By: Tanja Brkić (Nova24tv)
Prime Minister Robert Golob maintains that he does not know Martin Berishaj and denies all transactions that have taken place or any connection to the disclosed transactions, which point to alleged money laundering by the state-owned company. However, it is difficult to believe what he says, since, according to the web portal Prava, when he was still the President of the Management Board of the Gen-I energy company, the said company sponsored an event hosted by IFIMES, at which Albin Kurti, the then-President of the Self-Determination Movement party, was a guest. Martin Berishaj was also a member of this party before he was “promoted” to the post of ambassador.
In recent weeks, many media outlets have been uncovering new stories and announcing new transactions; parliamentary commissions of inquiry have been set up in the Western Balkan countries, all pointing the finger at Robert Golob, who says he “knows nothing about all this” and that it is all just “fiction.” However, the “fiction” is actually a fact – Golob is so shamelessly misleading and lying to the Slovenian people, when more and more documents show that the “alleged” money laundering at the expense of the state-owned company Gen-I will quickly turn out to be a fact, not just an allegation. Just as it is a fact that the Gen-I energy company was one of the sponsors of an event in Slovenia, which was also attended by the current Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, who was at the time a Member of Parliament and President of the Self-Determination/Lëvizja Vetëvendosje (LVV) party, of which the notorious Martin Berishaj, whom Golob “does not know,” was also a member.
More and more information is coming to light about Golob’s Albanian financial affair and the money flowing out of the state-owned company Gen-I during the time of Golob’s leadership. Many media outlets have reported on it and have already pieced together parts of the story, and now journalist Luka Perš has added his own part to the story, concluding that the current Kosovo Ambassador to Croatia, Martin Berishaj, very likely played the role of the financial mule of GEN-I and its President of the Management Board until November 2021, who is the current Prime Minister, Robert Golob. And although Golob still denies any acquaintance with Berishaj, under his leadership, Gen-I sponsored an event at which Albin Kurti, the then-President of Berishaj’s party, was a guest.
The web portal Prava reported that one of the IFIMES Institute’s events in 2016, which was also attended by Albin Kurti, then-MP and President of the Self-Determination/Lëvizja Vetëvendosje (LVV) party and current Prime Minister of Kosovo, was sponsored by Gen-I. In addition to Gen-I, other sponsors included Škrabec’s Riko, Elektro Ljubljana energy company under the reign of Andrej Ribič, and Eles under the leadership of Aleksandar Mervar, a former associate of Golob’s in Gen-I’s predecessor, Istrabenz Gorenje. And Martin Berishaj was a member or supporter of Kurti’s party. All this took place during Golob’s term as President of the Management Board of the Gen-I energy company.
The Kosovo President is also a common point
There are undoubtedly strong ties of interest between Golob, Berishaj and Kurti, and it is clear that they all know each other, and the common point for all of them is Vjosa Osmani, the President of Kosovo, who has been protecting Kurti and Berishaj since the beginning of the affair. In 2021 and 2022, the Slovenian company Gen-I became the most powerful electricity trader in Kosovo. Gen-I’s contract with the Kosovo Energy Corporation – KEK for 2021 was worth 11.8 million euros.
How much longer will Golob keep on insisting that it is all just “fiction”?