Albania Fails to Ensure Transparency in Beneficial Ownership Register

TIRANA, Albania - The implementation of Albania’s beneficial ownership register has raised concerns over its transparency and effectiveness.

Concerns Over Transparency and Accuracy

The government is obligated to ensure that the public has access to the register without obstacles such as payments, identification, or registration. However, it appears that this principle has been compromised.

• According to an NBC representative, the accuracy and veracity of the data are borne by the reporting entities and persons authorized to make the registration.
• This raises concerns over the potential for inaccurate or unverified data in the register.
• Furthermore, the lack of proactive checks on data veracity may lead to a register filled with incorrect information.

International Best Practices

Experts have suggested that Denmark’s approach to automatically checking data against other datasets could be a model for Albania. Similarly, Ukraine has proposed a system to automatically check beneficial ownership data against tax payments to spot inconsistencies or evasion.

• Belgium requires specific formats for data submission to ensure comparability.
• Slovakia holds third parties responsible for the accuracy of the data submitted and liable to sanctions if it is incorrect.
• France takes a stricter approach, not only applying financial sanctions but also limiting business activities in cases of incorrect data submission.

Recommendations from the International Repertoire of Mechanisms (IRM)

The IRM has made several recommendations to improve the potential for results:

• Implement legal and technological mechanisms to ensure accurate and up-to-date data.
• Resource the NBC to verify submitted data.
• Empower the NBC to impose sanctions for inaccurate or incorrect data.
• Make data from the open beneficial ownership register downloadable without administrative obstacles.

Call to Action

The Albanian government has been urged to address these concerns and ensure that the beneficial ownership register is transparent, accurate, and effective in combating corruption.