Albania Takes Center Stage Against Financial Crime

Introduction

In a bid to curb financial crime, Albania has established robust regulatory bodies to monitor and prevent money laundering and terrorist financing activities within the country. The country’s efforts have been recognized by international authorities, addressing most technical compliance shortcomings.

Key Regulatory Bodies

• Financial Intelligence Unit of Albania (FIU-Albania): serves as the central authority for receiving, analyzing, and disseminating reports related to suspicious transactions, money laundering, and terrorist financing.
• Law No. 9917 - Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism: lays down strict customer due diligence requirements for entities operating in the country.

Regulatory Requirements

• Customer Due Diligence (CDD): rigorous identification and verification of customer identities, understanding the aim of the business relationship, continuous monitoring of transactions, and updating customer records.
• Transaction Thresholds: entities must adhere to specific transaction thresholds, with those equal to or exceeding 100,000 Lek being subject to enhanced scrutiny.
• Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs): subject to enhanced due diligence measures, with entities required to identify and monitor PEPs and apply additional verification protocols when dealing with them.

Supportive Regulations

• Regulation on Customer Due Diligence (CDD): provides guidelines on conducting customer due diligence procedures.
• Regulation on Reporting and Record Keeping: prescribes procedures and requirements for reporting suspicious transactions and activities to the FIU-Albania.

Consequences of Non-Compliance

Failure to follow AML/CFT Law’s CDD and record-keeping obligations can result in penalties, including administrative, civil, and criminal consequences.