TIRANA, October 27 – The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global body responsible for tackling money laundering and terrorist financing, has removed Albania from a “grey list” of nations subject to strict oversight.
This was announced by FATF which said that it had removed Albania, Cayman Islands, Jordan and Panama from the grey list.
Since February 2020, when Albania made a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF and MONEYVAL to strengthen the effectiveness of its AML/CFT regime, Albania has taken steps towards improving its AML/CFT regime, including by demonstrating a meaningful increase in the number of money laundering cases indicted, particularly those stemming from foreign offences where the criminal proceeds were laundered in Albania.
The FATF has made the initial determination that Albania has completed its action plan and appreciated Albania’s work to address its strategic deficiencies deciding to remove it from the grey list.
For his part General Prosecutor Olsian Cela said that the removal from the grey list is the result and essential contribution of the special sections in 7 main prosecutors’ offices of Albania.
In the meantime as Reuters reported the Financial Action Task Force said on Friday it has added Bulgaria to its “grey list” of countries that require increased scrutiny. In June, the FATF also added Croatia to its grey list. /argumentum.al
