Leyton Orient have confirmed owner Francesco Becchetti will vigorously contest the allegations of money laundering and fraud made against him. 

Albanian authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Becchetti as part of a probe into these allegations. 

A statement released on the club website read: "Francesco Becchetti is aware that earlier this week a court in Albania issued a warrant for his arrest and made orders freezing assets belonging to his Albanian companies.  Arrest warrants have also been issued in respect of others. 

"The allegations which have given rise to these court orders are groundless and politically and improperly motivated.  Mr Becchetti is currently involved in complex commercial litigation against the Republic of Albania, in which large sums of money are at stake. 

"It is believed that these allegations have been made in order to harass him and to put pressure on him to settle the litigation on terms that are advantageous to the Republic of Albania. 

"Mr Becchetti will vigorously contest the baseless accusations against him at the appropriate time." 

The 48-year-old and his mother, along with two business associates, are accused by Albanian prosecutors of offences relating to a hydroelectric scheme that was never built, which is said to have cost the eastern European government tens of millions of euros in grants and unpaid taxes.

The arrest warrant was issued on Monday for Becchetti, who made his fortune in waste disposal and recycling. He could face up to 15 years in prison, according to reports.