The Financial Intelligence Agency organized a consultative meeting with representatives of civil society at the premises of the Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM), within the framework of the process of harmonizing Albania’s legal framework with European Union legislation in the field of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing.

During the meeting, participants discussed the new draft law “On the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing,” prepared under Chapter 4, “Free Movement of Capital,” Section 4.3, “Fight Against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing.” The draft law has been published for public consultation and aims to fully align Albanian legislation with the European Union’s new anti-money laundering package. The consultation sought to incorporate the perspectives and recommendations of civil society into the drafting process, with the objective of strengthening the transparency and enforceability of the legislation.

Civil society representatives assessed the draft law as a significant achievement toward strengthening the national system for preventing money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as an important step in Albania’s European integration process. During the discussions, they also presented a number of recommendations aimed at further strengthening the legal and institutional framework, with particular emphasis on the verification and transparency of beneficial ownership, improving the quality of data in relevant registers, strengthening supervision and inter-institutional cooperation mechanisms, and expanding the role of civil society in monitoring the implementation of anti-money laundering measures.