TIRANA, July 22 – Albania’s High State Audit uncovered a record 24.4 billion lek (Euro 171 million) in abuses in controls carried out in the first half of this year mainly in tax evasion by oil production companies.
The violations, which include the 2012-2014 activity of the audited state institutions and agencies, include 16.7 billion lek (€118 mln) in irregularities and financial violations in income and expenditure and 7.7 billion lek (€54 mln) in violations of the financial discipline.
The State Audit says it uncovered 11.5 billion lek (€81 mln) in abuses in the National Agency for Natural Resources for failing to properly monitor oil concession companies which abused VAT exclusions and used diluents to artificially increase production and avoid both VAT and excise tax.
Auditors also unveiled 3.4 billion lek (€24 mln) of abuses in several customs offices including Durres, Fier and Vlora for failing to properly collect mining royalty on exported minerals.
Some 618 million lek (€4.3 mln) in abuses was uncovered in public procurements.
The High State Audit had earlier found the Albanian government lost around half a billion dollars from failing to properly monitor the Patos-Marinza oil field which since 2004 has been managed by Canada-based Bankers Petroleum under a under a 25-year concession contract.
