![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Edi-Rama-Knesset-e1770307380495.jpg\"\/)
Edi Rama gives a speech at the Knesset in Israel. Photo: Edi Rama\/Facebook.<\/p>\nEdi Rama gives a speech at the Knesset in Israel. Photo: Edi Rama\/Facebook.<\/p>\n
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama used a private aircraft allegedly once owned by a controversial cryptocurrency guru as he headed off to Israel for a three-day visit in late January, BIRN has learned.<\/p>\n
Data from the Flightradar24 application shows that the Bombardier Global 5000 aircraft departed from Tirana airport on January 25, at 10.53 a.m. and arrived at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv at 1.55 p.m. The same aircraft flew back to Tirana on January 27. Immediately after the plane landed, Rama\u2019s escort was seen leaving the VIP terminal.<\/p>\n
Asked by BIRN, Rama defended using a private jet to go to Israel, citing security issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cTravel to Israel has had understandable security elements and transportation has been part of these elements,\u201d Rama\u2019s spokesperson said. \u201cThe expenses were not covered by the Albanian government,\u201d he added \u2013\u00a0 without specifying who did cover them.<\/p>\n
The Israeli government did not respond to BIRN\u2019s questions about whether it paid for Rama\u2019s flights to Tel Aviv and back by time of publication.<\/p>\n
Rama has been often criticised over his use of private jets, with civil society organisations questioning the transparency of using public spending for his transportation.<\/p>\n
Since Albania took the OSCE Chairmanship for 2020, Rama has used an Air Albania aircraft for official trips, benefiting from a framework contract priced at cost per flight hour. A request by the opposition Democratic Party for a parliamentary inquiry into the Prime Minister\u2019s expenditures was rejected by the Socialist majority in 2023.<\/p>\n
In October 2025, the Albanian government decided to declare data on Rama\u2019s and other senior officials\u2019 trips abroad secret, arguing that this was needed to protect personal data.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom that moment on, citizens have lost the right to know by what means, at what cost, or with what entourage the Prime Minister travels,\u201d Rigels Xhemollari, director of the Tirana-based anti-corruption think tank Citizens Resistance, said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen a senior official travels with public funds, he has an obligation to at least publish the costs and travel contracts. The fact that the Prime Minister does not do this means, at a minimum, the concealment of costs, and at a maximum, abuse of office,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Data on the current owner of the Bombardier Global 5000 jet with the number \u201cN410AT\u201d, registered at the US-based Federal Administration of Aviation, is anonymised. But the plane is known to have been previously seized as part of a US court order against Sam Bankman Fried, following the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, which he founded.<\/p>\n
During his visit to Israel, Rama met his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, who is the subject of an international arrest warrant from the International Criminal Tribunal for allegedly committing war crimes in Gaza. Netanyahu also faces domestic corruption allegations. He has denied both charges.<\/p>\n
On the same day, the Albanian Prime Minister addressed the Israeli parliament, where he emphasised the historical ties between the two peoples, including the assistance that Albanians provided to Jewish people during World War II.\u00a0<\/p>\n