TIRANA, Feb. 21 – Albanian authorities say they seized more than €30 million in suspected criminal proceeds in 2018 in assets that include real estate, bank savings and cash.
The findings are unveiled in a government report on Albania’s 2018 European integration performance and include data on the first ten months of last year.
Authorities say they seized €15.3 million in 326 cases of suspected money laundering deriving from criminal activity, of which €7.76 million in property, €4 million in bank savings, and around €3.5 million in cash during January-October 2018.
Another €16.5 million was seized in real estate and bank accounts as part of an anti-mafia law which Albania tightened in 2017 to also include extended third party precautionary freezing and confiscation of assets.
The European Commission has earlier noted that only less than half of organized crime cases in Albania lead to confiscation of assets.
Albanian authorities have recently drafted legal changes to tighten measures and penalties in countering money laundering and terrorism financing following a critical report by Moneyval, a Council of Europe monitoring body.
International reports continue placing Albania as a source country for cannabis cultivation and a transit route for cocaine and heroin trafficking to Western Europe.
An EU candidate country since mid-2014, Albania is hopeful of launching long-awaited EU talks this year.
