Iute Group, while operating in the Balkans, has for years encountered a prevalent practice in the region where primarily smaller media portals attempt to pressure companies and government institutions into purchasing advertisements by first publishing unjustifiably critical materials, exaggerations, defamation, and misinformation about them. In today’s digital media landscape, misinformation is often mixed with partially true information, creating believable illusions that are often difficult for media consumers to detect.

Iute Group deems it necessary to draw attention to this unfortunate practice and educate both its investors and the general public about it. It is essential to maintain a critical approach towards sources and not blindly trust everything that is “written on the internet.”

One recent example illustrating this situation is the narratives and attacks created against Iute Albania in Albania this summer.

Factually, there is an ongoing criminal investigation in Albania concerning two companies involved in collecting so-called bad loans. According to publicly available materials, debt collection agencies and bailiffs used illegal methods in the debt collection process.

At the same time, an online portal called Gazeta Dita, whose owner is himself under another criminal investigation, is trying to associate Iute Albania with the aforementioned scandal and has published misinformation. However, Iute Albania still does not consider it necessary to start advertising cooperation with this portal and does not succumb to such pressure.

We would like to draw readers’ attention to the following points:

• Gazeta Dita is extremely vague in its claims, talking about “a belief that the scandal runs deeper,” “a shadow in the story,” “indirect connections,” etc.
• Gazeta Dita has not approached Iute Albania for information and does not understand the very logical and justified business steps Iute has taken.
• The Albanian Prosecutor’s Office has not made any accusations against Iute and does not confirm Gazeta Dita’s speculations.

Iute Group should not be responsible for fact-checking poorly executed journalistic materials, especially when they are driven by the news portal’s self-serving business interests. Unfortunately, we find it necessary to bring the facts to light here.

• Albanian authorities are investigating two companies, MCA and Final, as well as more than ten bailiffs regarding illegal debt collection practices, which is their business profile.
• As a microloan issuer, Iute owned Final from 2018 to 2019, during which time Final was also a microloan issuer. Iute acquired Final to obtain its customer base and to enter the retail chain associated with Final as a financing solution provider.
• After acquiring the contracts, Iute sold Final along with the bad loans that remained, which became Final’s new business focus under its new owner. The retention of Final’s core business by Iute was also the reason why the resale price was lower.
• It is also very understandable that bad loans are sold at a lower price. This is a basic financial truth, and only a malicious interpretation would see a conspiracy in it.
• Just like many banks and other financial institutions, Iute has historically sold bad loans to collection agencies and bailiffs, including MCA and Final. There is nothing unusual or illegal about this. The correctness of the debt collection falls solely on MCA and Final, as it was their business focus.

In summary, we all understand that, for example, no car manufacturer can be blamed if their product is used for criminal purposes. The same analogy applies in this case.

Finally, it is tiresome to hear the repeated refrain during such malicious attacks about Iute Group’s negative experience with Kosovo’s business and political culture. The investment in Kosovo did not prove successful for Iute. The liquidator appointed by the Kosovo Central Bank has been ignoring Iute Group for years and has held onto Iute Group’s former loan portfolio. It is true that the international arbitration allowed the Kosovo government to decide at its discretion which foreign investors it allows to operate in the country and which it does not, even if this discretion is unfair and harms the country’s investment environment. Iute Group learned from this experience and emphasizes that according to the arbitration decision, Iute Group did nothing wrong in Kosovo.