March 3, 2021
The US Department of State published its annual report on money laundering, while ranking Albania among the countries that made little effort to prevent the illegal phenomenon and financial crimes.
"Albania remains vulnerable to money laundering due to corruption, organized crime networks and weak legal and governmental institutions," the report said.
DASH emphasizes that our country has a large economy based on cash and the informal sector, with large remittances from abroad. "The main revenue is generated by crimes such as drug trafficking, tax evasion and smuggling," the annual report said.
It is also noted that Albanian organized crime organizations have links to networks operating in Europe and South America. The US State Department states that investing in real estate and other business projects are among the most commonly used methods of concealing illicit income. But despite numerous money laundering investigations, the number of those prosecuted or convicted remains low.
The report says ongoing justice reforms, including the vetting of judges and prosecutors as well as the creation of specialized police units to target economic and financial crimes, have improved Albania's outlook on addressing money laundering.
But he points out that these efforts are hampered by the limited capacity of the newly formed justice institutions and the ongoing corruption that undermines the current rule of law. Finally, DASH recommends implementing existing laws and increasing the capacity of police and prosecutors to focus on the fight against corruption, money laundering and economic crime.
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