Albanian prosecution probes lawmaker's wealth

A probe was launched on Friday into the wealth and assets of Alfred Peza, a lawmaker with the Albanian ruling Socialist Party, the Prosecution General's office said in statement.

Peza, a former journalist and political analyst who joined politics four years ago, is put under investigation over alleges related to possible hiding of assets, forging documents and laundering products of criminal acts, local media reported.

Peza, also vice chairman of the Parliamentary Media Committee, is suspected to have accumulated a considerable amount of wealth within a few years.

According to reports of local media, his wife purchased around one million U.S dollars worth of shares from an Albanian bank, a transaction that was confirmed by the data of the National Registration Center.

After the publication of such news, Peza said that he and his wife Mirela Ndini, who is a specialist at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had saved money through the years and bought the shares from the bank.

Four days ago, the Albanian High Inspectorate of Declaration and Audit of Assets started inspecting his assets and those of his relatives, local media reported. Endit