The latest report from Moneyval ranked Albania among high-risk countries in terms of money laundering and cryptocurrency.
The report notes that no significant progress has been made and unveils several measures that should be undertaken by authorities.
In an earlier report on the financial market of cryptocurrencies, Moneyval had suggested regulating the legal framework, but on its next recommendation lowering the assessment from “mainly compatible” to “partially compatible”.
In an exclusive interview for Euronews Albania, one of the coauthors of the report Andrew LeBrun said that Albania has fulfilled the majority of the conditions, but the main problem rests in the virtual asset market.
“In July 2018, our team determined that the country had fulfilled 28 out of 40 recommendations. I believe that Albania fulfills the majority of the recommendations outlined by the financial actions task force, while the latest published report focuses on the implementation of the last 6, which require further action”, he said.
When asked by Euronews Albania journalist Esmeralda Mulaj on the main sectors where money laundering occurs, he responded that the current report does not point to any specific areas.
Lebrun noted that the Albanian government must work harder on monitoring, according to the criteria of the International Monetary Fund.
“Looking at these aspects, I think the main field that needs additional work is monitoring, not financial payments, but monitoring that must be focused on the criteria set by the IMF, something that the World Bank is aware of. I think that the Albanian government has plans to intervene, but they were delayed due to the pandemic,” concluded Andrew LeBrun.
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