In today’s story on the case of former FBI special agent Charles McGonigal, the “Washington Post” newspaper includes information regarding the former official’s Albanian part of corruption accusations.
At the start of the topic for Albania in a specific subchapter, the prestigious American adds that according to the accusation “McGonigal had close ties with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and a former operator of the Albanian secret services. McGonigal’s activities in Albania began while he was still an FBI agent, which concerns his colleagues.”
Following a description of Albania’s critical position for the US government, particularly in the battle against international terrorism, the Washington Post stated that “high-level American diplomats and security officials conduct frequent travels to Albania, and McGonigal’s encounters with the prime minister would have been perceived in the country as routine and not remarkable,” according to analyst Jasmin Mujanovic.
He claims that “the allegation that McGonigal was collecting money from a Rama ally while meeting with the prime minister and potentially working to help further the commercial interests of the people who paid him could substantially hinder US-led reform in Albania”.
“What has often frustrated people in the region is that, instead of utilizing their positions to boost the fight against corruption and organized crime, these senior Western officials appear to come down to our level. and become a player in the game “, explains the subject matter expert.
The report, which addresses the likelihood that additional FBI agents did similar unethical conduct, also discusses other people involved in McGonigal’s interests in Albania.
In February 2019, five months after leaving the FBI, McGonigal and Neza both purchased a 25% ownership in Law Office & Investigation, a locally based investigation agency. Mark Rossini, a former FBI agent who pled guilty in 2007 to one count of improperly accessing FBI information on behalf of his actress fiancée, was another participant in the business “.
The primary charge against McGonigal, who had a critical position in the FBI until 2018, was for ties to Russian oligarchs, specifically Oleg Deripaska, who is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and has raised concerns about American national security.