He posed as Taulant Balla and demanded 100,000 euros from Duka: court keeps the two arrestees in jail

The Tirana court ordered jail detention for the two arrestees in the attempted fraud against FSHF president Armand Duka. Orest Balla and Edison Korra gave differing statements, with the former saying they were steered by someone else to collect a package but, according to them, were unaware of what it was about and acted in good faith.

Orest Balla, who is suspected of having contacted Duka posing as Taulant Balla and demanding 100,000 euros in cryptocurrency, stated that he had been contacted via Instagram by an unknown person who had promised him 2,000 euros in exchange for communicating with another person. Balla said that afterwards a person came to him by car and gave him a phone number, through which he communicated with Armand Duka’s son — who in fact turned out to be an undercover police agent, as the FSHF president had immediately filed a report.

Balla also denied having known the other arrestee, Edison Korra, beforehand. Korra, meanwhile, claimed he had been contacted precisely by Orest Balla, at a bar, and that Balla had asked him to collect a package. The communication with Armand Duka via the “Signal” app is suspected to have been carried out by another person, who has not yet been identified. As the head of this fraud scheme, the investigative team suspects Florian Gjergji, a person previously wanted by the police for similar acts against other persons.

After Duka’s report to the police, work was organized to identify, track down, and arrest the 24- and 23-year-olds. The young men, who are suspected of acting together with other persons, agreed to also take delivery of the cash, setting the bus park in Elbasan as the meeting point. During this controlled delivery, plainclothes agents intervened and handcuffed them.