Parliament adopts the “Moneyval” legislative package. In an effort to address Moneyval recommendations from December 2018 and consequentially strengthening money laundering and terrorist financing prevention regime in Albania, the Parliament adopted five laws on 17 June 2019.

Namely:

• Law “On some amendments and additions to the Law "On prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing";
• Law “On some amendments and additions to the Law "On measures against the financing of terrorism";
• Law “On administration of seized and confiscated assets”;
• Law “On some additions and amendments to Law “On National Business Centre` as amended”;
• Law “On some additions and amendments to the Law "On Procedures of Taxation in the Republic of Albania` as amended”.

These legislative changes provide inter alia more transparency on beneficial ownership, including requirements for opening a bank account for all taxpayers’ natural and legal persons, subjects to VAT registration, regardless of the turnover realized, and non-profit organizations registered according to the legislation in force, and declaring it to the tax authority. Furthermore, the Agency for the Administration of Seized and Confiscated Assets has now a statutory recognition under the organic law. This has strengthened its mission and mandate in management of all assets in Albania including the assets for which the preventive seizure measure is set under Chapter VI of the Criminal Procedure Code and those confiscated by a court decision pursuant to Article 36 of the Criminal Code which are the proceeds of criminal offenses or predicate offences.

These legislative changes have reflected recommendations provided by the European Union and Council of Europe Horizontal Facility Programme for the Western Balkans and Turkey “Action against Economic Crime in Albania” (AEC-AL).