Albania has failed to make any improvement in regards to the prevention of money laundering as per the latest Moneyval report, meaning the country remains on the grey list for yet another year.
Moneyval, otherwise known as the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism is an international monitoring body of the Council of Europe that oversees 47 states and their approach to preventing financial crime.
The report found that Albania had not significantly improved measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing in line with FATF guidelines. This is despite multiple recommendations being made over the last years and the country being monitored for more than two decades.
“The follow-up report for Albania has found that this country has not significantly improved measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing in line with the FATF Recommendations,” the report said.
Dated 4 May 2022, the report, seen by Exit, said that the country should remain under enhanced monitoring for the foreseeable future. During this time, it should strengthen money laundering and counter terrorism financing measures, and pay attention to virtual assets and cryptocurrencies.
The country has been on and off the grey list several times over the years due to its ongoing struggles with combatting financial crime. It is also on the FATF grey list due to similar concerns, where it is among the only other European countries next to Malta and Turkey.
In May last year, Moneyval issued a similar report, noting it had failed to address recommendations.
MONEYVAL Finds no Significant Anti-Money Laundering Improvement in Albania
This echoed similar reports from the US State Department, the Basel AML Index, and the European Commission. Yet, prosecutions and convictions for money laundering remain few and far between, particularly including any high-level individuals.
https://exit.al/en/2022/01/28/tirana-a-city-scarred-by-money-laundering/
