Swiss court convicts former Albanian oil tycoon in fraud case

GENEVA, Aug 27 – Rezart Taçi, once one of Albania’s most prominent oil magnates, was sentenced in absentia on Tuesday by the Geneva Correctional Court to 30 months in prison, of which 24 months are suspended, for financial fraud, forgery and abuse of trust.

The 54-year-old, long pursued by Albanian prosecutors for suspected money laundering and links to organised crime, was accused of running what the court called a “particularly devious” scheme that defrauded international partners, including Swiss certification giant SGS. Taçi, under an international arrest warrant issued in Albania, remains at large.

The case unfolded through a simplified procedure rarely used for business figures: a plea arrangement between prosecutors and the defendant, validated by written acknowledgment of guilt. Despite his absence, the court confirmed both the prison term and an order to compensate SGS with $8.8 million. Only a fraction of that sum is recoverable.

Taçi rose rapidly in the late 1990s, creating Taçi Oil and securing lucrative assets during Albania’s privatisation wave, including a refinery and storage facilities in Durrës. From Geneva he drew loans from top banks and partnered with trading houses such as Trafigura. Prosecutors said he manipulated tanker valves and falsified documents to siphon off fuel unnoticed. The fraud unraveled in 2013 after debt-ridden associates turned to SGS, triggering arbitration and multimillion-dollar losses.

Once hailed as a billionaire entrepreneur, Taçi owned Parma football club briefly and mingled with figures like Silvio Berlusconi and Tony Blair.