Tom Doshi

Tom Doshi
Doshi in 2021
Chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Albania
Incumbent
Assumed office 17 December 2020
Preceded by	Skënder Gjinushi
Member of the Albanian Parliament
In office 2 September 2005 – 27 May 2021
Constituency	Shkodër
Personal details
Born	(1966-06-06) 6 June 1966 Shkodër, Albania
Party	Social Democratic Party (2017–present)
Other political affiliations	Independent (2015–2017) Socialist Party (2005–2015)
Spouse	Xhovana Doshi
Children	4
Alma mater	State University of Tetova
Signature

Tom Doshi (born 6 June 1966) is an Albanian businessman and politician. He is chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Albania (PSD) and was a member of the Albanian Parliament for Shkodër County from 2005 to 2021. He was elected again in the 2025 Albanian parliamentary election, but resigned from the mandate before taking the parliamentary oath at the first sitting of the new legislature. Until 2015 he was a member of the Socialist Party (PS). He was expelled from the Socialist Party following a dispute with Prime Minister Edi Rama and accusations he made against senior politicians. In 2017 he joined the Social Democratic Party and in 2020 became its chairman.

Under Doshi's leadership, the PSD won three seats in both the 2021 and 2025 parliamentary elections. Doshi gave up his own mandate after both elections. In 2025, he and fellow PSD member-elect Sabina Jorgo resigned from their mandates before the oath-taking procedure, leaving the party's seats to be filled by replacement candidates. Although formally a separate party, the PSD has generally supported Rama's Socialist Party in parliament; in 2025 BIRN described the relationship as an unannounced alliance, while Doshi denied that he would ally with Sali Berisha's opposition.

Doshi has been the subject of allegations of corruption, electoral influence and criminal activity in Albania, Australia and the United States. He denies wrongdoing. In April 2018, the United States Department of State publicly designated Doshi, his wife and children under Section 7031(c) over alleged involvement in "significant corruption", making them ineligible to enter the United States.

Biography

A scion of a prominent family from Kelmendi, Doshi spent his childhood in the village of Velipojë, 31 km northwest of Shkodër. He graduated in law from the State University of Tetova. For some time Doshi lived in Australia, where his four children were born.

After returning to Albania, Doshi became active in business, acquiring interests in several enterprises, including a milk-processing plant and a pharmaceutical company. Albanian media have repeatedly described him as one of the wealthiest members of parliament.

Politics

Socialist Party

Doshi entered parliament as a member of the Socialist Party of Albania in the legislature that began in 2005, during the leadership of Fatos Nano, and remained with the party after Edi Rama became its chairman. During his early parliamentary career, Doshi served on the Committee on Labour, Social Affairs and Health.

In March 2015, Doshi was expelled from the Socialist parliamentary group after publicly accusing senior political figures of involvement in an alleged plot to kill him and another member of parliament. He then sat as an independent before joining the Social Democratic Party.

Social Democratic Party

Doshi was elected as a PSD member of parliament for Shkodër in the 2017 parliamentary election. He became chairman of the party on 17 December 2020, succeeding Skënder Gjinushi. In the 2021 Albanian parliamentary election, the PSD won three seats. Doshi had run first on the PSD lists in Tirana and Shkodër, but announced shortly after election day that he would give up his parliamentary mandate while remaining politically active in the party.

The PSD maintained three parliamentary seats after the 2025 Albanian parliamentary election, receiving 49,890 votes, or 3.10% of the national vote. Doshi was elected in Shkodër, together with PSD candidate Sabina Jorgo, while Albana Pëllumbi was elected in Tirana. However, at the first sitting of the new legislature on 12 September 2025, Doshi and Jorgo both renounced their mandates and did not take the parliamentary oath. Scan TV reported that 138 of the 140 deputies were sworn in that day and that the two PSD replacements were expected to come from the party's open list in Shkodër.

Relationship with the Socialist Party

Although Doshi was expelled from the Socialist Party in 2015, the PSD under his leadership has often cooperated with Edi Rama's Socialist Party. Following the 2021 election, Doshi's resignation from his mandate was widely interpreted as easing potential cooperation between PS and PSD in the new parliament. His 2025 resignation occurred in a similar context: he remained PSD chairman while leaving the parliamentary seats to other PSD representatives. In 2025, BIRN reported that PSD deputies had regularly voted in support of the Socialists and that the Central Election Commission had formally classified the PSD as part of the governing majority. During the 2025 campaign, Doshi stated that he aimed for the PSD to be part of the future governing majority but ruled out an alliance with Sali Berisha.

Controversies

Assault on journalist

In March 2008, Doshi was accused of assaulting Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) journalist Besar Likmeta in front of another MP. Likmeta had been investigating the origin of Doshi's university diploma.

Alleged murder plot and false-report investigation

On 2 March 2015, Doshi was expelled from the Socialist Party's parliamentary group after criticising Prime Minister Edi Rama, then-Interior Minister Saimir Tahiri and Speaker of Parliament Ilir Meta. Doshi alleged that Meta had paid to have him and MP Mhill Fufi killed; Meta denied wrongdoing and called the allegations politically motivated. Doshi later released a video of a private conversation with Durim Bami, whom he described as the person paid to assassinate him.

The General Prosecutor's Office later asked parliament to authorise the arrest of Doshi and MP Mark Frroku. Prosecutors said they had reasonable doubts that the assassination claim had been staged and suspected the MPs of false reporting and false declarations; Doshi and Frroku said the charges were politically motivated.

United States public designation

On 16 April 2018, the United States Department of State publicly designated Doshi under Section 7031(c) of the FY 2017 Consolidated Appropriations Act, stating that the designation was due to his alleged involvement in significant corruption. The department also publicly designated his spouse, Xhovana Doshi, his adult children Briana and James Doshi, and his minor children, making them ineligible for entry into the United States. Doshi denied the allegations.

The designation became a recurring issue in Albanian politics. In 2021, the U.S. embassy criticised the participation of sanctioned figures in the parliamentary election campaign, and Doshi's decision to relinquish his mandate after the election was reported as removing a major obstacle to informal PS–PSD cooperation.

Australian intelligence reports

In July 2023, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), citing confidential intelligence assessments by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, reported that Australian authorities had suspected Doshi of leading an organised criminal group in Australia involved in immigration fraud, drug trafficking and money laundering. OCCRP reported that Doshi had not been charged with crimes in Australia. Doshi denied the allegations, telling reporters that he had never been involved in drug smuggling, human trafficking, arms trafficking, money laundering or illegal immigration in Australia, Albania or elsewhere.

Electoral influence and vote-buying allegations

Doshi has frequently been described by Albanian media as a powerful electoral figure in Shkodër. During the 2025 parliamentary campaign, BIRN reported that his support in parts of Shkodër was linked by voters to personal assistance, informal influence and local patronage, while others alleged that vote-buying remained part of the local political culture.

After the 2025 elections, SPAK reportedly indicted Vau i Dejës mayor Kristian Shkreli on election-corruption charges, alleging involvement in vote-buying in favour of the PSD. Politiko reported that prosecutors had also seized phones from several PSD representatives suspected of involvement in the same Shkodër-region case. The reports did not state that Doshi himself had been charged in the case.

Sanctions

Main article: § United States public designation

On 16 April 2018, Doshi and members of his family were barred from entering the United States after the State Department publicly designated him for alleged involvement in significant corruption. The measure was imposed under Section 7031(c), which requires the public or private designation of foreign officials and immediate family members when the Secretary of State has credible information that the official has been involved in significant corruption or a gross violation of human rights.