Government admits money laundering/ Strategy: Forms used and where the funds come from

2025-10-15 20:15:00, Ekonomi CNA

Government admits money laundering/ Strategy: Forms used and where the funds

The government foresees increased attention to the phenomenon of money laundering, highlighting this in the National Strategy for Organized Crime 2026-2030 issued for consultation.

The document, in addition to acknowledging the problem, emphasizes that nowadays, when globalization and technology have accelerated cross-border transactions and created new opportunities for development, an ever-growing threat has appeared on the horizon: illegal financial transactions and the financial crimes related to them.

" These include a wide range of criminal activities, such as money laundering, tax evasion, corruption, drug trafficking and human trafficking, which often enable criminal and terrorist organizations to finance their operations ," the document states.

The strategy brings to attention in detail some of the forms of money laundering risk identified in Albania, categorizing them into:

– Laundering funds from a range of criminal offenses committed abroad (criminal offenses related to drug trafficking, or even criminal offenses committed by organized crime, theft of property) through the use of the formal financial system, cross-border cash transportation, investments in real estate;

– Laundering of funds from fraud (including computer fraud and in the field of investments in unlicensed investment "platforms"), committed abroad or in Albania by individuals or organized criminal groups through the use of the financial system, resulting in the transfer of funds to other jurisdictions or withdrawal in cash;

– Laundering funds from crimes related to taxes (income concealment and VAT fraud), using resident legal entities, not declaring real balance sheets and invoices, through the registration of legal entities that do not carry out real activity in Albania (shell company), through the use of the formal financial system, investments in real estate;

– Laundering of proceeds from corruption through the occasional use of third parties (individuals and legal entities) that serve to camouflage the mechanism, subsequent integration into financial instruments, real estate within the country, or businesses; – Laundering of money using resident legal entities (mainly of the LLC form and less frequently other legal forms) or third-party individuals within or outside the close circle of the person who is generating the criminal proceeds./ Monitor