Financial Crime World

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EU-funded Project Aims to Strengthen Regulatory Bodies Against Financial Crimes in Albania

A new European Union (EU) project, Action against Economic Crime in Albania (AEC-AL), has been launched to enhance the rule of law and governance in Albania by strengthening economic crime prevention and enforcement tools. The €800,000 project will run for 36 months and is funded by the EU and the Council of Europe.

Project Objectives

The project aims to build upon the results achieved in the implementation of Phase I of the Horizontal Facility by continuing its support to effective implementation of key recommendations of the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) and the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL).

Focus Areas

The project will focus on supporting the authorities in several directions, including:

  • Strengthening legislation and institutional framework to prevent and combat corruption
  • Enhanced criminal asset recovery and asset management
  • Enhanced mechanisms to prevent and suppress money laundering and terrorist financing
  • Fostered inter-institutional cooperation in combating economic crime

Specific Objectives

The specific objectives of the project include:

  • Improving legal and institutional frameworks to prevent corruption
  • Strengthening regulatory and institutional frameworks for conflict of interest and asset disclosure
  • Promoting international good practices on non-conviction-based confiscation
  • Enhancing mechanisms to prevent and suppress money laundering and terrorist financing
  • Fostering inter-agency cooperation in combating economic crime
  • Improving transparency of beneficial ownership

Project Implementation

The Council of Europe’s Economic Crime and Cooperation Division (ECCD) is responsible for implementing the activities under the project. The project will engage international experts with demonstrated experience in fighting against economic crime as well as local experts from Horizontal Facility countries to ensure high-quality assistance to beneficiaries.

Contact Information

For more information about the project, please contact:

  • Evgeni Evgeniev, Administrator
  • Joana Kashi, Project Coordinator
  • Ersida Sefa, Senior Local Project Officer, Council of Europe Office in Tirana