The Albanian government’s fiscal amnesty bill will benefit the majority of former high state officials, who will be freed from the obligation to disclose the source of their wealth.
The government has prepared a fiscal amnesty bill which will allow the declaration and deposit of assets legally in banks, without fiscal obligations and without criminal liability.
The bill drafted by the Ministry of Finance, which expects to pass in parliament during the following weeks, excludes from amnesty high officials (like the Prime Minister, ministers, mayors, department heads, etc.) that are currently serving or have served in the last 3 years, from the date the law is passed.
Other former high officials will be able to declare their undeclared assets with no criminal liability or fiscal obligations.
Fiscal amnesty will last a year, from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021.
The following persons will not be eligible for the fiscal amnesty, and, if they choose to declare their wealth, will still be liable to criminal prosecution:
- All high officials that are currently serving (President, Prime Minister, ministers, judges, prosecutors, customs directors, tax office directors, customs officers);
- Immediate family members of the above;
- All high officials who have served in the last three years;
- Immediate family members of the above;
- All those suspected by the prosecution for being part of criminal or terrorist organizations;
- All those convicted of drug trafficking and kidnapping;
- All those who have ever been investigated, even if they have been ruled innocent by a a court or the investigation against them has been halted, for murder, drug trafficking, or being part of a criminal organization.
The following will not be criminally prosecuted if they declare their wealth:
- Former high officials who left their position before 2018;
- All other persons who are legally obligated to declare their wealth, but do not fall into one of the above categories;
Thus, all former politicians and high state officials who haven’t held a public post since 2018 will be able to declare the wealth accrued during their years in service, without having to disclose where that wealth came from.
