Albania Country Summary
Medium-High Risk
View full Ratings TableSanctions
Higher Concern
FATF AML Deficient List
Lower Concern
Terrorism
Medium Concern
Corruption
Medium Concern
US State ML Assessment
Higher Concern
Criminal Markets (GI Index)
Medium Concern
EU Tax Blacklist
Lower Concern
Offshore Finance Center
Lower Concern
Please note that although the below Summary will give a general outline of the AML risks associated with the jurisdiction, if you are a Regulated entity then you may need to demonstrate that your Jurisdictional AML risk assessment has included a full assessment of the risk elements that have been identified as underpinning overall Country AML risk. To satisfy these requirements, we would recommend that you use our Subscription area.
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Anti Money Laundering
FATF Status
Albania is no longer on the FATF List of Countries that have been identified as having strategic AML deficiencies.
Compliance with FATF Recommendations
The latest Follow-up Mutual Evaluation Report relating to the implementation of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing standards in Albania was undertaken in 2023. According to that Evaluation, Albania was deemed Compliant for 6 and Largely Compliant for 31 of the FATF 40 Recommendations. It remains rated Highly Effective for 0 and Substantially Effective for 2 with regard to the 11 areas of Effectiveness of its AML/CFT Regime.
Sanctions
The United States, through OFAC's Balkans-Related Sanctions, has imposed asset freezes and travel bans on Albanian individuals and entities, with Executive Order 14033 and the January 2025 Executive Order 14140 expanding designation criteria and designating 14 individuals and one entity. The United Kingdom and Canada also enforce Albania-related sanctions (UK: travel bans and asset freezes; Canada: asset freezes and travel bans under SEMA), while EU has no direct sanctions against Albania (though Albania aligns with EU sanctions against third countries), and countries like Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, and Norway/Iceland/Liechtenstein do not impose direct unilateral sanctions on Albania.
Criminality
Rating |
0 (bad) - 100 (good) |
|---|---|
| Transparency International Corruption Index | 39 |
| World Bank: Control of Corruption Percentile Rank | 43 |
Albania continues to grapple with significant challenges related to crime and corruption, despite having a legal framework aimed at combating these issues. Corruption remains pervasive, particularly within the judiciary and government sectors, undermining economic development and the rule of law, while organized crime, including drug trafficking and human trafficking, is prevalent and often intertwined with state actors.
Economy
Albania is positioned as an upper middle-income country with a GDP of approximately $25 billion and a population of 2.4 million, demonstrating stable macroeconomic growth driven by sectors such as tourism and real estate. The government is actively pursuing EU accession, having opened negotiations on four clusters, with a goal to complete the process by the end of the decade. Despite these positive developments, the investment climate is challenged by issues such as corruption, a large informal economy, and labor shortages due to emigration, which hinder Albania's economic convergence with the EU and deter foreign investment.
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