ALBANIA BOOSTS EFFORTS AGAINST MONEY LAUNDERING AND TERRORIST FINANCING

Tirana, June 21 - Albania Strengthens Measures to Combat Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing

According to a follow-up report released by MONEYVAL, Albania has made significant progress in improving its measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The country has upgraded its compliance with Financial Action Task Force’s Recommendations 25 and 28, related to transparency and beneficial ownership of legal arrangements and regulation and supervision of designated non-financial businesses and professions.

Key Findings

• Albania has moved from Partially Compliant to Largely Compliant in areas related to:
  • Transparency and beneficial ownership of legal arrangements (Recommendation 25)
  • Regulation and supervision of designated non-financial businesses and professions (Recommendation 28)
• The country has taken additional measures to address shortcomings, including:
  • Subjecting trustees to anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements
  • Streamlining access to beneficial ownership information for competent authorities
  • Improving regulation and supervision of notaries and real estate agents

Progress Made

• Albania has made significant progress in addressing technical compliance shortcomings identified in its 2018 Mutual Evaluation Report.
• The country currently has:
  • Six Recommendations rated Compliant
  • Thirty-one Recommendations rated Largely Compliant
  • Two Recommendations rated Partially Compliant
  • One Recommendation rated Not Applicable

Future Expectations

• Albania is expected to report back to MONEYVAL in two years on further progress made towards strengthening its AML/CFT system.