Arrests in multi-million-euro Albanian petrol fraud

(TIRANA) - At least 11 people were arrested in Albania in connection with a multi-million-euro (dollar) petrol scam in the latest of a series of high profile anti-corruption cases, prosecutors said Monday.

The suspects -- businessmen, customs officers and tax officials -- are accused of abuse of power, money laundering and fraud. They allegedly illegally re-sold on the local market some 47,000 tonnes of crude oil meant for export, mixing it with diesel fuel to sell as gasoline.

"The investigations proved that large quantities of crude oil were resold on the Albanian market between 2007 and 2009 causing a lot of damage to consumers," prosecution spokesman Plator Nesturi said.

The crude oil was sold to the private company AMRO to be exported to foreign refineries, the prosecution said. Instead it remained in Albania and was mixed with diesel fuel and sold as petrol by the Euroil and Fisheku companies. Albanian media estimate that the companies pocketed at least 70 million euros ($98 million) yearly.

The case is the latest in a series of high level corruption investigations involving senior officials and in some cases government ministers.

The European Union failed to approve Albania's application for candidate status last year, urging the Balkan country to step up its fight against corruption.