ALBANIA ADOPTS AMENDMENTS TO MONEY LAUNDERING LEGISLATION

On [January 5th], the Albanian Parliament adopted amendments to the Law on Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism, bringing Albania’s legislation in line with EU standards and recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and Moneyval.

Key Changes

The amendments introduce several key changes to strengthen Albania’s anti-money laundering framework:

• Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs): The new definition of PEPs includes family members and associates. Middle-ranking officials are no longer considered PEPs unless they have previously declared their assets.
• Beneficial Owner: The law now references the Register of Beneficial Owners for the definition of beneficial owner.
• Obligated Entities: Lawyers, notaries, auditors, chartered accountants, and fiscal advisors are now considered obligated entities under the AML Law.
• Business Relationships without Client Presence: Obligated entities can establish business relationships without client presence if a low-risk assessment is made.
• Enhanced Due Diligence Measures: Obligated entities must apply enhanced due diligence measures for transactions involving high-risk countries.

Penalties for Serious Contravention

The amendments introduce penalties for serious contravention of the AML Law, including:

• Maximum penalty of up to two times the amount gained or ALL 125,000,000 in cases where the gain cannot be determined.
• A penalty of up to 10% of annual turnover for banks, non-banking financial institutions, and exchange bureaus. If this is less than ALL 625,000,000, the responsible authority can impose a maximum penalty of ALL 625,000,000.

The changes aim to strengthen Albania’s anti-money laundering framework and ensure compliance with EU standards.