Evidence That UN Special Envoy for Kosovo
Marti Ahtisaari Received Albanian Mafia Bribes for Kosovo Independence
Defense & Foreign Affairs Analysis - July 9, 2007
By Valentine Spyroglou, GIS Station Chief, South-East Europe.
On July 8, 2007 the KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army, Ushtria Çlirimtare e Kosovës or
UÇK) war veterans issued an announcement warning the international community and
especially the United Nations (UN) not to interfere the process of recognizing
Kosovo’s independence.
The KLA announcement specifically said that the Albanian leaders of Kosovo
should not accept more suspensions (delays) or new negotiations because these
would lead to new hostilities. If their demands were not accepted, then the KLA
veterans warned that they would have to take action as KLA soldiers and honor
the oath of their national heroes.
The announcement came while the UN Special Envoy for Kosovo, former Finnish
President Marti Ahtisaari, was publicly accused of having connections with the
Albanian mafia in Kosovo.
The Finnish News Agency, STT, published on June 26 and June 27, 2007, two
articles stating that the UN Special Envoy for Kosovo was “bought” by the
Albanian mafia in order to support independence for Kosovo. The STT articles
reported that the information was initially published by the Banja Luka (Republica
Srpska, Bosnia & Herzegovina) Daily Fokus on June 21, 2007, entitled “Albanian
Mafia Bought Ahtisaari”.
According to the Banja Luka report, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had
requested that the German Federal Intelligence Service, BND, inform him in
detail on what was happening in Kosovo, and he finally received a detailed
report on Special Envoy Ahtisaari’s activities in Kosovo.
Based on the Banja Luka article, the UN Secretary General was informed that
Albanian separatists in Kosovo had paid for Ahtisaari’s plan which proposed
independence for the Serbian province. The BND secret service team, headed by
Brigadier Luke Neiman, who was directly appointed by the German Government to
designate part of the German Secret Service apparatus to the UN Mission in
Kosovo (UNOSEK: United Nations Office of the Special Envoy for Kosovo),
discovered the connection between the Albanian mafia and Marti Ahtisaari. Brig.
Neiman had recordings of discussions between Ahtisaari and Albanians; how they
transferred money; the banks accounts plus codes in Switzerland and Cyprus.
One of the BDN recordings revealed the transportation of two-million euros from
the Swiss Bank based in the city of Visalia, account number 239700-93457-00097,
owned by Exhet Boria, which was masked by an offshore account with a code
XS52-KOLER to Ahtisaari’s bank account in the Bank of Cyprus, account number
3459346699004533, code VOLANND.
What was also reported was the visit of two men to UNOSEK, in the presence of
Ahtisaari on February 12, 2007, at 06:23 hrs (local time) in one black Mercedes
four-wheel drive SUV, with license plate PR-443-22CD, which was confirmed to
belong to the Albanian Government in Priština.
The two visitors carried two silver briefcases which were handed to Ahtisaari. A
source inside the UNOSEK facilities confirmed that the briefcases contained cash
and were delivered to the UN Special Envoy for Kosovo. Twelve days later, at
17:44 hrs (local), the same car, with the license plates removed, visited UNOSEK
but this time it was Exhet Boria himself and two bodyguards that entered the
building, carrying again two silver briefcases.
Exhet Boria is a Kosovo Albanian figure involved in organized crime and heroin
trade in Europe and he is the “right hand” of Behgjet Pacolli, the Albanian
billionaire mafia boss, living in Switzerland.
The BND agents realized that the four briefcases had diplomatic luggage labels,
and noted that they finally arrived in Finland without being checked — because
of the diplomatic tagging — and were delivered at Ahtisaari’s house. The
briefcase cash totaled 40-million euros. The German agents also confirmed that
Ahtisaari had many telephone conversations with Behgjet Pacolli.
Furthermore, on February 28, 2007, at 23:47 hrs (local), the BND agents noted
the arrival of a NATO KFOR (Kosovo Force) four-wheel drive vehicle carrying two
women who were followed by Boria’s bodyguard. The women stayed in Ahtisaari’s
quarters until 05:17 hrs next day, and left with the same car.
The office of the UN Special Envoy for Kosovo responded to STT that “this is a
silly story that comes from the press of Serbia (Bosnia & Herzegovina). We have
nothing to add”, said Remi Derlo, Ahtisaari’s spokesman based in Vienna.
According to STT, the accusations where not commented on by the UN or by
Ahtisaari himself.
However, the President of the National Assembly of Serbia, Oliver Dulić, has
made a formal inquiry into the allegations in order to confirm Ahtisaari’s
involvement with Albanian organized crime.
Meanwhile, on the date on which the accusations on Ahtisaari were published,
June 21, 2007, the UN Security Council session discarded the US-UK proposal to
suspend negotiations for 120 days and then apply the Ahtisaari plan for giving
independence to Kosovo. Also, that same day the EU warned the Albanians in
Kosovo not to take unilateral decisions/action because these would be
characterized “irresponsible behavior”.
The GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs station in south-eastern Europe has conducted
research in the Balkans and from secure sources it was revealed that the BND
report does indeed exist, and that the information contained is not “Serbian
fiction” but a reality.
The research also revealed additional secure and confirmed information.
Specifically, it was confirmed that the former KLA leader, Hakim Thaci (also
known as “the snake” of KLA), had made a plan of “100 days” for Kosovo’s
independence.
It is foreseen that elections would be held in Kosovo, in November 2007; the
Kosovo Parliament will have 120 seats from which 100 seats will be taken by
Albanians, 10 seats by the Serbs, and 10 seats will be occupied by the remaining
minorities in Kosovo. The election winner would be Hakim Thaci, winning 75
seats.
The remaining 25 seats would be taken by Albanian parties in Kosovo. They
consider that the Serbs would not vote, hence the 10 Serbian seats would be
taken again by representatives of Hakim Thaci.
The first session of the Kosovo Parliament would, under the plan, then decide
and announce Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence (UDI). According to
highly-reliable sources, Thaci and his friends had taken their decisions
unilaterally and despite the UN Security Council decision, regardless of what
this could mean for the security of the region.
Meanwhile, GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs sources confirmed that the BND report
also contained extensive additional information on the involvement in corrupt
activities of other international community personalities involved in Kosovo.
As a result, it was understood that, under the pressure of the emerging
information/facts, the UN was now considering promoting the partition of Kosovo,
rather than adopting the Ahtisaari plan for granting complete independence to
Kosovo.
Copyright 2007 Defense & Foreign
Affairs/International Strategic Studies Association
Reprinted with Permission.