Albania’s Efforts to Combat Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing

Key Points

• Asset Confiscation: Albania has seen an increase in asset seizures, but information on confiscations is limited.
• Legislation and Regulations: Anti-money laundering laws are in place, including the Anti-Mafia Law, which allows for non-conviction confiscation of assets.
• Supervision and Regulation: The Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) oversees private entities and implements anti-money laundering measures.
• Risk Assessment: Albania’s national risk assessments have identified a low risk of terrorist financing, but acknowledge the need to improve understanding of financing risks.

Recommendations for Improvement

• Review performance in prosecuting money laundering cases
• Enhance risk analysis and identification
• Pursue more indictments
• Ensure adequate measures for identifying criminal proceeds located abroad

Areas for Further Development

• Strengthening asset confiscation processes
• Enhancing supervisory authorities’ standards
• Improving the quality of suspicious activity reports