The Special Prosecution Office intervened this Friday in one of the projects most promoted by Edi Rama over the last two years: the revival of the Albanian military industry through the state-owned company KAYO and its partnerships with private companies, where his friend Ron Yeffet always appears.
The National Bureau of Investigation's inspections did not spare the apartment of Israeli-American businessman Ron Yeffet, along with premises linked to Arjeta Puca and Ardi Veliu, as well as the Ministry of Defense, triggered by the wiretap that former Deputy Prime Minister Arben Ahmetaj published in an interview with Çim Peka on Syri TV.
Ahmetaj's denunciations are becoming the umpteenth reason for SPAK's movement, although it is still too early to say how far this file will go.
According to reports so far, documents, contracts and electronic equipment related to military projects have been seized, while Ardi Veliu's phone is reported to have been taken. SPAK has not yet made public the full scope of the proceedings nor individual criminal liability.
The audio recording published by Arben Ahmetaj
The audio recordings that Arben Ahmetaj published on September 7 on “Çim Peka Live” concerned a conversation between Ron Yeffet and several Ukrainian businessmen interested in the arms trade. Ahmetaj said that he had about three hours of Yeffet’s conversations with the Ukrainians at his disposal and that they showed a much broader scheme than Albanian arms production.
The published materials talked about ammunition production in Africa, their bringing to Albania, packaging here and then trading in other markets. One of the most important moments of the conversation was the difference between the fact that the Ukrainians demanded that everything be tendered regularly, while Rama's Israeli friend claimed that he could do whatever he wanted in Albania, in disregard of the law.
In another segment of the recording, Yeffet makes it clear that American companies were to be used as fronts for the arms trade. The sentence attributed to Yeffet was particularly significant: "The company will be American so that we can silence the American embassy."
Që në janar të këtij viti ish-zv.kryeministri Arben Ahmetaj ka hedhur dyshime të rënda ndaj Edi Ramës lidhur me rolin e mikut të tij hebre, biznesmenit kontrovers, Ron Yeffet, në kompaninë shtetërore të armëve KAYO, duke e cilësuar atë si një instrument të ndërtuar për të transferuar prona publike të Forcave të Armatosura në duar private.
Atëherë Ahmetaj deklaroi se kompania KAYO është krijuar nga qeveria jo për interesa strategjike të mbrojtjes, por për t’i hapur rrugë përfitimit privat, duke treguar edhe VKM-të që janë prodhuar për të arritur këtë synim. Sipas tij, pas krijimit të kompanisë shtetërore, janë marrë vendime ekstraligjore për të futur si aksioner biznesmenin izraelit Ron Yeffet, i cilësuar prej Ahmetajt si mik i afërt personal i kryeministrit Rama.
"Çfarë roli ka Yeffet në biznes, veç miqësisë me kryeministrin?-pyeti Ahmetaj në janar".
"Industria" e armëve që çon para tek xhepat e kompanive private
Dalëngadalë dolën faktet që lidheshin me një kompani të prodhimit të makinave të themeluar nga një vajzë shqiptare, e quajtur Arjeta Puca, e ardhur nga emigrimi në Turqi. Ajo është promovuar nga vetë kryeministri Rama, madje ka rrëfyer në podkastin e tij historinë e suksesit, që nisi nga dyqani ku i ati punonte si hidraulik.
Rama doli publikisht pranë projektit, ndërsa qeveria miratoi një varg vendimesh që i hapën KAYO-s rrugën drejt prodhimit të mjeteve ushtarake, municioneve dhe dronëve. Madje projekti i industrisë së mbrojtjes është shtrirë edhe te bashkëpunimi me Fincantieri për industrinë detare në Pashaliman. Prandaj kontrollet e 2 tetorit shkojnë përtej Ron Yeffet, Arjeta Pucës apo Ardi Veliut, por vetë projektin e rritjes së financimeve në ushtri që Rama e ka konsideruar si një histori suksesi.
KAYO u krijua me ligjin nr.88/2024 si instrumenti shtetëror për prodhimin dhe tregtimin e armëve, municioneve, pajisjeve dhe teknologjive ushtarake. Qeveria i ka transferuar prona shtetërore dhe i ka dhënë të drejtën të krijojë shoqëri të përbashkëta me privatët. Në nëntor 2025, një tjetër vendim i qeverisë autorizoi që strukturat e sigurisë të furnizoheshin me produkte të KAYO-s ose kompanive të krijuara prej saj.
Rama e ka sponsorizuar personalisht këtë projekt. Më 31 korrik 2026, kur Forcat e Armatosura morën 40 mjetet e para taktike nga Timak Defence, Kryeministria e shpalli ngjarjen një “ditë historike” për industrinë ushtarake shqiptare. Timak Defence është pikërisht një nga shoqëritë e krijuara sipas formulës së KAYO-s: Timak zotëron 80 për qind dhe kompania shtetërore vetëm 20 për qind.
The same formula appears in Advanced Arms Technology, designed for small and medium caliber weapons and military drones. UNO18 owns 80 percent and KAYO 20 percent. UNO18 was founded by Ron Yeffet, while the latest commercial data shows it divided 50-50 between Yeffet and Arjeta Puca. The company's scope includes the production, assembly and marketing of weapons, drones and other military equipment, also for export.
Who is Ron Yeffet?
Ron Yeffet came to Albania as a businessman with a troubled past with governments and political leaders in Africa and the US. In Senegal, companies linked to him received public contracts during the presidency of Macky Sall; but after the change of power, some ownership agreements were reviewed and Develop Sénégal Company has been reported among the companies involved in financial investigations . So far, no criminal charges have been filed against Yeffet in Senegal.
In the US, the story is just as problematic. In Florida, businessman Mark Faist has sued Yeffet, claiming that he transferred over $8.6 million to him for investments that did not materialize as agreed. Yeffet has disputed the claims and filed a countersuit.
There are also court documents in New York showing that Signature Bank sued Yeffet and one of his companies in 2013 for an unpaid loan.
This makes the question of what verifications the Albanian government used to allow a businessman with this public history to enter the heart of the new military supply system even more important.
Speculation is rife about who is behind Ron Yeffe and why an Israeli-American businessman has acquired such a large role in the military industry in our country. After the BKH checks, it remains to be seen what is hidden in the contracts, computers and phones that SPAK is seizing in a project that Edi Rama publicly promoted as one of the strategic successes of his government./Lapsi.al
