TIRANA (Albania), June 18 (SeeNews) – Albania's parliament said it has approved five draft laws that aim to strengthen the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing in accordance with the recommendations of the Council of Europe's anti-money laundering body Moneyval.
The changes in the legislative framework aim to strengthen measures against financing of terrorism, enhance prevention of money laundering, improve business registration and taxation procedures as well as improve administration of confiscated assets, the parliament said in a statement on Monday.
In December, Moneyval said the Albanian authorities should step up their efforts in prosecuting money launderers and confiscating their assets connected to significant proceeds-generating offences, and in tackling risks related to terrorism financing.
"Corruption poses major money laundering risk in Albania. Often linked to organized crime activities, it generates substantial amounts of criminal proceeds and seriously undermines the effective functioning of the criminal justice system," Moneyval highlighted in its report on Albania.
Albania has been an official candidate for joining the EU since June 2014 and expects to open accession talks later this year.
The Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (Moneyval) is a permanent monitoring body of the Council of Europe entrusted with the task of assessing compliance with the principal international standards to counter money laundering and the financing of terrorism.