Financial Intelligence Agency

Inter – Institutional Cooperation

In the context of inter-institutional cooperation, the Financial Intelligence Agency (AIF) collaborates with institutions within the criminal justice system and other competent law enforcement or intelligence authorities by exchanging information and engaging in continuous and intensive correspondence on issues such as money laundering, criminal offenses, activities generating criminal proceeds and terrorism financing.

The Coordinating Committee on the Fight Against Money Laundering (CCFAML) is responsible for determining the directions of the general state policy in the field of prevention and the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing and plays an effective role in strengthening inter-institutional cooperation.

The CCFAML is chaired by the Prime Minister and comprises the ministers responsible for finance, foreign affairs, defense, public order and security, and justice. It also includes the Attorney General, the Head of the Prosecutor’s Office, the Governor of the Bank of Albania, the Executive Director General of the Financial Supervision Authority, the Director of the State Information Service, the Inspector General of the High Inspectorate of Declaration and Control of Assets and Conflict of Interest, the Director of the National Bureau of Investigation, and the General Director of the State Police.

The committee meets at least once a year to review and analyze reports on the activities carried out by the responsible authority, as well as reports on documents prepared by international institutions and organizations, which exercise their activities in the field of the fight against money laundering and financing of terrorism. The General Director of the responsible authority (Financial Intelligence Agency) acts as an advisor in the meetings of this committee.

The Interinstitutional Technical Working Group (ITWG) was established by CCFAML to enhance the effectiveness of combating money laundering and terrorist financing. It includes representatives of key government bodies such as the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Justice, General Prosecutor’s Office, Special Prosecutor’s Office, National Bureau of Investigation, State Information Service, and General Directorate of State Police, Bank of Albania, Financial Supervision Authority, and ILDKPKI. Additionally, important public institutions like the General Directorate of Taxes, General Directorate of Customs, National Business Center, Public Supervisory Board, State Cadastre Agency, and Gambling Supervisory Authority are part of GTNP.

To promote public-private partnership, GTNP also includes representatives from the private sector such as the National Chamber of Notaries, Albanian Association of Banks, National Agency of real Estate Agents (NAREA), Institute of authorized accounting experts (IEKA), Association of Foreign Exchange Agencies (AFEA) and Association of Constructions in Albania.

CCFAML has tasked ITWG with three priority tasks to follow during 2024:

  • Drafting of the National Strategy “For the prevention of money laundering and financing of terrorism 2024-2030” and its action plan;
  • Preparation for the 6th evaluation round by the MONEYVAL Committee;
  • Implementation of the National Risk Action Plan (NRA).

GTNP has set up 3 working subgroups:

  • Subgroup I “On virtual assets”;
  • Subgroup II “On the collection and quality of information for criminal investigations related to ML/TF”;
  • Subgroup III “On the risk analysis related to the categories of NGOs that are more vulnerable to misuse or abuse for terrorist financing”.

GTNP meets periodically with representatives of public institutions and representatives of the private sector: