US special agents in Tirana to investigate the criminal businesses of politicians and organized crime, including banks, mortgages, financial institutions, etc.

The United States of America has once again confirmed its support for Albania in various fields, such as the economy or justice. A few weeks ago, the American State Department published the annual report on the investment climate, where, among other things, it was said that corruption, money laundering and unfair competition remain obstacles in Albania. In order to fight these and other similar phenomena, in Albania, as it is the war against theorizing, special agents have landed in Tirana, who have provided assistance for the investigation of the criminal businesses of politicians and organized crime, as they have entered the sieve banks, mortgages, financial institutions, etc. It was the US embassy in our country, which revealed yesterday on social networks that as part of the embassy's commitment to justice reform in Albania, the anti-terrorism program of the Office of Assistance for the Development of Prosecution Abroad (OPDAT), in cooperation with the Volunteer Corps of Financial Services, organized this month a financial training conference attended by 30 analysts, investigators and prosecutors from various law enforcement agencies and the Albanian prosecutor. The conference emphasized the importance of cooperation between private and public institutions in the fight against financial crimes. So it seems clear that the Americans have a special plan to help Albanian authorities advance the fight against theorizing, money laundering, corruption and organized crime. To put it bluntly, the United States of America is determined to support Albania in establishing the rule of law and ending impunity. Below, the "SOT" newspaper is reflecting the announcement of the US embassy in Tirana.

Here is the full announcement of the US embassy in Tirana

"As part of the Embassy's commitment to justice reform in Albania, the counter-terrorism program of the Office of Assistance for the Development of Prosecution Abroad (OPDAT), in cooperation with the Volunteer Corps of Financial Services, organized this month a financial training conference attended by 30 analysts, investigators and prosecutors from various law enforcement agencies and the Albanian prosecutor. The conference emphasized the importance of cooperation between private and public institutions in the fight against financial crimes. Presentations were made by banking and money services businesses regarding the services they offer, their compliance programs and their cooperation with law enforcement bodies. Cryptocurrency trends were also discussed, including the volume of cryptocurrency transactions in Albania and the steps investigators should take to identify and exploit the use of blockchain by those investigating. In addition, several regulatory agencies, including the Central Bank of Albania, the Financial Investigation Agency and the Revenue Service, made presentations on all of their compliance functions, particularly where these functions may or may not overlap with law enforcement. International compliance experts presented and moderated panels sharing their decades of experience. Special agents from the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) conducted training exercises that required analysis of the income, expenses and bank statements of hypothetical criminal businesses."

DASH Business Climate Report

Meanwhile, we remember that the American State Department has given a strong "slap" to the Albanian government, painting the investment climate in Albania as deeply problematic. DASH's annual report on the investment climate, published in July of this year, this time painted a much more problematic panorama and with ours more strongly negative compared to last year. More specifically, the high level of corruption in the phenomenon of money laundering, along with criticism of frequent fiscal changes and weak implementation of contracts are some of the findings of the US Department of State in the Business Climate report for Albania this year. The US State Department considers corruption in the country to be systemic, while not sparing direct accusations against the government. "Reports of corruption in government procurement are common. Investors often report cases of government corruption, which delay and hinder investments in Albania. "Several US investors have faced contentious commercial disputes with public and private entities, including some that have gone to international arbitration," DASH points out.