Albanian police detained former President Ilir Meta over corruption allegations, according to his lawyer, who called the detention "politically motivated."

Meta, 55, who was president from 2017-2022 and now leads the opposition Freedom Party, was returning to the capital Tirana from neighboring Kosovo when police in black masks stopped his car, video footage showed.

Police said they had to take him by force.

One of Europe's poorest nations, Albania's politics have been marred by instability and graft since the fall of communism in the early 1990s. That has hindered its goal to join the EU.

"Meta is accused on charges of passive corruption, failing to declare his wealth and money laundering," lawyer Genc Gjokutaj said after meeting his client.

Meta has previously denied accusations of wrongdoing and his lawyer said years-old falsehoods had been revived as a political move ahead of an April national parliamentary election.

There was no immediate comment from the anti-corruption prosecution office SPAK, which filed the charges.

Meta's former wife Monika Kryemadhi said on Facebook she was facing similar false charges and had been ordered to report to police regularly, calling that a "farce."

Local media said two other people close to Meta and Kryemadhi were also charged.

Meta, who had previously served as prime minister and parliament speaker, is not the only opposition figure to face criminal allegations.

Last month, Sali Berisha, leader of the largest opposition group the Democratic Party, was indicted on corruption charges, and a party politician Ervin Salianji was jailed for a year for making a "false report" about a former minister.

The Democratic Party accuses Prime Minister Edi Rama of a witch-hunt, which he denies. Rama has been in power since 2013 and plans to run for a fourth term next year.

Meta's Freedom Party said his detention would bring condemnation and street protests.

Romana Vlahutin, a former EU ambassador to Albania, applauded the arrest, saying: "There are no untouchables ... Justice might be slow, but is served eventually."