI). The agency, which reports directly to Prime Minister Edi Rama, aims to lead much of Albania’s ongoing digital transformation — a key project in the state modernization program championed by Rama since he came to power in 2013.
Interesting links
The suspicions surrounding Vlora Hyseni stem from her connections to Ergys Agas, an influential businessman already arrested in the AKSHI case, suspected of being at the center of a network linked to irregularities in the agency’s public procurement contracts. According to the prosecutor’s office, Hyseni and Agas maintained contacts that extended beyond the professional sphere. According to BalkanWeb, the SPAK file contains communications in which Vlora Hyseni allegedly informed Agas about her business trips and meetings, including meetings with Edi Rama and the police chief. She is also said to have shared information regarding possible political appointments.
This is not the first time that Vlora Hyseni has been at the center of suspicions regarding the disclosure of confidential information. In 2021, she was dismissed from her position as deputy director of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency. The official reasons for her dismissal were not made public at the time. However, the media reported suspicions of information leaks, with some suggesting possible links to Serbia, which Hyseni denied.
Two years later, her time in Kosovo came back into debate at the time of her appointment as head of SHISH in 2023. The Albanian opposition had questioned this choice, questioning the circumstances of his departure from the Kosovo intelligence services.
A new challenge for Rama
On Tuesday evening, the President of Albania, Bajram Begaj, acting on the proposal of the Prime Minister, decreed the dismissal of Vlora Hyseni from her position as Director of State Intelligence.
"Everyone is presumed innocent until the final decision, but no one is above the law, under any circumstances or for any reason," Edi Rama reacted in X. A little later, he signed an order temporarily delegating the administrative powers of the Director of State Intelligence to the Director of Operations, Elvis Lila.
This issue represents another setback for the Rama government. In February 2026, the Prime Minister was forced to dismiss his Deputy Prime Minister, Belinda Balluku, who was the subject of an investigation by SPAK for suspected irregularities in the awarding of public contracts.
For their part, European Union officials told Reuters they were closely examining Rama's handling of corruption cases and that Albania's fight against crime and corruption was essential to the Balkan country's bid to join the Union by 2030. ©LAPSI.al
