SPAK Albania ordered house arrest for the head of SHISH, suspected of disclosing confidential information in a corruption case

Albania’s Special Prosecutor’s Office against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) on Tuesday ordered the suspension and house arrest of Vlora Hyseni, head of the Albanian State Intelligence Service (SHISH). She is suspected of having leaked confidential information as part of a corruption investigation that also involves a senior police official.

According to local media, Hyseni is not currently in Albania. The head of a department within the Institute of Forensic Sciences was also arrested in the same case. Ilir Proda, the former head of the State Police, who was dismissed at the beginning of the year, was questioned by SPAK prosecutors on Tuesday.

The investigation also targets businessmen Ermal Beqiraj, who was arrested in France at the end of August, and Ergys Agasi, who was detained on August 26.

Vlora Hyseni has headed SHISH since 2023. Her appointment was challenged because of her Kosovar nationality and her previous experience in Kosovo’s intelligence service, from which she had been dismissed. The case represents a new scandal for Prime Minister Edi Rama’s government, which is already facing protests over a controversial tourism project backed by Jared Kushner.