The German daily BILD published today a report on how Albanian Premier Edi Rama used the FBI to have former Premier Sali Berisha declared non grata.

According to Bild, Rama, through Dorian Duçka, bribed the head of counterintelligence of the FBI New York field office Charles McGonigal to open an investigation which led to declaring Berisha non grata. Bild wrote that Ducka, the person who bribed the FBI top agent in the US, is Edi Rama's connecting point with German politicians.

Herbert Bauernebel, a BILD journalist and one of the article’s co-authors, in an exclusive interview from New York for Syri TV’s anchor Armela Ferko told how the investigation started and where he based his claims in the article.

The suspicions come from two indictments, one in New York for his connections with the Russian oligarch Deripaska, and, what interests more to Albania, the indictment from Washington D.C. that deals with his contacts with Prime Minister Rama and his assistant Dorian Duçka in Albania.

Herbert Bauernebel states that the fact that he denounces in the article, that Edi Rama used the FBI to declare Sali Berisha non grata, is based on facts and documents from American justice.

Asked about the deletion of the article from BILD's online site, Herbert Bauernebel clarified that it wasa  human error to publish it on Friday, as the article was scheduled for the weekend issue and will be back online on Saturday.

“I was surprised about this too, but what happened is not strange in nature, it was a mistake. The article was scheduled for publication on the weekend and due to human error it was published earlier and will be back online on the weekend as it was planned”, he said.

The interview

Armela Ferko: What information do you have in relation to the file on which charges were brought against McGonigal and his connections to Albania?

Herbert Bauernebel: What we can understand from the imprecisely worded indictment is that the agent is only charged with the potential crime – if found guilty – of failing to report all of his extra off-duty activities to his superiors at the FBI. There are three critical parts to this indictment against McGonigal and possible consequences for politicians in Albania. An incident described in the indictment that McGonigal spoke with Rama about oil licenses. It is not yet clear which companies they were lobbying for. The second part involves a situation in which an Albanian politician and businessman contacted McGonigal claiming their life was in danger and there was a plan to hurt that person. And the third is that McGonigal was involved in a possible request by the Prime Minister to lobby a lobbyist who was lobbying in the US for the benefit of an Albanian opposition party. This is the most interesting part of this indictment than all other information that is currently being investigated not only by the justice system, but also by journalists.

As I said before, the indictment is somehow inaccurate. McGonigal here in New York was a top FBI official and some of the investigations involved classified information concerning Deripaska, as opposed to Albania. It contains sensitive information, especially regarding the US government. Therefore, these indictments are not as accurate as a journalist or a citizen would hope. But it seems that in broader terms McGonigal was working for Mr. Rama and clearly helped to facilitate Albania's interests here in the US, as far as the Prime Minister is concerned at least.

Armela Ferko: You cast doubt that Berisha’s designation took place while McGonigal was in office. What do you know more about this issue?

Herbert Bauernebel: This is a very interesting area and belongs to the third part of the accusations against McGonigal and possible consequences for Prime Minister Rama. This is based in part on documents from the US Department of Justice and investigations by journalists here in the US.

Armela Ferko: Agron Neza and Dorian Duçka are also mentioned in the indictment. You said Duçka is Rama's intermediary with German politicians. What do you know more about Dorian Duçka's connections to German politicians?

Herbert Bauernebel: This part is known by my colleagues in Berlin that have contributed to this story. They are aware of his activities and have their own sources of information. This piece was written by me and a colleague in Berlin. Part of the investigation was done by our headquarters in Berlin.

Armela Ferko: The article’s headline says “Corrupt agent, Balkan earthquake in Berlin”. Why was this chosen and how does this issue affect Germany's political environment?

Herbert Bauernebel: Of course, every international issue seems to involve every country in Europe and has a German connection. It is entirely unclear if it is in any way related to criminal investigations here in the US. It seems clear that Duçka had connections with many people in the world and one of the connections leads to Germany. It is mentioned in one of the files, it is mentioned that in one of those meetings, regarding some of the activities that are described in the indictment, those were also taking place in Germany.

Armel Ferko: Did McGonigal meet anyone in Germany? Is there any evidence for that?

Herbert Bauernebel: McGonigal doesn't seem to have met anyone in Germany. I think it was a meeting between Duçka and another person in Germany, according to the files. McGonigal's meetings took place either in New York where he met with the Prime Minister or in Vienna with other people connected to Albania, and of course in Tirana.

Armela Ferko: Returning to Dorian Duçka, based on the information you have, are there facts or doubts that Dorian Duçka used his connections with politicians and the German media for Prime Minister Rama’s political gain? Do you know if there is any investigation in this regard? If not, do you think the German justice should open an investigation into this matter?

Herbert Bauernebel: I think at this stage it is too early to talk and make all these connections. We are just beginning to understand how big this network was. Here in the US they are just getting started. We will have to wait and see what further investigations will show. An information that just emerged from the New York Times reports that because of the McGonigal scandal and investigations, FBI informants in China have recently disappeared; this is how high and how dangerous these potential investigations are for persons around in the world.

Armela Ferko: It was BILD that four years ago published the wiretapped conversations that proved the involvement of Edi Rama and ministers in the manipulation of the 2017 elections and his connections with ministers and criminal gangs in Albania. How do you see the trajectory starting with vote buying and ending with the corruption of a high ranking FBI official?

Herbert Bauernebel: I have seen these reports and I don't want to comment much on Albanian politics because I live in New York and I am not an expert on what happens in that country as far as political corruption is concerned. But as someone looking at this from the outside, you can see a pattern here.

Armela Ferko: Can we say there are still many details to be revealed concerning the Albanian Prime Minister and McGonigal?

Herbert Bauernebel: Yes, of course. As I said, the legal proceedings have just begun. The indictments are very broad and not very precise. What is happening today in the investigations of the US justice system is called discovery and at this stage both sides will present the evidence they have and in this case it will be a very interesting stage to observe what proof the government and prosecutors have, and evidence McGonigal will show. The only disappointment is that this takes a long time. This trial and many trials in the US could continue for many months if not years, so we must be patient to learn more details, even though journalists’ investigations are also underway.

Armela Ferko: Your article drew attention very quickly in Albania, but an hour later it couldn’t be found online. What happened?

Herbert Bauernebel: I was also surprised about this, but what happened is not strange in nature, it was a mistake. The article was scheduled for publication at the weekend and due to human error it was published early and will be back online at the weekend as planned.