Oct 31, 2023. Posted by Balkan Periscope - Hellas
Albania is
no longer on the Financial Action Task Force's 'grey list', which names
countries where money laundering and terrorist financing concerns are not
adequately addressed by authorities, but stakeholders say the impacts of money
laundering are being felt still in the economy, sicc writes Euractiv.
Albania made a commitment to cooperate with the FATF and the Council of Europe's anti-money laundering and terrorist financing assessment body, Moneyval, in February 2020, following its re-inclusion on the gray list. Since then, the country has seen a marked increase in money laundering cases leading to lawsuits.
In the
summer, the Council of Europe upgraded Albania's compliance with FATF
recommendations from partially compliant to generally compliant. They
continued that the country took several measures "which addressed
important shortcomings" and improved measures for the regulation and
supervision of notaries and real estate agents.
"Overall,
Albania has made progress in addressing most of the technical compliance gaps
identified in its 2018 Mutual Evaluation Report," the Council of
Europe stated, noting that Albania must report back in two years. for all
matters and any further progress.
However,
concerns remain, at least locally, about money laundering. During the
summer, the value of the euro fell significantly against the lek due to the
surplus of the EU currency in the domestic market. While much was
attributed to tourism and increased foreign investment, some remain skeptical
and suspect foul play.
"Some
strengthening (of the lek) has come from informal economic factors, or in
Albanian: informal or criminal economy," said analyst and political
commentator Neritan Sejamini.
He added
that the government and the Bank of Albania can help solve the problem by
lowering interest rates in lek, increasing the level of mandatory bank reserves
in currency, increasing public spending and lowering taxes. But this is
not happening.
Money
laundering is also believed to be partly behind the current house price
boom. Property in Albania now goes for over €6,000 per square meter in
some new developments, with prices in the capital starting at €1,000. The
rent is also increasing and it is difficult to find a rental property in Tirana
under 450 euros, equivalent to the minimum wage.
In 2020,
the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime published a report
that found construction was a popular money laundering vehicle in Albania.
The report
found that of the 141 companies that were granted construction permits for
high-rise buildings between 2017 and 2019, 59% did not have the financial
capacity to complete them. The balance sheet of the companies in question
showed that they had minimal income and no assets or loans that could be used
to finance projects.
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