ALBANIA: DECLARATION AND AUDIT OF ASSETS AND CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Strengthening the Fight Against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing
In a bid to enhance its efforts against money laundering and terrorist financing, Albania’s National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has identified several areas that require improvement. The NBI report highlights the need for strengthening declaration and audit of assets and conflict of interest.
Low Investigation, Prosecution, and Conviction Rates
According to the NBI’s latest report, Albania’s investigation, prosecution, and conviction rates for money laundering and high-level corruption cases are low. Financial investigations also need improvement. While asset seizure has shown some progress, actual confiscations remain low.
Asset Seizure and Confiscation Challenges
The NBI notes that available statistics on seized and confiscated assets do not seem proportional to the level of criminality in the country. The non-conviction confiscation regime under the Anti-Mafia Law is applied more often than the mandatory criminal confiscation regime, which typically allows only for the confiscation of criminal tools and not proceeds.
National Strategy and Operational Procedures Needed
The report emphasizes the need for a clearer national strategy and operational procedures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. Albania has legislation allowing for the social reuse of confiscated assets, but the effectiveness of this system is poor.
Recommendations for Policymakers
To address these issues, the NBI recommends:
- Reviewing reasons behind poor performance in prosecuting money laundering cases
- Enhancing analysis of money laundering and terrorist financing risks
- Ensuring adequate measures are in place to initiate financial investigations systematically
- Strengthening supervisory authorities in licensing or other controls to prevent criminal infiltration of financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses or professions
Implementing High Standards for Screening Applicants
This includes implementing high standards for screening applicants, indirect shareholders, and beneficial ownerships.
Additional Recommendations
The NBI also recommends:
- Providing more regular feedback to reporting entities on specific suspicious activity report filings
- Strengthening resources for supervising private entities
- Identifying criminal proceeds located abroad and taking appropriate actions for their confiscation
Albania’s Anti-Terrorist Financing Law
Albania’s anti-terrorist financing law, updated in 2019, has established clear national procedures for proposing designations to UN Security Council committees and for requesting foreign countries to implement freezing measures. However, the country’s risk assessment system has been criticized for not considering the impact of corruption on money laundering and terrorist financing risks.
Conclusion
The report concludes that Albania needs to address these shortcomings to improve its effectiveness in combating money laundering and terrorist financing. By implementing these recommendations, the country can strengthen its fight against financial crimes and reduce its vulnerabilities to money laundering and terrorist financing.