The Bank of Albania is producing new lek. Soon, 1 USD = 200 lek Pages 5, 8

Three days ago, the largest pyramid company, Vefa Holding, made public its latest formula for reimbursing its clients. An interesting interruption, in exchange for beginning the return of capital in amounts of 5,000 dollars. The company boss, Alimuçaj, described the decision in question as a sign of Vefa’s integrity, while thousands of Albanians hurried to find their names on the lists posted at the company’s cash-desk counters. In Tirana, everything took place under pressure from a large crowd, while in the districts it is still unknown how distribution began. Foreign radio stations said yesterday that in Vlora the Vefa branch had closed its doors, carrying out no financial transactions. Between anxiety and hope, creditors who entrusted their savings to the “giant of Albanian capitalism,” as Alimuçaj often calls it, are waiting to see how the newly begun distribution of small amounts of capital will end. Meanwhile, others—those who have sold their homes or deposited large sums—must content themselves with Eurovefa’s written announcement that their money will be paid out “later.” Vefa’s humiliating collapse appears to be the final and most dangerous act in the downfall of the pyramid schemes. Vefa’s bankruptcy would mean the breaking of the last cordon of safety holding back popular protest. Although Vehbi Alimuçaj and his staff have taken care more than once to present their clients with as reassuring an image as possible, pressure on the company has increased alongside the collapse of the smaller pyramids. Automatically, this pressure, initially caused by a financial crisis, has turned into street protests and demands that are no longer economic, among them the repeatedly voiced demand for the government to resign. In reality, from its very beginnings the pyramid-scheme problem had a strong political color, just as the government’s four-year silence about this phenomenon had that same color. In this whole whirlpool of interests, where the discussion was not always about money and borrowing, Vefa was the sturdy pillar of an economic model imposed by the PD government as the most effective for Albania. Until just a few months ago, Vefa was the model to follow in the economic sphere, and when this idea was promoted, the Albanian state did not hesitate to bring all the resources at its disposal to bear. Financial institutions remained silent, certain political circles identified themselves with the pyramid scheme system, while the state media did their part by advertising the company’s potential. Thus, Vefa’s survival or collapse cannot today be a simple financial problem for Albania. Many Albanians’ interests are tied to Vefa, so the matter cannot simply be declared closed with a technical solution. Vefa’s fate in fact determines the course of the political processes now being prepared or beginning to emerge in the country. At this point, everyone understands that Vefa is the card that could overturn the outcome of the political game. It remains to be seen what color this card will be.

Yesterday at the VEFA counters Photo: Reuters