An Albanian court orders the capital's mayor into custody and accuses him of corruption

PRISTINA, Kosovo — An Albanian court on Monday ordered the capital's mayor into custody and accused him and others of millions of dollars worth of corruption involving public funds.

Mayor Erion Veliaj, 45, responded in a Facebook post by rejecting the ''idiot accusation'' and saying that ''neither me nor my family are related to the word ‘corruption.'''

The Special Court for Corruption and Organized Crime handles cases involving senior officials and politicians. The court must decide within 48 hours whether the mayor and the others should remain in custody while investigations ahead of any formal charges continue.

Veliaj is accused of corruption involving at least 1.1 million Euro ($1.13 million) of public funding by giving public money to businesses which in return gave his family illegal profits.

Veliaj, in his second term as mayor, also has served as minister in Prime Minister Edi Rama's Cabinet. He is a member of the governing Socialist Party.

Last year, Albania started discussions with the European Union on aligning with the EU on the rule of law, the functioning of democratic institutions and the fight against corruption. Graft has marred the country's development. Albania aims to join the bloc by 2030, according to Rama.

Judicial institutions created with the support of the EU and the United States have launched several investigations into senior government officials allegedly involved in corruption, including former president and prime minister Sali Berisha, former president Ilir Meta and others.