Lapsi.al LLC
Lapsi.al is an online platform since the beginning of 2014. Unlike many other websites, it is focused on political analysis and opinion and features several well-known political commentators from Albania and Kosovo, including its two founders.
Lapsi maintains a critical stance towards the government. In 2021, just before the general elections, the portal reported on the existence of a database that the ruling Socialist Party kept to monitor voters in the capital. The database contained private data of over 910 thousand voters and was considered a violation of privacy and election rights. Election monitors from OSCE and ODIHR expressed concern that the database "undermined the secrecy of the vote."
However, the Special Prosecution Office, which initiated an investigation after this publication, initially attempted to seize the computers and phones of Lapsi.al's directors and journalists. This prompted a strong reaction from NGOs in support of the media, as the decision risked exposing sources. An emergency intervention by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg suspended the seizure decision. The Supreme Court rejected the prosecution's request and ruled that journalists' work materials could only be seized after all other means were exhausted.
Lapsi.al journalist Dorian Kodra won the European Union's second prize for Investigative Journalism.
Business Form
Private
Legal Form
Joint -Stock Company
Business Sectors
Publishing
Individual Owner
General Information
Founding Year
2015
Affiliated Interests Founder
The founders of Lapsi.al are journalists Andi Bushati and Armand Shkullaku. Lapsi started its publication in 2014, making it clear from its early editorials that it held a critical stance towards the government.
Both leaders began their careers at Koha Jonë, one of the first newspapers in the country, and quickly became significant figures in the country's media landscape. They later became part of Televizion Klan and a magazine with the same name.
Both Bushati and Shkullaku have, at different times, led several important media outlets. Shkullaku also headed Televizioni Klan Kosova in Pristina for a while, while Bushati has been one of the main commentators on several political shows, initially on Klan and later on other television stations.
Both hold equal shares in Lapsi.al, while only Shkullaku is reported to be a shareholder with a 5.2 percent stake in an unlisted asset company.
Both have strong critical stances against the government. Bushati, who has also taken strong positions against former Prime Minister Sali Berisha and opposition leaders, has exchanged accusations with them as well.
Employees
Missing Data
Contact
FARKE Lagjja Kodra e Diellit, Rruga e Jasmineve, Ndertesa nr.6, Tirane
E-Mail: arionaalb@gmail.com
Tel: +355(0)42274521
Website: lapsi.al
Tax/ ID Number
L51327021A
Financial Information
Revenue (Financial Data/ Optional)
0.08 Mln..$ /9 Mln..Lek
Operating Profit (in Mill. $)
0.00 Mln.. $ / 0.03 Mln..Lek
Advertising (in % of total funding)
Missing Data
Further Information
Meta Data
The ownership structure and the financial statements are published in the Albanian National Business Register. The latest financial data related to the fiscal year 2022 are extracted from QKB (Albanian National Business Register). The Central Bank's average exchange rate for 2022 was used to convert the amounts into USD.
