Source note: the allegations and financial calculations below are reported by the prosecutor’s office in a 1980 archival document. They are presented as that document’s findings.
Document manipulation: It came into circulation in the 1960s and lasted until 1980
The Prosecutor’s report states:
“The command of military unit no. 5999 Korça, illegally, has credited some former officers with longer service time than they actually had in the partisan units.”
Two cases are particularly well documented:
- Arqile Cane : He was recognized as having participated in the war from May 17, 1944, when in fact he had entered the army on July 17, 1944.
- Iljasto Kito : In the documentation he appears as a participant from April 15, 1942 to November 29, 1944. In reality, he had only been in the unit from August 30, 1944.
Wartime doubling scam = 109 lek more every month
The law of the time allowed participants in the National Liberation War to benefit from doubling their years of service for retirement purposes. This practice, if based on forged documents, created considerable benefits:
“Due to the incorrect calculation of the time these soldiers have served in the army, they have illegally benefited from a 50% pension as well as an additional 100 lek per month on top of their old-age pension.”
For Arqile Cane alone, the amount illegally obtained was 35,999 lek. For Iljasto Kito , 26,000 lek.
The Case of Vasil Vrana – From Carabinieri of Fascist Italy to “Partisan with Documents”
A scandalous case is mentioned in the report: Vasil Vrana , a former discharged officer, had declared that he was a member of the Second Assault Brigade of the National Liberation Army as early as May 5, 1943. But the discovered documents showed that:
- In November 1939 he went to Italy for training as a carabinieri.
- From 1940 to 1943 he served as an Italian gendarme in the locations “Selenica” and “Ura e Mifolit”.
- From June 1943 to July 17, 1944, he stayed in the village of Bradavicë and worked as a coal miner .
In fact, Vrana himself had declared in 1946 that during the war he had been in the police force , and was later sentenced by the people’s court to 3 years in prison for political activity .
Three fabricated testimonies about the partisan past
To support his request for a war pension, Vrana had submitted three statements from his fellow villagers , who had “proved” his participation in the war. But the Prosecution writes:
“The statements issued by the 3 fellow villagers have the same content and do not reflect the truth. The decision to benefit from doubling the years is legally unfounded.”
Decision on punishment: refund and disciplinary measures
At the conclusion of the investigation, the Prosecution requested:
- The repeal of the decisions of the Korça Executive Committee that had mistakenly recognized doubled seniority.
- Return of the amounts received in excess by Arqile Cane, Iljasto Kito and Vasil Vrana .
- Disciplinary measures for the chief of staff of military unit 5999 who had signed the models with incorrect data.
A glimpse into the system: when war became a currency for retirement
This document recounts not only isolated frauds, but also a system where participation in the war could be manipulated for economic gain, and where under the signature of a cadre chief, personal history could be changed . In the dictatorship, the past was not just memory – it was privilege, security, and a monthly payment.
