The EU and Council of Europe Action against Economic Crime in Albania, in close cooperation with the Financial Intelligence Agency organized the Workshop: “Reviewing the impact of anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing (AML/CFT) measures: Insights from Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards”. 

This workshop aimed to present the key findings and recommendations of the technical assistance provided to Albanian authorities for improving the effectiveness of Albania’s anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism framework within the context of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards. The focus was on international cooperation, financial intelligence, money laundering investigation and prosecution, and confiscation. The Action developed a set of targeted recommendations for each area to effectively address identified gaps and inconsistencies, providing a clear guidance to relevant public institutions throughout the process.

In his opening remarks, Ervin Koçi, General Director of the Financial Intelligence Agency, appreciated the supported provided by the Action in conducting this exercise, which has been essential in strengthening the institutional capacity and equipping the responsible authorities with the tools and insights ahead the MONEYVAL evaluation process effectively. 

Giulia Re, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Tirana, highlighted that: “This evaluation comes at an important moment for Albania in terms of accelerating the EU integration process. Albania is no longer in the FATF’s “grey list” due to its progress in strengthening the anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorist measures. Maintaining and building on this achievement will be critical as Albania approaches the MONEYVAL evaluation”. 

This activity was organized by the Action against Economic Crime in Albania, within the framework of the European Union/Council of Europe joint Programme Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye (Horizontal Facility III).