EUROPAM

European Public Accountability Mechanisms

Albania

Country score (EU Average*)
  • 48(72) Political Financing
  • 85(57) Financial Disclosure
  • 72(49) Conflict of Interest
  • 87(59) Freedom of Information
  • 78(63) Public Procurement
  • 63(66) Anti Money Laundering
  • 67(71) Asset Recovery

Country Facts

IncomeUpper middle
GNI per capita (2011 PPP $)11810.00
Population, total2876101.00
Urban population (% of total)58.00
Internet users (per 100 people)66.40
Life expectancy at birth (years)78.00
Mean years of schooling (years)10.2
Global Competitiveness Index3.8
Sources: World Bank, UNDP, WEF.

Political Financing

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Quantitative Data

Primary Metric

201220152016201720202024Trend
Bans and limits on private income424242424258
Public funding62626262620
Regulations on spending10010010010010050
Reporting, oversight and sanctions9210010010010083

Values lie in range between 0 and 100, higher values implying higher legislation comprehensiveness

Qualitative Data

We are frequently reviewing and refining our data, so in case you notice any mistake in our assessment, feel free to send us an email by clicking the button ()

Bans and limits on private income

Is there a ban on donations from foreign interests to political parties? Yes. Political parties may not receive financial or material assistance from foreign public or private entities or governments. The law also permits gifts and assistance from parties or international unions of parties, political foundations and organizations, and Albanian private natural and legal persons. (Law No. 8580/2000 On Political Parties, Art. 21)
Is there a ban on donations from foreign interests to candidates? Yes. Electoral subjects and their candidates may receive campaign funds only from domestic natural or legal persons. Albanian citizens residing abroad are treated as domestic natural persons for this purpose. (Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019/2008), Art. 92/1(1))
Is there a ban on corporate donations to political parties? No. The party law allows Albanian private natural and legal persons to provide gifts and assistance to political parties, so there is no general ban on corporate donations. (Law No. 8580/2000 On Political Parties, Art. 21)
Is there a ban on corporate donations to candidates? No. Campaign finance rules allow electoral subjects and their candidates to receive funds from domestic legal persons, so there is no general ban on corporate donations to candidates. (Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019/2008), Art. 92/1(1))
Is there a ban on donations from corporations with government contracts to political parties? No. The ban on donors with public contracts applies to campaign financing of electoral subjects and candidates. The law does not establish the same rule for political party funding outside election campaigns. (Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019/2008), Art. 92/1(3)(a))
Is there a ban on donations from corporations of partial government ownership to political parties? Yes. Political parties may not receive financial or material assistance from Albanian public entities or entities with participation of state capital. (Law No. 8580/2000 On Political Parties, Art. 21)
Is there a ban on donations from corporations with government contracts to candidates? Yes. A legal person or any shareholder of it may not provide campaign funds if it has obtained public funds, public contracts or concessions above ALL 10 million in the previous three years; this ban also covers subcontracting and PPP contracts. (Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019/2008), Art. 92/1(3)(a))
Is there a ban on donations from corporations of partial government ownership to candidates? No. The Electoral Code bans the use of resources of public bodies and entities with state capital in support of candidates during campaigns, but it does not state a candidate-donation ban specifically framed for partially state-owned corporations. (Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019/2008), Art. 91(1))
Is there a ban on donations from Trade Unions to political parties? No. The law does not single out trade unions as prohibited donors to political parties; Albanian private legal persons are permitted donors. (Law No. 8580/2000 On Political Parties, Art. 21)
Is there a ban on donations from Trade Unions to candidates? No. The campaign-finance rule allows domestic legal persons to fund electoral subjects and candidates and does not expressly prohibit trade union donors. (Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019/2008), Art. 92/1(1))
Is there a ban on anonymous donations to political parties? Yes. Political parties may not receive non-public funds from entities that do not declare their identity or whose identity is not clearly identified by the beneficiary party. (Law No. 8580/2000 On Political Parties, Art. 23/1(3))
Is there a ban on anonymous donations to candidates? No. Campaign donations must be registered with donor-identification data and reported, but the Electoral Code does not state a separate express ban on anonymous donations to candidates. (Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019/2008), Arts. 92/2(1), 92/3(2)(a))
Is there a ban on state resources being given to or received by political parties or candidates (excluding regulated public funding)? Yes. Except where the law provides otherwise, public resources may not be used or placed in support of candidates, political parties or coalitions. This covers resources of central and local public bodies and entities in which the state owns capital or appoints a majority of the governing or supervisory body. (Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019/2008), Arts. 3(7), 91(1)-(2))
Is there a ban on any other form of donation? Yes. Campaign finance law also prohibits funds from legal persons or shareholders that operate in the media, have been partners with public funds in projects, or have monetary obligations to the state budget or a public institution. (Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019/2008), Art. 92/1(3)(b)-(d))
Is there a limit on the amount a donor can contribute to a political party over a time period (not election specific)? No. The party law regulates disclosure, donor identification and banking requirements for non-public funds, but it does not set a ceiling on the amount one donor may contribute to a political party outside an election campaign. (Law No. 8580/2000 On Political Parties, Arts. 17(c), 23/1)
Is there a limit on the amount a donor can contribute to a political party in relation to an election? Yes. One donor may give an electoral subject, including its candidates, no more than ALL 1 million in money, goods or services for an election campaign. (Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019/2008), Art. 92/1(2))
Is there a limit on the amount a donor can contribute to a candidate? Yes. One donor may give an electoral subject, including its candidates, no more than ALL 1 million in money, goods or services for an election campaign. (Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019/2008), Art. 92/1(2))

Public funding 

Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties: Share of votes in previous election Yes. Annual aid includes a tranche for parties that obtained over 1% of votes in the last parliamentary elections. Election funding and post-election compensation also require at least 1% of valid votes nationwide. (Law No. 8580/2000 On Political Parties, Art. 19(2)(c); Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019/2008), Arts. 88, 89)
Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties: Representation in elected body Yes. Parliamentary parties are expressly included in annual public funding, including the seat-based tranche and the equal-share tranche. (Law No. 8580/2000 On Political Parties, Art. 19(2)(a), 19(2)(b))
Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties: Participation in election No. Participation alone does not trigger direct public funding. The law requires parliamentary status, vote thresholds, or other additional conditions. (Law No. 8580/2000 On Political Parties, Art. 19(2); Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019/2008), Arts. 88, 89)
Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties: Number of candidates No. Absent from legal framework
Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties: Share of seats in previous election No. Seats are used to distribute part of the annual fund, but the law does not set an eligibility threshold based on a share of seats. (Law No. 8580/2000 On Political Parties, Art. 19(2)(a))
Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties: Share of votes in next election Yes. Electoral subjects that did not receive advance state funds are entitled to post-election public compensation if they obtain at least 1% of valid votes nationwide. (Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019/2008), Art. 89)
Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties: Registration as a political party No. The funding rules do not make registration as a political party a standalone eligibility condition for direct public funding. (Law No. 8580/2000 On Political Parties, Art. 19(2), 19(4); Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019/2008), Art. 88)
Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties: Share of seats in next election No. Post-election compensation is tied to a vote threshold, not to a share of seats obtained in the election just held. (Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019/2008), Art. 89)
Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties: Number of members No. Absent from legal framework
Eligibility criteria for direct public funding to political parties: Other Yes. Other explicit criteria exist: parties with more than 10,000 votes qualify for one annual tranche, and annual aid is conditioned on submitting the previous year’s financial report. (Law No. 8580/2000 On Political Parties, Art. 19(2)(b), 19(4))
Allocation calculations for direct public funding to political parties: Proportional to votes received Yes. Annual aid includes a tranche based on vote percentage, and election funding/compensation are calculated from the number of valid votes obtained. (Law No. 8580/2000 On Political Parties, Art. 19(2)(c); Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019/2008), Arts. 88(1)-(2), 89)
Allocation calculations for direct public funding to political parties: Equal Yes. One tranche of annual public aid is divided equally among parliamentary parties and parties that received more than 10,000 votes in the last parliamentary elections. (Law No. 8580/2000 On Political Parties, Art. 19(2)(b))
Allocation calculations for direct public funding to political parties: Proportional to seats received Yes. Seventy per cent of the annual public fund is divided according to the number of seats obtained in the last parliamentary elections. (Law No. 8580/2000 On Political Parties, Art. 19(2)(a))
Allocation calculations for direct public funding to political parties: Flat rate by votes received Yes. The CEC sets a monetary value for one valid vote and uses that flat per-vote value to calculate election funding and post-election compensation. (Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019/2008), Arts. 88(1)-(2), 89)
Allocation calculations for direct public funding to political parties: Share of expenses reimbursed No. The law does not reimburse a defined share of parties’ expenses. Instead, parties must return any public funds exceeding reported or audited campaign expenses. (Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019/2008), Art. 88(6))
Allocation calculations for direct public funding to political parties: Proportional to candidates fielded No. Absent from legal framework
Allocation calculations for direct public funding to political parties: Number of members No. Absent from legal framework
Allocation calculations for direct public funding to political parties: Other No. The law specifies allocation by seats, equal division, vote percentage, and per-vote calculation only; it does not establish another allocation formula. (Law No. 8580/2000 On Political Parties, Art. 19(2); Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019/2008), Arts. 88(1)-(2), 89)
Earmarking provisions for direct public funding to political parties: Campaign spending Yes. Election-related state funds are provided for parties participating in elections, and post-election compensation is also tied to election financing. (Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019/2008), Arts. 88, 89)
Earmarking provisions for direct public funding to political parties: Ongoing party activities Yes. Annual public aid is expressly established for the yearly activities of political parties. (Law No. 8580/2000 On Political Parties, Art. 19(1))
Earmarking provisions for direct public funding to political parties: Intra-party institution No. Absent from legal framework
Earmarking provisions for direct public funding to political parties: Other No. The law earmarks direct public funding for annual party activities and for election-related funding only; no other earmarked purpose is expressly set. (Law No. 8580/2000 On Political Parties, Art. 19(1); Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019/2008), Arts. 88, 89)
Allocation criteria for free or subsidized access to media for political parties: Equal Yes. The law provides equal free airtime within party categories and equal time ratios among the relevant parliamentary parties. (Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019/2008), Arts. 80(1)(b), 81(1))
Allocation criteria for free or subsidized access to media for political parties: Number of candidates No. The media-access rules do not allocate time according to the number of candidates. (Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019/2008), Arts. 80, 81, 84)
Allocation criteria for free or subsidized access to media for political parties: Share of seats Yes. Time allocation in public-broadcaster coverage depends on the share of seats won in the last parliamentary election, using the 20% seat threshold and parliamentary status. (Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019/2008), Arts. 80(1)(b), 81(1), 81(4))
Allocation criteria for free or subsidized access to media for political parties: Share of votes in preceding election No. The allocation rules are based on seats and party status, not on the share of votes in the preceding election. (Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019/2008), Arts. 80(1)(b)-(c), 81(1), 84(2)(a))
Allocation criteria for free or subsidized access to media for political parties: Other Yes. The law also allocates access by other criteria, including whether a party is parliamentary or non-parliamentary and whether it is registered and participating in the election. (Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019/2008), Arts. 80(1)(b)-(c), 83(1))
Are there provisions for free or subsidized access to media for candidates? No. Media-access provisions are not granted to all candidates as an independent category. The Code covers candidate advertising only in narrower cases, such as candidates proposed by voters or within a party’s allocated time. (Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019/2008), Arts. 84(8)-(9), 84/1, 2(20))
Provisions for any other form of indirect public funding: Premises for campaign meetings No. State support for party premises concerns headquarters and local offices, not premises for campaign meetings. (Law No. 8580/2000 On Political Parties, Arts. 22(b)-(c), 22/1)
Provisions for any other form of indirect public funding: Space for campaign materials Yes. The mayor must designate public places for parties and electoral subjects to post campaign materials. (Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019/2008), Art. 79(1))
Provisions for any other form of indirect public funding: Tax relief No. The only tax-related rule concerns deductibility for private broadcasters providing free advertising time, not tax relief for parties or candidates. (Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019/2008), Art. 84(6))
Provisions for any other form of indirect public funding: Free or subsidised transport No. Absent from legal framework
Provisions for any other form of indirect public funding: Free or subsidised postage cost No. Absent from legal framework
Provisions for any other form of indirect public funding: Other Yes. Parliamentary parties, and certain other parties meeting the statutory threshold, are entitled to a building for their central headquarters and local offices or to state-paid rent when no building is available. (Law No. 8580/2000 On Political Parties, Arts. 22(b)-(c), 22/1)
Is the provision of direct public funding to political parties related to gender equality among candidates? No. Absent from legal framework
Are there provisions for other financial advantages to encourage gender equality in political parties? No. Absent from legal framework

Regulations on spending 

Is there a ban on vote buying? Yes. Vote buying is criminalized: offering or giving money, material goods, jobs or other favors to influence signatures, voting, turnout, or unlawful campaign activity is an offence. (Criminal Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 7895, dated 27.1.1995), Art. 328)
Are there bans on state resources being used in favour or against a political party or candidate? No. The Electoral Code expressly bans use of public resources to support candidates, parties or coalitions, but it does not clearly and explicitly ban use of state resources against them. (Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019, dated 29.12.2008), Arts. 3(7)-(8), 88(1))
Are there limits on the amount a political party can spend? Yes. A ceiling applies to total campaign expenses of a political party, including its candidates. The CEC also sets the maximum spending for each election campaign within that legal cap. (Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019, dated 29.12.2008), Art. 90(3); Law No. 8580, dated 17.2.2000, On Political Parties, Art. 24/2(1)-(2))
Are there limits on the amount a candidate can spend? No. A campaign spending ceiling is set only for candidates proposed by voters, not for candidates generally. Party candidates are covered through the party’s overall spending limit instead. (Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019, dated 29.12.2008), Art. 90(4))

Reporting, oversight and sanctions 

Do political parties have to report regularly on their finances? Yes. Political parties must submit financial reports once a year, together with an audit report, to the CEC within the deadline it sets. (Law No. 8580, dated 17.2.2000, On Political Parties, Art. 23(1)-(3))
Do political parties have to report on their finances in relation to election campaigns? Yes. Each party registered in elections must make public and submit to the CEC a financial declaration report on the election campaign within 60 days after the result is announced. (Law No. 8580, dated 17.2.2000, On Political Parties, Art. 24/3(2))
Do candidates have to report on their campaign finances? No. The Electoral Code subjects candidates proposed by voters to registration, auditing, and spending rules, but it does not clearly require candidates generally to submit a campaign finance report. (Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019, dated 29.12.2008), Arts. 90(4), 91(1))
Is information in reports from political parties and/​or candidates to be made public? Yes. Annual party reports, campaign finance reports, and audit reports must be published on the CEC website. Campaign audit reports for electoral subjects are also published by the CEC. (Law No. 8580, dated 17.2.2000, On Political Parties, Art. 23(5); Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019, dated 29.12.2008), Art. 91(4))
Must reports from political parties and/​or candidates reveal the identity of donors? Yes. Annual and campaign reporting rules require disclosure of funding sources, and donor identities must be recorded. Donors of amounts of at least ALL 100,000 are made public. (Law No. 8580, dated 17.2.2000, On Political Parties, Arts. 23(1)(a), 23/1(1); Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019, dated 29.12.2008), Arts. 90(1), 91(4))
Institutions receiving financial reports from political parties and/​or candidates: Electoral Management Board Yes. The Central Election Commission receives annual party financial reports, party campaign finance reports, and campaign audit reports. (Law No. 8580, dated 17.2.2000, On Political Parties, Arts. 23(1)-(3), 24/3(2); Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019, dated 29.12.2008), Art. 91(1))
Institutions receiving financial reports from political parties and/​or candidates: Auditing agency No. Audit experts examine party finances and submit audit reports to the CEC, but the law does not assign receipt of parties’ or candidates’ financial reports to an auditing agency. (Law No. 8580, dated 17.2.2000, On Political Parties, Art. 23/2(2); Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019, dated 29.12.2008), Arts. 91(1), 92)
Institutions receiving financial reports from political parties and/​or candidates: Ministry No. The legal provisions assign receipt of these reports to the CEC, not to a ministry. (Law No. 8580, dated 17.2.2000, On Political Parties, Arts. 23(1)-(3), 24/3(2); Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019, dated 29.12.2008), Art. 91(1))
Institutions receiving financial reports from political parties and/​or candidates: Special institution No. The legal provisions assign receipt of these reports to the CEC and do not designate a separate special institution to receive them. (Law No. 8580, dated 17.2.2000, On Political Parties, Arts. 23(1)-(3), 24/3(2); Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019, dated 29.12.2008), Art. 91(1))
Institutions receiving financial reports from political parties and/​or candidates: Court No. The legal provisions do not assign receipt of parties’ or candidates’ financial reports to a court. (Law No. 8580, dated 17.2.2000, On Political Parties, Arts. 23(1)-(3), 24/3(2); Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019, dated 29.12.2008), Art. 91(1))
Institutions receiving financial reports from political parties and/​or candidates: Other No. The legal provisions assign receipt of these reports to the CEC only; no other receiving institution is expressly designated. (Law No. 8580, dated 17.2.2000, On Political Parties, Arts. 23(1)-(3), 24/3(2); Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019, dated 29.12.2008), Art. 91(1))
Is it specified that a particular institution(s) is responsible for examining financial reports and/​or investigating violations?
Institution responsible for examining financial reports and/or investigating violations: Court No. Courts may review disputes or party registration matters, but no binding provision makes a court the institution responsible for examining political finance reports or investigating violations. (Law No. 8580, dated 17.2.2000, On Political Parties, Arts. 15, 26; Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019, dated 29.12.2008), Arts. 152-157)
Institution responsible for examining financial reports and/or investigating violations: Ministry No. The legal framework assigns oversight functions to the Central Election Commission, not to a ministry. (Law No. 8580, dated 17.2.2000, On Political Parties, Art. 15/2(1); Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019, dated 29.12.2008), Arts. 92/4, 92/6)
Institution responsible for examining financial reports and/or investigating violations: Auditing agency No. Licensed auditors are appointed to perform audits, but the law designates the Central Election Commission as the responsible oversight body rather than an auditing agency. (Law No. 8580, dated 17.2.2000, On Political Parties, Arts. 15/2(1), 23/2; Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019, dated 29.12.2008), Arts. 92/6, 92/7)
Institution responsible for examining financial reports and/or investigating violations: Electoral Management Body Yes. The Central Election Commission is expressly designated to monitor, verify, audit and sanction party and campaign finance under the Political Parties Law and Electoral Code. (Law No. 8580, dated 17.2.2000, On Political Parties, Art. 15/2(1)-(2); Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019, dated 29.12.2008), Arts. 92/4, 92/6, 173)
Institution responsible for examining financial reports and/or investigating violations: Institution for this purpose No. No separate special-purpose institution is expressly established as the responsible body for examining reports or investigating political finance violations. (Law No. 8580, dated 17.2.2000, On Political Parties, Art. 15/2(1); Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019, dated 29.12.2008), Arts. 92/4, 92/6)
Institution responsible for examining financial reports and/or investigating violations: Other No. The law does not expressly assign primary responsibility for examining reports or investigating political finance violations to any institution other than the Central Election Commission. (Law No. 8580, dated 17.2.2000, On Political Parties, Art. 15/2(1); Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019, dated 29.12.2008), Arts. 92/4, 92/6)
Other institutions with a formal role in political finance oversight
Institutions with a formal role in political finance oversight: Court No. Courts are not expressly assigned an oversight function over party or campaign finance; their role is judicial review rather than monitoring or examination. (Law No. 8580, dated 17.2.2000, On Political Parties, Arts. 15, 26; Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019, dated 29.12.2008), Arts. 152-157)
Institutions with a formal role in political finance oversight: Ministry No. No ministry is given a formal oversight function over party or campaign finance in the binding provisions reviewed. (Law No. 8580, dated 17.2.2000, On Political Parties, Art. 15/2(1); Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019, dated 29.12.2008), Arts. 92/4, 92/6)
Institutions with a formal role in political finance oversight: Auditing agency Yes. Licensed accounting experts formally audit annual party finances and campaign funds after appointment by the Central Election Commission. (Law No. 8580, dated 17.2.2000, On Political Parties, Art. 23/2(2); Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019, dated 29.12.2008), Arts. 92/6, 92/7)
Institutions with a formal role in political finance oversight: EMB Yes. The Central Election Commission has a formal oversight role over party and campaign finance, including monitoring, verification, publication and sanctions. (Law No. 8580, dated 17.2.2000, On Political Parties, Arts. 15/2, 23/2, 24/4; Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019, dated 29.12.2008), Arts. 92/4, 92/6, 173)
Institutions with a formal role in political finance oversight: Institution for this purpose No. No separate institution created specifically for political finance oversight is expressly provided in the legal framework. (Law No. 8580, dated 17.2.2000, On Political Parties, Art. 15/2(1); Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019, dated 29.12.2008), Arts. 92/4, 92/6)
Institutions with a formal role in political finance oversight: Other Yes. The prosecutor’s office has a formal role where the Central Election Commission refers suspected illegal financing or criminal non-cooperation for criminal proceedings. (Law No. 8580, dated 17.2.2000, On Political Parties, Art. 24/4(4); Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019, dated 29.12.2008), Art. 92/6(6))
Sanctions for political finance infractions
Sanctions for political finance infractions: Fines Yes. The Political Parties Law and Electoral Code impose fines for a range of party-finance and campaign-finance violations. (Law No. 8580, dated 17.2.2000, On Political Parties, Arts. 23/4, 24/2(7); Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019, dated 29.12.2008), Arts. 172, 173)
Sanctions for political finance infractions: Loss of public funding Yes. The law expressly allows suspension or loss of public funding for certain violations, including refusal of oversight cooperation and failure to return unspent public campaign funds. (Law No. 8580, dated 17.2.2000, On Political Parties, Arts. 23/4(3), 24/3(5); Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019, dated 29.12.2008), Art. 173(2))
Sanctions for political finance infractions: Penal/Criminal Yes. Some violations trigger criminal consequences, including criminal offence provisions where violations affect election results and referral to the prosecutor for suspected illegal financing or criminal non-cooperation. (Law No. 8580, dated 17.2.2000, On Political Parties, Art. 24/4(4); Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019, dated 29.12.2008), Arts. 92/6(6), 172(2))
Sanctions for political finance infractions: Forfeiture Yes. The legal framework expressly requires transfer or forfeiture of certain unlawful or non-compliant funds to the Central Election Commission. (Law No. 8580, dated 17.2.2000, On Political Parties, Art. 23/4(5); Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019, dated 29.12.2008), Art. 173(4)-(6))
Sanctions for political finance infractions: Deregistration of party No. The legal framework does not expressly provide deregistration of a political party as a sanction for political finance violations. Dissolution rules exist separately and are not framed as political finance sanctions. (Law No. 8580, dated 17.2.2000, On Political Parties, Art. 26)
Sanctions for political finance infractions: Loss of elected office No. Absent from legal framework
Sanctions for political finance infractions: Suspension of political party No. The law provides suspension of public funding, not suspension of the political party itself. (Law No. 8580, dated 17.2.2000, On Political Parties, Art. 23/4(3); Electoral Code of the Republic of Albania (Law No. 10019, dated 29.12.2008), Art. 173(2))
Sanctions for political finance infractions: Loss of nomination of candidate No. Absent from legal framework
Sanctions for political finance infractions: Loss of political rights No. Absent from legal framework
Sanctions for political finance infractions: Other Yes. A party that does not return the unspent difference from public campaign funds within 90 days loses the right to register as an electoral subject in the next election. (Law No. 8580, dated 17.2.2000, On Political Parties, Art. 24/3(5))

Legislation

*Last update: 2017

Financial Disclosure

asdad

Quantitative Data

Primary Metric

201220152016201720202024Trend
Disclosure items514747474890
Filing frequency2525252525100
Sanctions5842424242100
Monitoring and Oversight7544444444100
Public access to declarations383131313138

Alternative Metric

201220152016201720202024Trend
Head of State7000088
Ministers513535353688
Members of Parliament846767676788
Civil servants575050505079

Values lie in range between 0 and 100, higher values implying higher legislation comprehensiveness

Qualitative Data

We are frequently reviewing and refining our data, so in case you notice any mistake in our assessment, feel free to send us an email by clicking the button ()

Head of State

Disclosure items

Spouses and children included in disclosure Yes. Declarations must include assets of spouse and dependent children. (Art 3 and 4, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Income and Assets
Real estate Yes. недвижable property must be declared (Art 4, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Movable assets Yes. Valuable movable property must be declared (Art 4, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Cash Yes. Cash, bank deposits, and financial holdings must be declared. (Art 4, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Loans and Debts Yes. Financial obligations and liabilities must be disclosed. (Art 4, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Income from outside employment/assets Yes. All sources of income, including external activities, must be declared. (Art 4, and 5, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Incompatibilities
Gifts received as a public official No. Gifts are regulated under conflict-of-interest rules, but not systematically disclosed in asset declarations. (Art 23 and 25, Law No. 9367/2005 “On the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in the Exercise of Public Functions” (as amended))
Private firm ownership and/or stock holdings Yes. Ownership and shares must be declared as part of assets. (Art 4, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Ownership of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) Yes. Any ownership interest, including in state-owned enterprises, must be declared. (Art 4, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Holding government contracts No. Not declared per se, but prohibited/regulated under conflict-of-interest rules. (Art 21 and 22, Law No. 9367/2005 “On the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in the Exercise of Public Functions” (as amended))
Board member, advisor, or company officer of private firm Yes. Positions in private entities must be declared. (Art 4, and 5, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Post-employment Yes. Cooling-off restrictions apply after leaving office. (Art 28, Law No. 9367/2005 “On the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in the Exercise of Public Functions” (as amended))
Simultaneously holding policy-making position and policy-executing position Yes. Incompatibility rules prevent conflicting roles. (Art 6 and 7, Law No. 9367/2005 “On the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in the Exercise of Public Functions” (as amended))
Participating in official decision-making processes that affect private interests Yes. Recusal obligations in case of conflict of interest. (Art 21 and 24, Law No. 9367/2005 “On the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in the Exercise of Public Functions” (as amended))
Concurrent employment of family members in public sector No. Indirectly regulated via conflict-of-interest provisions, not explicit disclosure. ( Law No. 9367/2005 “On the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in the Exercise of Public Functions” (as amended))

Filing frequency

Filing required upon taking office Yes. Indirectly regulated via conflict-of-interest provisions, not explicit disclosure. (Art 7, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Filing required upon leaving office Yes. Final declaration required after mandate ends. (Art 7, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Filing required annually Yes. Annual upadates are mandatory (Art 7, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Ad hoc filing required upon change in assets or conflicts of interest Yes. Updates required upon significant changes in asstets/interests (Art 7, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))

Sanctions

Sanctions stipulated for late filing (fines, administrative, and/or criminal) Yes. Administrative fines apply. (Art 40, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Sanctions stipulated for non-filing (fines, administrative, and/or criminal) Yes. Administrative and possible criminal sanctions. (Art 40 and 41, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Sanctions stipulated for false disclosure (fines, administrative, and/or criminal) Yes. Criminal liability for false declarations. (Article 257a, Criminal Code Art 41, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))

Monitoring and Oversight

Depository body explicitly identified Yes. HIDAACI receives declarations. (Art 8, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Enforcement body explicitly identified Yes. HIDAACI enforces compliance. (Art 8 and 9, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Some agency assigned responsibility for verifying submission Yes. Authority verifies whether declarations are submitted. (Art 9, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Some agency assigned responsibility for verifying accuracy Yes. Authority audits accuracy and legitimacy of assets. (Art 9, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))

Public access to declarations

Public availability Yes. Declarations are publicly accessible (with limitations). (Art 14, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Timing of information release specified No. Law provides for publication but not precise timing rules. (Art 14, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Location(s) of access specified Yes. Access via official registry - HIDAACI (Art 14, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Cost of access specified No. Absence of legal framework

Ministers

Disclosure items

Spouses and children included in disclosure Yes. Ministers must declare assets of spouse and dependent children as part of extended family disclosure obligations. (Art 3 and 4, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Income and Assets
Real estate Yes. All immovable property owned by the official and family must be declared. (Art 4 Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Movable assets Yes. High-value movable assets (vehicles, valuables, etc.) must be disclosed. (Art 4 Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Cash Yes. Includes bank accounts, deposits, and cash holdings above legal thresholds. (Art 4 Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Loans and Debts Yes. Financial liabilities, including loans and obligations, must be declared. (Art 4 Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Income from outside employment/assets Yes. All external income sources must be declared, even if secondary or passive. (Art 4 and 5 Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Incompatibilities
Gifts received as a public official No. Gifts are regulated and restricted, but there is no systematic requirement to declare all gifts in asset declarations. (Art 23 and 25, Law No. 9367/2005 “On the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in the Exercise of Public Functions” (as amended))
Private firm ownership and/or stock holdings Yes. Shares and ownership interests must be disclosed as part of asset declarations. (Art 4 Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Ownership of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) Yes. Any ownership stake, including in SOEs, must be declared. (Art 4 Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Holding government contracts No. Not explicitly declared, but strictly prohibited/regulated under conflict-of-interest provisions. (Art 21 and 22, Law No. 9367/2005 “On the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in the Exercise of Public Functions” (as amended))
Board member, advisor, or company officer of private firm Yes. Positions held in private or public entities must be declared and are subject to incompatibility rules. (Art 4 and 5 Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended) Art 6 and 7, Law No. 9367/2005 “On the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in the Exercise of Public Functions” (as amended))
Post-employment Yes. Cooling-off restrictions limit post-office employment to prevent conflicts of interest. (Art 28, Law No. 9367/2005 “On the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in the Exercise of Public Functions” (as amended))
Simultaneously holding policy-making position and policy-executing position Yes. Incompatibility rules prohibit holding conflicting public or private roles. (Art 6 and 7, Law No. 9367/2005 “On the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in the Exercise of Public Functions” (as amended))
Participating in official decision-making processes that affect private interests Yes. Officials must recuse themselves in case of conflict of interest. (Art 21 and 24 , Law No. 9367/2005 “On the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in the Exercise of Public Functions” (as amended))
Concurrent employment of family members in public sector No. Not explicitly declared, but covered indirectly through conflict-of-interest and nepotism-related provisions. (Law No. 9367/2005 “On the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in the Exercise of Public Functions” (as amended))

Filing frequency

Filing required upon taking office Yes. Initial declaration required upon assuming office. (Art 7, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Filing required upon leaving office Yes. Final declaration required at the end of mandate. (Art 7, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Filing required annually Yes. Annual updates are mandatory to track asset evolution. (Art 7, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Ad hoc filing required upon change in assets or conflicts of interest Yes. Required when significant changes in assets or interests occur. (Art 7, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))

Sanctions

Sanctions stipulated for late filing (fines, administrative, and/or criminal) Yes. Administrative fines imposed for delays in submission (Art 40, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Sanctions stipulated for non-filing (fines, administrative, and/or criminal) Yes. Non-compliance may lead to administrative sanctions and possible criminal consequences. (Art 40 and 41, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Sanctions stipulated for false disclosure (fines, administrative, and/or criminal) Yes. False declarations constitute a criminal offense. (Article 257a, Criminal Code Art 41, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))

Monitoring and Oversight

Depository body explicitly identified Yes. Declarations are submitted to HIDAACI. (Art 8, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Enforcement body explicitly identified Yes. HIDAACI is responsible for enforcement and compliance. (Art 8 and 9, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Some agency assigned responsibility for verifying submission Yes. The authority checks whether declarations are filed properly and on time. (Art 9, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Some agency assigned responsibility for verifying accuracy Yes. The authority audits declarations to detect inconsistencies or illicit enrichment. (Art 9, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))

Public access to declarations

Public availability Yes. Asset declarations are publicly accessible, though some personal data may be restricted. (Art 14, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Timing of information release specified No. The law mandates publication but does not clearly define precise deadlines for public release. (Art 14, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Location(s) of access specified Yes. Access is provided via the official registry managed by HIDAACI (online) (Art 14, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Cost of access specified No. Absent of legal framework

Members of Parliament

Disclosure items

Spouses and children included in disclosure Yes. MPs must declare assets of spouse and dependent children as part of extended disclosure obligations. (Art 3 and 4, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Income and Assets
Real estate Yes. недвижable property must be declared. (Art 4, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Movable assets Yes. High-value movable assets must be declared. (Art 4, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Cash Yes. High-value movable assets must be declared. (Art 4, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Loans and Debts Yes. All liabilities and financial obligations must be declared. (Art 4, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Income from outside employment/assets Yes. All external income sources must be disclosed. (Art 4 and 5, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Incompatibilities
Gifts received as a public official No. Gifts are regulated and restricted, but not systematically included in asset declarations. (Art 23 and 25, Law No. 9367/2005 “On the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in the Exercise of Public Functions” (as amended))
Private firm ownership and/or stock holdings Yes. Shares and ownership interests must be declared. (Art 4, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Ownership of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) Yes. Any ownership interest must be disclosed, regardless of company type. (Art 4, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Holding government contracts No. Not disclosed as such, but strictly regulated and generally prohibited under conflict-of-interest rules. (Art 21 and 22, Law No. 9367/2005 “On the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in the Exercise of Public Functions” (as amended))
Board member, advisor, or company officer of private firm Yes. Such roles must be declared and may trigger incompatibility restrictions. (Art 4 and 5, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Post-employment Yes. Cooling-off rules apply to prevent conflicts after leaving office. (Art 28, Law No. 9367/2005 “On the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in the Exercise of Public Functions” (as amended))
Simultaneously holding policy-making position and policy-executing position Yes. Legal framework prohibits incompatible functions. (Art 6 and 7, Law No. 9367/2005 “On the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in the Exercise of Public Functions” (as amended))
Participating in official decision-making processes that affect private interests Yes. MPs must recuse themselves in cases of conflict of interest. (Art 21 and 24, Law No. 9367/2005 “On the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in the Exercise of Public Functions” (as amended))
Concurrent employment of family members in public sector No. Indirectly addressed via conflict-of-interest provisions; no explicit disclosure requirement. (Law No. 9367/2005 “On the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in the Exercise of Public Functions” (as amended))

Filing frequency

Filing required upon taking office Yes. Initial declaration required upon assuming mandate. (Art 7, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Filing required upon leaving office Yes. Final declaration required at the end of mandate. (Art 7, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Filing required annually Yes. Annual declarations are mandatory. (Art 7, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Ad hoc filing required upon change in assets or conflicts of interest Yes. Required in case of significant changes in assets/interests. (Art 7, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))

Sanctions

Sanctions stipulated for late filing (fines, administrative, and/or criminal) Yes. Administrative fines apply for delays. (Art 40, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Sanctions stipulated for non-filing (fines, administrative, and/or criminal) Yes. May lead to administrative sanctions and possible criminal consequences. (Art 40 and 41, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Sanctions stipulated for false disclosure (fines, administrative, and/or criminal) Yes. False declarations constitute a criminal offense. (Article 257a, Criminal Code Art 41, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))

Monitoring and Oversight

Depository body explicitly identified Yes. Declarations are submitted to HIDAACI. (Art 8, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Enforcement body explicitly identified Yes. HIDAACI is responsible for enforcement. (Art 8 and 9, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Some agency assigned responsibility for verifying submission Yes. Authority verifies timely submission of declarations. (Art 9, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Some agency assigned responsibility for verifying accuracy Yes. Authority audits declarations for accuracy and potential illicit enrichment. (Art 9, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))

Public access to declarations

Public availability Yes. Asset declarations are publicly accessible, with some limitations for personal data. (Art 14, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Timing of information release specified No. Publication is required, but the law does not clearly define strict timelines. (Art 14, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Location(s) of access specified Yes. Access provided via official registry managed by HIDAACI (including online). (Art 14, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Cost of access specified No . Absence of legal framework

Civil servants

Disclosure items

Spouses and children included in disclosure Yes. Spouses and minor children must be included in asset declarations. (Art 14, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Income and Assets
Real estate Yes. Real estate must be declared explicitly. (Art 4, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Movable assets Yes. Movable assets of significant value must be declared. (Art 4, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Cash Yes. Cash and bank deposits are explicitly included. (Art 4, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Loans and Debts Yes. Financial obligations (loans, debts) must be declared. (Art 4, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Income from outside employment/assets Yes. Income from external sources must be declared. (Art 4, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Incompatibilities
Gifts received as a public official Yes. Gifts are regulated and restricted; must be declared or refused depending on value. (Art 4, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Private firm ownership and/or stock holdings Yes. Ownership of private companies or shares must be declared and may trigger conflicts. (Art 25, Law No. 9367/2005 “On the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in the Exercise of Public Functions” (as amended))
Ownership of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) No. No specific category for SOEs, but ownership interests (including SOEs) fall under general asset disclosure. (Art 4, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Holding government contracts Yes. Holding contracts with public institutions is restricted under conflict of interest rules. (Art 21 and 23, Law No. 9367/2005 “On the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in the Exercise of Public Functions” (as amended))
Board member, advisor, or company officer of private firm Yes. Positions in private companies must be declared and may be incompatible. (Art 5 and 21, Law No. 9367/2005 “On the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in the Exercise of Public Functions” (as amended))
Post-employment No. Post-employment restrictions exist but are limited in scope (cooling-off in specific cases). (Art 35, Law No. 9367/2005 “On the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in the Exercise of Public Functions” (as amended))
Simultaneously holding policy-making position and policy-executing position Yes. Holding conflicting public functions simultaneously is restricted. (Art 21, Law No. 9367/2005 “On the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in the Exercise of Public Functions” (as amended))
Participating in official decision-making processes that affect private interests Yes. Officials must recuse themselves in case of conflict of interest. (Art 37, Law No. 9367/2005 “On the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in the Exercise of Public Functions” (as amended))
Concurrent employment of family members in public sector Yes. Restrictions exist regarding nepotism and influence over relatives. (Art 23, Law No. 9367/2005 “On the Prevention of Conflict of Interest in the Exercise of Public Functions” (as amended))

Filing frequency

Filing required upon taking office Yes. Declaration required upon entry into function. (Art 5, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Filing required upon leaving office Yes. Declaration required upon leaving office. (Art 5, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Filing required annually Yes. Annual declaration (Art 5, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Ad hoc filing required upon change in assets or conflicts of interest Yes. Ad hoc declaration required in case of significant changes. (Art 6, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))

Sanctions

Sanctions stipulated for late filing (fines, administrative, and/or criminal) Yes. Late submission is subject to administrative fines. (Art 40, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Sanctions stipulated for non-filing (fines, administrative, and/or criminal) Yes. Non-filing is sanctioned with fines and possible dismissal. (Art 40 and 41, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Sanctions stipulated for false disclosure (fines, administrative, and/or criminal) Yes. False declarations may trigger administrative and criminal liability. (Art 41, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))

Monitoring and Oversight

Depository body explicitly identified Yes. HIDAACI is explicitly designated as the depository authority. (Art 7, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Enforcement body explicitly identified Yes. HIDAACI is also responsible for enforcement. (Art 7, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Some agency assigned responsibility for verifying submission Yes. HIDAACI verifies submission compliance. (Art 8, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Some agency assigned responsibility for verifying accuracy Yes. HIDAACI verifies accuracy and may initiate investigations. (Art 8 and 9, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))

Public access to declarations

Public availability No. Declarations are not fully public; limited transparency applies. (Art 14, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Timing of information release specified No . Absence of legal framework
Location(s) of access specified No. Access mechanisms exist but are restricted (not fully open public database). (Art 14, Law No. 9049/2003 “On the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials” (as amended))
Cost of access specified No . Absence of legal framework

Legislation

*Last update: 2017

Conflict of Interest

asd

Quantitative Data

Primary Metric

201220152016201720202024Trend
Restrictions354040425250
Sanctions67000067
Monitoring and Oversight7525253838100

Alternative Metric

201220152016201720202024Trend
Head of State0000079
Ministers724040404376
Members of Parliament772020403769
Civil servants872727274066

Values lie in range between 0 and 100, higher values implying higher legislation comprehensiveness

Qualitative Data

We are frequently reviewing and refining our data, so in case you notice any mistake in our assessment, feel free to send us an email by clicking the button ()

Head of State

Restrictions

General restriction on conflict of interest Yes. The President is an “official” under the conflict-of-interest law and has an ongoing duty to prevent and resolve any conflict between public duty and private interest. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, On Prevention of Conflicts of Interest in the Exercise of Public Functions, arts. 3, 6 and 33.)
Accepting gifts Yes. An official may not seek or accept gifts, favours, promises or preferential treatment given because of office when this may create any kind of conflict of interest; only exceptions expressly permitted by competent acts are excluded. The President is covered as an official. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, art. 23, read with art. 33.)
Private firm ownership and/or stock holdings Yes. The President may not own shares in an active manner or parts of capital in a commercial company of any form. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, art. 33.)
Ownership of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) Yes. The ban covers commercial companies “of any form”, so it also covers state-owned commercial companies. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, art. 33.)
Holding government contracts Yes. The Constitution bars the HOS from all other private activity (Constitution of the Republic of Albania, art. 89; Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, art. 33)
Board member, advisor, or company officer of private firm Yes. The President may not carry out any other private activity, which covers serving as a board member, adviser, or company officer of a private firm. (Constitution of the Republic of Albania, art. 89.)
Post-employment No. Neither the Constitution nor the conflict-of-interest law sets a post-employment restriction for the President; GRECO reported in 2025 that post-employment rules for top executive functions were still not implemented (Constitution of the Republic of Albania, arts. 89–94; GRECO Fifth Evaluation Round, Second Compliance Report on Albania (2025), recommendation ix.)
Simultaneously holding policy-making position and policy-executing position Yes. The President may not hold any other public position (Constitution of the Republic of Albania, art. 89)
Participating in official decision-making processes that affect private interests No. The law imposes a general duty to avoid conflicts, but the ordinary case-by-case declaration procedure is expressly inapplicable to the President except in limited cases (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, arts. 6, 7, 13 and 37(5)(b).)
Assisting family or friends in obtaining employment in public sector No. There is no specific rule expressly prohibiting the President from assisting family or friends in obtaining employment in the public sector; the law contains only general conflict-of-interest duties. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, arts. 3, 5 and 6.)

Sanctions

Fines are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior Yes. Violations of the law are administrative infractions punishable by fines, including for failures to declare and for breaches of specified restrictions. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, art. 44.)
Administrative sanctions are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior Yes. Violations also constitute disciplinary violations; for members of constitutional organs, the applicable disciplinary procedures are those laid down in the Constitution and the relevant laws. The President may be dismissed for serious constitutional violations or a serious crime. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, art. 45; Constitution of the Republic of Albania, art. 90.)
Penal sanctions are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior No. The conflict-of-interest law itself provides that violations are administrative infractions when they do not constitute a criminal offence, but it does not itself stipulate a specific criminal penalty for COI-rule breaches (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, art. 44(1).)

Monitoring and Oversight

Monitoring body specified (guidance, training, data tracking) Yes. The High Inspectorate is the central authority for implementation of the law and is tasked with policy development, monitoring, auditing, counselling, and verification of declarations and conflict cases. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, arts. 41–42.)
Enforcement body specified (sanctions, hearings) Yes. The High Inspectorate imposes fines under the law, while dismissal of the President is decided by the Constitutional Court following a decision of the Assembly (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, arts. 42(h) and 44; Constitution of the Republic of Albania, art. 90.)

Ministers

Restrictions

General restriction on conflict of interest Yes. Members of the Council of Ministers are “officials” under the conflict-of-interest law and are under a general duty to prevent and resolve conflicts between public duty and private interest. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, arts. 3, 6 and 33.)
Accepting gifts Yes. Ministers may not seek or accept gifts, favours, promises or preferential treatment given because of office when this may create any kind of conflict of interest; only legally permitted exceptions are excluded. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, art. 23, read with art. 33.)
Private firm ownership and/or stock holdings Yes. Where the law prohibits private activity, it also prohibits active ownership of shares or parts of capital; for ministers, the special restrictions in the conflict-of-interest law apply. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, arts. 3(5), 33 and related special restrictions for members of government.)
Ownership of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) Yes. The ban covers commercial companies generally, so it also covers state-owned commercial companies. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, arts. 3(5) and 33)
Holding government contracts No. No clear stand-alone legal ban on ministers “holding government contracts” as such; the law instead regulates private activity, ownership and conflicts of interest more generally. (Constitution of the Republic of Albania, arts. 100–103; Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, art. 33.)
Board member, advisor, or company officer of private firm Yes. Members of government may not carry out private activity, which covers serving as a board member, adviser, or company officer of a private firm (Members of government may not carry out private activity, which covers serving as a board member, adviser, or company officer of a private firm)
Post-employment No. No statutory post-employment restriction for ministers in force in 2024; GRECO reported in 2025 that post-employment rules for top executive functions were still not implemented. (Constitution of the Republic of Albania; GRECO Fifth Evaluation Round, Second Compliance Report on Albania (2025), recommendation ix.)
Simultaneously holding policy-making position and policy-executing position No. Members of the Council of Ministers may simultaneously be deputies, because the Constitution expressly allows deputies to hold the public duty of member of the Council of Ministers. (Constitution of the Republic of Albania, art. 70(3))
Participating in official decision-making processes that affect private interests Yes. The law requires an official to avoid and resolve conflicts of interest and provides a case-by-case procedure requiring declaration and non-participation where a conflict exists. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, arts. 6, 7 and 37)
Assisting family or friends in obtaining employment in public sector No. No specific rule expressly prohibiting ministers from assisting family or friends in obtaining employment in the public sector; the law contains only general conflict-of-interest duties (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, arts. 3, 5 and 6.)

Sanctions

Fines are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior Yes. Violations of the law are administrative infractions punishable by fines, including for failures to declare and for breaches of specified restrictions. (Violations of the law are administrative infractions punishable by fines, including for failures to declare and for breaches of specified restrictions.)
Administrative sanctions are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior Yes. Violations also constitute disciplinary violations; for members of constitutional organs, the applicable disciplinary procedures are those laid down in the Constitution and the relevant laws. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, art. 45)
Penal sanctions are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior No. The conflict-of-interest law itself does not stipulate a specific criminal penalty for ministers’ breaches of COI restrictions; it provides administrative infractions unless the conduct constitutes a separate criminal offence. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, art. 44(1))

Monitoring and Oversight

Monitoring body specified (guidance, training, data tracking) Yes. The High Inspectorate is the central authority for implementation of the law and is tasked with policy development, monitoring, auditing, counselling, and verification of declarations and conflict cases. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, arts. 41–42)
Enforcement body specified (sanctions, hearings) Yes. The High Inspectorate imposes fines under the law and exercises enforcement functions within its statutory competence. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, arts. 42(h) and 44.)

Members of Parliament

Restrictions

General restriction on conflict of interest Yes. Deputies are covered by the conflict-of-interest law and must avoid conflicts between public duty and private interest in exercising their public functions. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, arts. 3, 6 and 33.)
Accepting gifts Yes. Deputies may not seek or accept gifts, favours, promises or preferential treatment given because of office when this may create a conflict of interest; only legally permitted exceptions are excluded. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, art. 23, read with art. 33.)
Private firm ownership and/or stock holdings Yes. Deputies may not own shares actively or parts of capital in a commercial company; the law treats such active ownership as prohibited where the special restrictions apply. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, arts. 3(5) and 33)
Ownership of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) Yes. The ban covers commercial companies generally, so it also covers state-owned commercial companies. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, arts. 3(5) and 33)
Holding government contracts No. No stand-alone legal ban on deputies “holding government contracts” as such; the law instead regulates private interests and conflicts more generally. (Constitution of the Republic of Albania, arts. 70 and 71; Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, art. 33.)
Board member, advisor, or company officer of private firm No. No general prohibition on deputies serving as board members, advisers or company officers of private firms; the law targets active share ownership and conflicts, but not this full category as such. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, arts. 3(5) and 33)
Post-employment No. No statutory post-employment restriction for deputies in force in 2024. (Constitution of the Republic of Albania; GRECO Fifth Evaluation Round, Second Compliance Report on Albania (2025), recommendation ix context)
Simultaneously holding policy-making position and policy-executing position No. The Constitution does not impose a general incompatibility between legislative office and policy-executing office. Ministers may be deputies (Constitution of the Republic of Albania, art. 70(3).)
Participating in official decision-making processes that affect private interests No. No general recusal rule for deputies in parliament. The conflict-of-interest law imposes general duties, but not a clearly specified parliamentary recusal rule. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, arts. 6 and 7)
Assisting family or friends in obtaining employment in public sector No. No specific rule expressly prohibiting deputies from assisting family or friends in obtaining employment in the public sector; the law contains only general conflict-of-interest duties. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, arts. 3, 5 and 6.)

Sanctions

Fines are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior Yes. Violations of the law are administrative infractions punishable by fines, including for failures to declare and for breaches of specified restrictions (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, art. 44.)
Administrative sanctions are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior Yes. Violations also constitute disciplinary violations; for members of constitutional organs, the applicable disciplinary procedures are those laid down in the Constitution and relevant laws. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, art. 45; Constitution of the Republic of Albania, arts. 70–71.)
Penal sanctions are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior No. The conflict-of-interest law itself does not stipulate a specific criminal penalty for deputies’ breaches of COI restrictions; it provides administrative infractions unless the conduct constitutes a separate criminal offence. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, art. 44(1).)

Monitoring and Oversight

Monitoring body specified (guidance, training, data tracking) Yes. The High Inspectorate is the central authority for implementation of the law and is tasked with monitoring, auditing, counselling, and verification of declarations and conflict cases. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, arts. 41–42.)
Enforcement body specified (sanctions, hearings) Yes. The High Inspectorate imposes fines under the law and exercises enforcement functions within its statutory competence. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, arts. 42(h) and 44. )

Civil servants

Restrictions

General restriction on conflict of interest Yes. Civil servants are covered by the conflict-of-interest law and must avoid conflicts between public duty and private interest in exercising public functions. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, arts. 3 and 6; Law No. 152/2013 on the Civil Servant, art. 3(2))
Accepting gifts Yes. Civil servants may not seek or accept gifts, favours, promises or preferential treatment given because of office when this may create a conflict of interest; only legally permitted exceptions are excluded. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, art. 23.)
Private firm ownership and/or stock holdings No. No general legal ban on civil servants merely owning private firms or stockholdings as such; the law instead imposes general conflict-of-interest duties and case-by-case restrictions. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, arts. 3, 6 and 21–37; Law No. 152/2013 on the Civil Servant, art. 3(2).)
Ownership of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) No. No general legal ban on civil servants merely owning shares in state-owned enterprises as such; the law instead relies on general conflict-of-interest duties. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, arts. 3 and 6)
Holding government contracts No. No legal ban on civil servants “holding government contracts” as such; the framework regulates conflicts of interest and disqualification more generally. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, arts. 6, 21–37; Code of Administrative Procedures, conflict-of-interest / disqualification rules)
Board member, advisor, or company officer of private firm No. No general prohibition on every civil servant serving as a board member, adviser, or company officer of a private firm; the legal framework relies on general conflict-of-interest duties rather than a blanket ban. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, arts. 3 and 6; Law No. 152/2013 on the Civil Servant, art. 3(2).)
Post-employment No. No statutory post-employment restriction for civil servants in force in 2024. (Law No. 152/2013 on the Civil Servant; GRECO Fifth Evaluation Round, Second Compliance Report on Albania (2025), recommendation ix context)
Simultaneously holding policy-making position and policy-executing position No. No clear ban on simultaneously holding a policy-making and a policy-executing position for civil servants in the way stated by this indicator. (Law No. 152/2013 on the Civil Servant)
Participating in official decision-making processes that affect private interests Yes. A civil servant must declare any conflict of interest and is disqualified from participating in an administrative procedure where private interests affect or may affect impartiality (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, arts. 6–7 and 37; Code of Administrative Procedures, disqualification rules.)
Assisting family or friends in obtaining employment in public sector No. No rule expressly prohibiting civil servants from assisting family or friends in obtaining employment in the public sector; the law contains only general conflict-of-interest duties. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, arts. 3, 5 and 6)

Sanctions

Fines are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior Yes. Violations of the conflict-of-interest law are administrative infractions punishable by fines, including for failures to declare and for breaches of specified restrictions. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, art. 44.)
Administrative sanctions are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior Yes. Violations also constitute disciplinary violations, and civil servants are subject to disciplinary liability under the civil-service framework. (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, art. 45; Law No. 152/2013 on the Civil Servant, disciplinary regime.)
Penal sanctions are stipulated for violations of COI regulations restricting behavior No. Albanian law does not create a specific criminal offence for a civil servant’s breach of conflict-of-interest or ethics restrictions as such. The ethics law provides disciplinary consequences when the conduct is not a criminal offence, so criminal-law provisions on corruption or abuse of office do not make this indicator fully true (Law No. 9131, dated 8.9.2003, “On the Rules of Ethics in Public Administration”, sanction clause (“employees who violate the principles of ethics… when their actions do not constitute a criminal offense, are punished with disciplinary measures”); Law No. 9367, dated 7.4.2005, “On the Prevention of Conflicts of Interest in the Exercise of Public Functions”, art. 44(1) (administrative infractions unless the act constitutes a criminal offence); Criminal Code of the Republic of Albania (e.g. arts. 248, 259, 260 as separate offences).)

Monitoring and Oversight

Monitoring body specified (guidance, training, data tracking) Yes. The High Inspectorate of Declaration and Audit of Assets and Conflict of Interests is the central authority for implementation, monitoring, guidance, counselling, and verification under the conflict-of-interest law, which also applies to civil servants (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, art. 41-42, Law No. 9049, dated 10.4.2003)
Enforcement body specified (sanctions, hearings) Yes. The High Inspectorate/Inspector General can conduct checks and administrative investigations and impose the fines provided by the conflict-of-interest law; disciplinary consequences for ethics breaches follow the civil-service disciplinary regime (Law No. 9367 of 7 April 2005, art. 42 & 44, Law No. 9049, dated 10.4.2003 No. 9131, dated 8.9.2003)

Legislation

*Last update: 2017

Freedom of Information

asd

Quantitative Data

Primary Metric

201220152016201720202024Trend
Scope and Coverage8282828282100
Information access and release8383838383100
Exceptions and Overrides10010010010010083
Sanctions for non-compliance673333333367
Monitoring and Oversight503333333383

Values lie in range between 0 and 100, higher values implying higher legislation comprehensiveness

Qualitative Data

We are frequently reviewing and refining our data, so in case you notice any mistake in our assessment, feel free to send us an email by clicking the button ()

Scope and Coverage

Scope of disclosure

Existence of legal right to access Yes. 1. Any person enjoys the right to access public information, not being subject to explain the motives. (Article 3.1., Law No 119/2014 on the right to information )
"Information" or "Documents" is defined Yes. 2. "Public information" is any data recorded in any type of form or format, in the course of assuming the public function, regardless whether it has been worked out by the public sector body itself or not. (Article 2.2., Law No 119/2014 on the right to information )
Proactive disclosure is specified Yes. 2. While preparing the transparency draft-program, the public sector body shall take account of the highest interest of the public, specifically: a) ensuring maximal access to the public information; b) making ex officio available as much information as possible, in order to narrow the gap of the need for individual requests for information; c) the models approved by the Commissioner pertaining to the category of the public sector body referring to the Right to Information and Personal Data Protection, in compliance with Article 6 of this law. (Article 4.2 b)., Law No 119/2014 on the right to information )

Coverage of public and private sectors

Executive branch Yes. a) is any public body, according to the definition of law no. 44/2015, ‘Code of Administrative Procedures, lawmaking, judicial and prosecution bodies of every level, local governance units bodies of every level, state authorities and public entities, established by Constitution or law; (Article 2.1 a), Law No 119/2014 on the right to information )
Legislative branch Yes. a) is any public body, according to the definition of law no. 44/2015, ‘Code of Administrative Procedures, lawmaking, judicial and prosecution bodies of every level, local governance units bodies of every level, state authorities and public entities, established by Constitution or law; (Article 2.1 a), Law No 119/2014 on the right to information )
Judicial branch Yes. a) is any public body, according to the definition of law no. 44/2015, ‘Code of Administrative Procedures, lawmaking, judicial and prosecution bodies of every level, local governance units bodies of every level, state authorities and public entities, established by Constitution or law; (Article 2.1 a), Law No 119/2014 on the right to information )
Other public bodies Yes. a) is any public body, according to the definition of law no. 44/2015, ‘Code of Administrative Procedures, lawmaking, judicial and prosecution bodies of every level, local governance units bodies of every level, state authorities and public entities, established by Constitution or law; (Article 2.1 a), Law No 119/2014 on the right to information )
Private sector Yes. b) are the commercial companies, where: i) the state holds the majority of shares; ii) public functions are assumed in accordance with the provision of letter "c" of this point; c) any natural or legal person, being awarded the right to assume public functions by law, by-law act or any other fashion, provided for by the current legisla (Article 2.1 b) and c), Law No 119/2014 on the right to information )

Access to specific documents (subject to reactive and/or proactive disclosure)

Draft legal instruments Yes. 1. The public sector bodies shall, in compliance with the transparency programs approved for them, prepare in advance and in easily comprehensible and accessible formats on their internet website and make available to the public the following information categories: a) a description of the organizational structure, functions and tasks of the public sector body; b) complete texts of: i) conventions being ratified by the republic of Albania; ii) laws; iii) by-law acts; iv) codes of conduct; v) every policy document; vi) manual or any other document bearing a connection with the assumption of the functions of the public sector body and affecting the broad public; (Article 7.1. b), iii) Law No 119/2014 on the right to information )
Enacted legal instruments Yes. 1. The public sector bodies shall, in compliance with the transparency programs approved for them, prepare in advance and in easily comprehensible and accessible formats on their internet website and make available to the public the following information categories: a) a description of the organizational structure, functions and tasks of the public sector body; b) complete texts of: i) conventions being ratified by the republic of Albania; ii) laws; iii) by-law acts; iv) codes of conduct; v) every policy document; vi) manual or any other document bearing a connection with the assumption of the functions of the public sector body and affecting the broad public; (Article 7.1. b), ii) Law No 119/2014 on the right to information )
Annual budgets Yes. e) data on the budget and plan of expenditure for the ongoing financial year and the previous years, as well as any annual report on the implementation of the budget. Where the public sector body is self-financed out of the license charges or any other form of direct financing from the entities regulated by it, even the documents indicating the situation of the performance of obligations by the licensed entities shall be made public. ë) information on the procurement procedures or competition procedures of the concession/publicprivate partnership, respectively in accordance with the provisions of the law no. 162, dated 23.12.2020, “On public procurement” and the law no 125/2013, "On concessions and publicprivate partnership", as amended, being conducted on behalf of the public authority, including: i) list of concluded contracts; ii) contracted amount; iii) contracting parties and the description of contracted services or goods; other public authority, within the time limits foreseen by law, where it turn out that (Article 7.1. e) Law No 119/2014 on the right to information )
Annual chart of accounts (actual expenditures) Yes. e) data on the budget and plan of expenditure for the ongoing financial year and the previous years, as well as any annual report on the implementation of the budget. Where the public sector body is self-financed out of the license charges or any other form of direct financing from the entities regulated by it, even the documents indicating the situation of the performance of obligations by the licensed entities shall be made public. ë) information on the procurement procedures or competition procedures of the concession/publicprivate partnership, respectively in accordance with the provisions of the law no. 162, dated 23.12.2020, “On public procurement” and the law no 125/2013, "On concessions and publicprivate partnership", as amended, being conducted on behalf of the public authority, including: i) list of concluded contracts; ii) contracted amount; iii) contracting parties and the description of contracted services or goods; other public authority, within the time limits foreseen by law, where it turn out that (Article 7.1. e) Law No 119/2014 on the right to information )
Annual reports of public entities and programs Yes. ë) information on the procurement procedures or competition procedures of the concession/publicprivate partnership, respectively in accordance with the provisions of the law no. 162, dated 23.12.2020, “On public procurement” and the law no 125/2013, "On concessions and publicprivate partnership", as amended, being conducted on behalf of the public authority, including: i) list of concluded contracts; ii) contracted amount; iii) contracting parties and the description of contracted services or goods; other public authority, within the time limits foreseen by law, where it turn out that iv) information on implementing and monitoring the contracts, as well as various guides and policies; f) information on the services that the public authority makes available to the public, including the standards on the service quality; (Article 7.1. e), f) Law No 119/2014 on the right to information )

Information access and release

Procedural access

Universal access (agencies, citizens and non-citizens) Yes. 1. Any person enjoys the right to access public information, not being subject to explain the motives. (Article 3.1., Law No 119/2014 on the right to information )
Type of request is specified (written, electronic, oral) Yes. 1. The application for information shall be made in writing and shall be submitted in person, per post or e-mail, providing accurately the identity and signature of the applicant. The application shall always be registered with the Register of Applications and Responds, provided for in Article 8 of this law. (Article 11.1., Law No 119/2014 on the right to information )
Assistance to requesters must be provided by law (includes barriers due to language differences, illiteracy, complexity of requests, etc.) Yes. 1. Where the public authority being addressed by the application for information is not clear about the contents and the nature of the request, it shall immediately, and under no circumstances later than 48 hours since the date of submission of the application, contact the application to make the necessary clarifications. The public authority shall always assist the applicant for elucidating the request. (Article 11.1., Law No 119/2014 on the right to information )
Cost of access is specified (free, request fees, photocopying costs, other administrative costs) Yes. 1. The services of the public administration are free of charge. Making information available may occur against a charge, set out and made public in advance by the public sector body in its internet site and in the premises of the public reception. The charge shall be the cost for the reproduction of the information applied for and, as appropriate, for sending it. The information applied for electronically shall be provided free of charge. 2. The reproduction costs shall not be higher than the real cost of materials, whereon the information is re-produced. The posting costs cannot be higher than the average cost for the same cost in the market. 3. The Commissioner for the Right to Information and Protection of Personal Data shall, periodically and in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, consider the charges made public by the public sector bodies and, as appropriate, order their change. 4. The citizens registered appropriately in the social aid schemes as well as the beneficiary entities shall, in accordance with no. 111/2017, “On the legal aid guaranteed by the state”, as amended, obtain the information free of charge up to a certain number of pages for every application and in the equivalent value as long as the information is provided in another format. 5. The Minister of Justice and the Minister of Finance shall, upon joint instruction, determine the number of pages within which the information is obtained free of charge under point 4 of this Article, as well as the cases of exclusion from the payment of the charge. (Article 13., Law No 119/2014 on the right to information )

Deadlines for release of information

20-day response deadline Yes. 1. The public sector body shall process the application for information through making available the information applied for as soon as possible, however not later than 10 days since the day of its submission, unless a specific law provides for differently. 2. Where the public sector body receiving an application for information sends it to another body, the latter shall respond within 15 working days since the delivery of the application with the former body. 3. The deadline provided for in points 1 and 2 of this Article may be extended by not more than 5 working days due to one of the following reasons: a) need to apply for and consider complex and voluminous documents; b) need to extend the research to offices and premises being physically separated from the central office of the public sector body; c) need to consult other public sector bodies prior to making a decision on fulfilling or refusing the application. The decision to extend the time period shall be notified immediately to the applicant. (Article 15., Law No 119/2014 on the right to information )
Agency granted right to extend response time Yes. 1. The public sector body shall process the application for information through making available the information applied for as soon as possible, however not later than 10 days since the day of its submission, unless a specific law provides for differently. 2. Where the public sector body receiving an application for information sends it to another body, the latter shall respond within 15 working days since the delivery of the application with the former body. 3. The deadline provided for in points 1 and 2 of this Article may be extended by not more than 5 working days due to one of the following reasons: a) need to apply for and consider complex and voluminous documents; b) need to extend the research to offices and premises being physically separated from the central office of the public sector body; c) need to consult other public sector bodies prior to making a decision on fulfilling or refusing the application. The decision to extend the time period shall be notified immediately to the applicant. (Article 15., Law No 119/2014 on the right to information )
Maximum total response time of no more than 40 days Yes. 1. The public sector body shall process the application for information through making available the information applied for as soon as possible, however not later than 10 days since the day of its submission, unless a specific law provides for differently. 2. Where the public sector body receiving an application for information sends it to another body, the latter shall respond within 15 working days since the delivery of the application with the former body. 3. The deadline provided for in points 1 and 2 of this Article may be extended by not more than 5 working days due to one of the following reasons: a) need to apply for and consider complex and voluminous documents; b) need to extend the research to offices and premises being physically separated from the central office of the public sector body; c) need to consult other public sector bodies prior to making a decision on fulfilling or refusing the application. The decision to extend the time period shall be notified immediately to the applicant. (Article 15., Law No 119/2014 on the right to information )

Exceptions and Overrides

Exemptions to disclosure

Existence of secrecy/states secrets law Yes. Law no. 10/2023 (Law no. 10/2023)
Existence of personal privacy/data law Yes. Law no. 124/2024 (Law no. 124/2024 )
Specific exemptions to disclosure Yes. 1. The right to information may be restricted as long as it is indispensable, proportional and where making the information available would harm the following interests: a) the right to privacy; b) the commercial secrets; c) the copyright; ç) patents. /// 2. The right to information may be restricted as long as it is indispensable, proportional and where making the information available would cause an evident and grave harm to the following interests: a) national security, referring to the definition made by the legislation on classified information; b) prevention, investigation and prosecution of criminal offences; c) normal flow of the administrative review in the context of disciplinary proceedings; ç) normal flow of inspection and auditing procedures for the public sector bodies; d) working out the monetary and fiscal policies of the state; dh) parity of parties in judicial proceedings and normal flow of judicial proceedings; e) preliminary consultation or discussion internally or among the public sector bodies for developing public policies; ë) maintaining the international and inter-governmental relations. (Article 17.1 and 17.2., Law No 119/2014 on the right to information )
Public Interest test: Specified exemptions to disclosure may be overridden in cases where disclosure of information benefits the public interest.

Appeals

Appeals allowed within public entities No. Absent from legal framework (Absent from legal framework)
Independent, non-judicial appeals mechanism, e.g., information commissioner. Does not include Ombudsman unless appeals decisions are binding. Yes. 1. Every person shall, where deemed that the rights provided for in this law have been violated, be entitled to file a complaint administratively with the Commissioner for the Right to Information and Protection of Personal Data, in compliance with this law and the Code of Administrative Procedures. (Article 24.1., Law No 119/2014 on the right to information )
Judicial appeals mechanism Yes. The complainant and the public sector body shall be entitled to file a complaint against the Commissioner with the competent administrative court. (Article 25., Law No 119/2014 on the right to information )

Sanctions for non-compliance

Administrative sanctions are specified for violations of disclosure requirements Yes. The head of the public authority shall be subject to legal-administrative liability in respect of the administrative breaches provided for in letters “b”, “c”, “ç”, “ç/1”, “h”, “gj”, “m”, “n”, “nj” and “o” of point 2 of article 18 of this law. 2. In accordance with the provisions of law no. 44/2015 “Code of Administrative Procedures”, the head of the public authority may delegate his competence regarding the functions provided for in point 1 of article 4, points 1 and 2 of article 5, point 4 of article 7, points 1 and 2 of Article 13 of this law, to the highest employee of the public authority. In this case, the employee to whom the competence has been delegated, shall be legally liable for the administrative breaches provided for in item 1 of this article. 3. The coordinator for the right to information shall be administratively liable for administrative breaches provided for in letters “d” and “e” of point 2 of article 18 of this law. 4. Any person responsible, who by his actions or inactions violates the provisions of this law, shall be administratively liable for the administrative contraventions provided for in letters “a”, “dh”, “ë”, “f”, “g”, “i”, “j”, “k”, “l”, “ll” and “nj” of point 2 of article 18 of this law. (Article 19., Law No 119/2014 on the right to information )
Fines are specified for violations of disclosure requirements Yes. 1. Failure to observe the provisions of this law shall ensue administrative accountability, referring to the categories provided for in point 2 of this Article. 2. The acts and omissions in compliance with this law and to the extent they do not consist a criminal offence shall be considered administrative contraventions and shall be subject to a penalty as follows: a) refusal to make information available at variance with the provisions of this law shall be subject to a penalty of 50 000 up to 300 000 ALL; b) failure to apply the transparency institutional program within the deadline provided for in point 1, Article 4, of this Law shall be subject to a penalty of 50 000 up to 100 000 ALL; c) failure to review the transparency institutional program within the deadline provided for in Article 5 of this Law shall be subject to a penalty of 50 000 up to 100 000 ALL; ç) failure to follow the procedures for revising the transparency institutional program in accordance with the provision of point 2, Article 5, of this Law shall be subject to a penalty of 50 000 up to 100 000 ALL; ç/1) failure to publish acts within the period defined in item 3 of article 7 and failure to update the categories of information of the institutional transparency program according to item 4 of article 7 of this law shall be subject to a penalty of 25,000 to 50,000 ALL; d) failure to establish, maintain, publish or update the Register of Applications and Responds within the deadline provided for in point 1, Article 8, of this \law, shall be subject to a penalty of 25,000 up to 100 000 ALL; dh) failure to fulfil the applications for information, which are registered in the Register of Applications and Responds, within the deadline and in the fashion provided for in Article 9 of this Law shall be subject to a penalty of 50,000 up to 300 000 ALL; e) failure to enter the application for information into the register, failure to assign a serial number and provide the contact data of the coordinator for the right to information in accordance with the provisions of point 2, Article 11, of this law, shall be subject to a penalty of 50 000 up to 300 000 ALL; ë) failure to send the application for information to another public body by the deadline provided for in point 2, Article 12, of this Law, shall be subject to a penalty of 50 000 up to 300 000 ALL; f) sending the application for information to another public sector body at variance with the requirements of point 2, Article 12, of this Law, while the body having received the application is in possession of the sought information, shall be subject to a penalty of 50 000 up to 300 000 ALL; g) failure to inform the applicant that his application has been sent to another body and the necessary contacts have been sent to the other body, at variance with the provisions of point 3, Article 12, of this law, shall be subject to a penalty of 50 000 up to 100 000 ALL; gj) failure to determine a charge in advance, failure to publish or setting out abusive charges for the re-production and sending the information, at variance with the requirements of Article 13, points 1 and 2, of this law, shall be subject to a penalty of 150 000 up to 300 000 ALL; h) failure to abide by the requirements of point 4, Article 13, of this law on making the information available free of charge shall be subject to a penalty of 50 000 up to 100 000 ALL; i) failure to follow the preference of the applicant concerning the fashion of making the information available and not providing any grounds at variance with the provisions of point 4, Article 14, of this Law, shall be subject to a penalty of 25 000 up to 50 000 ALL; j) failure to inform the applicant on the decision extending the time period for fulfilling the application for information, in accordance with the provisions of point 3, Article 15, of this Law, shall be subject to a penalty of 25 000 up to 300 000 ALL; k) failure to make the preliminary notifications in accordance with the Articles 16 of this Law, shall be subject to a penalty of 25 000 up to 50 000 ALL; l) harming or destruction of official documents to the effect of avoiding the right to information shall be subject to a penalty of 150 000 up to 300 000 ALL; ll) failure to transcribe the official documents concealment thereof or any other action or omission at variance with the current rules to the effect of hindering the assumption of the right to information shall be subject to a penalty of 150 000 up to 300 000 ALL; m) failure to notify the requester of the review procedure, failure to reason the decision or failure to communicate the final decision of the public authority, according to item 5 of Article 17 of this law, shall be subject to a penalty of 50,000 to 150,000 ALL; n) failure by the head of the public authority to assign the coordinator or failure to notify the Commissioner about this assignment, according to the provisions of point 1 of article 10 shall be subject to a penalty of 50,000 to 100,000 ALL; nj) actions or omissions, which may damage the outcome of the administrative procedure intended to examine complaints or of the procedure intended to establish, review, appeal and execute administrative contraventions or which may prevent their fair or orderly conclusion shall be subject to a penalty of 50 000 to 300,000 ALL; o) failure to implement the Commissioner's decision warranting the provision of the requested information, in full or in part, as required by the provisions of item 6/1 of article 24 of this law, shall be subject to a penalty of 150,000 to 300,000 ALL. 3. The finding, examining, complaining and enforcement procedures concerning the administrative contraventions are those provided for in the law on administrative contraventions (Article 18., Law No 119/2014 on the right to information )
Criminal sanctions are specified for violations of disclosure requirements No. Absent from legal framework (Absent from legal framework)

Monitoring and Oversight

Information officers must be appointed in public agencies No. Absent from legal framework (Absent from legal framework)
Public body that is responsible for applying sanctions Yes. The Commissioner for the Right to Information and Personal Data Protection (“Commissioner”) is the independent authority responsible for complaints review, the monitoring and supervision of the implementation of this law. 2. The Commissioner shall exercise the following powers: a) review the complaints of persons who claim a breach of their rights under this law; b) review the complaints of persons regarding the functioning of transparency programs in public authorities; c) conducts administrative investigation ex officio or based on a complaint in pursuance of the Commissioner’s powers; ç) examines and has access to the information and documents subject to the complaints as provided for in this Law, or related to thereto, including the classified information. In these cases, the Commissioner shall be obliged to ensure the secrecy of classified information, according to law no. 10/2023, “On classified information”; d) has the right to ask the classification authority to declassify the classified information where estimates that its publication is warranted by state interests superseding the need to keep it classified, in accordance with law no. 10/2023, “On classified information”. Access to NATO and EU classified information is subject to NATO and EU declassification rules; dh) imposes administrative sanctions according to the provisions of this law; e) promotes the transparency of public authorities, especially by raising awareness and providing information on matters of the right to information; ë) conducts annual surveys on various issues in respect of the right to information; f) makes recommendations to public authorities regarding the design and implementation of institutional transparency programs; g) at the request of the reviewing courts, submits written opinions on any issue on the right to information; gj) provides necessary and continuous training to the coordinators for the right to information, the employees of public authorities, and stakeholders; h) where the Commissioner concludes that the provisions of this law have been breached, the Commissioner shall notify the public authority of the outcome of the administrative investigation and, and if the case, proposes disciplinary measures for the responsible employee. (Article 9/1., Law No 119/2014 on the right to information )
Public body that is responsible for public outreach (raising public awareness) Yes. The Commissioner for the Right to Information and Personal Data Protection (“Commissioner”) is the independent authority responsible for complaints review, the monitoring and supervision of the implementation of this law. 2. The Commissioner shall exercise the following powers: a) review the complaints of persons who claim a breach of their rights under this law; b) review the complaints of persons regarding the functioning of transparency programs in public authorities; c) conducts administrative investigation ex officio or based on a complaint in pursuance of the Commissioner’s powers; ç) examines and has access to the information and documents subject to the complaints as provided for in this Law, or related to thereto, including the classified information. In these cases, the Commissioner shall be obliged to ensure the secrecy of classified information, according to law no. 10/2023, “On classified information”; d) has the right to ask the classification authority to declassify the classified information where estimates that its publication is warranted by state interests superseding the need to keep it classified, in accordance with law no. 10/2023, “On classified information”. Access to NATO and EU classified information is subject to NATO and EU declassification rules; dh) imposes administrative sanctions according to the provisions of this law; e) promotes the transparency of public authorities, especially by raising awareness and providing information on matters of the right to information; ë) conducts annual surveys on various issues in respect of the right to information; f) makes recommendations to public authorities regarding the design and implementation of institutional transparency programs; g) at the request of the reviewing courts, submits written opinions on any issue on the right to information; gj) provides necessary and continuous training to the coordinators for the right to information, the employees of public authorities, and stakeholders; h) where the Commissioner concludes that the provisions of this law have been breached, the Commissioner shall notify the public authority of the outcome of the administrative investigation and, and if the case, proposes disciplinary measures for the responsible employee. (Article 9/1., Law No 119/2014 on the right to information )
Nodal agency for RTI (implementation support/compliance within public sector). Does not include Ombudsman. Yes. The Commissioner for the Right to Information and Personal Data Protection (“Commissioner”) is the independent authority responsible for complaints review, the monitoring and supervision of the implementation of this law. 2. The Commissioner shall exercise the following powers: a) review the complaints of persons who claim a breach of their rights under this law; b) review the complaints of persons regarding the functioning of transparency programs in public authorities; c) conducts administrative investigation ex officio or based on a complaint in pursuance of the Commissioner’s powers; ç) examines and has access to the information and documents subject to the complaints as provided for in this Law, or related to thereto, including the classified information. In these cases, the Commissioner shall be obliged to ensure the secrecy of classified information, according to law no. 10/2023, “On classified information”; d) has the right to ask the classification authority to declassify the classified information where estimates that its publication is warranted by state interests superseding the need to keep it classified, in accordance with law no. 10/2023, “On classified information”. Access to NATO and EU classified information is subject to NATO and EU declassification rules; dh) imposes administrative sanctions according to the provisions of this law; e) promotes the transparency of public authorities, especially by raising awareness and providing information on matters of the right to information; ë) conducts annual surveys on various issues in respect of the right to information; f) makes recommendations to public authorities regarding the design and implementation of institutional transparency programs; g) at the request of the reviewing courts, submits written opinions on any issue on the right to information; gj) provides necessary and continuous training to the coordinators for the right to information, the employees of public authorities, and stakeholders; h) where the Commissioner concludes that the provisions of this law have been breached, the Commissioner shall notify the public authority of the outcome of the administrative investigation and, and if the case, proposes disciplinary measures for the responsible employee. (Article 9/1., Law No 119/2014 on the right to information )
Ombudsman involvement in implementation is specified by law Yes. 7. The administrative procedure provided for in this Article does not affect the powers of the Ombudsman with regard to supervising and implementing the civil rights in accordance with the Law no 8454, dated 04/02/1999, “On Ombudsman”. (Article 24.7.., Law No 119/2014 on the right to information )
Reporting of data and/or implementation is required Yes. The Commissioner for the Right to Information and Personal Data Protection (“Commissioner”) is the independent authority responsible for complaints review, the monitoring and supervision of the implementation of this law. 2. The Commissioner shall exercise the following powers: a) review the complaints of persons who claim a breach of their rights under this law; b) review the complaints of persons regarding the functioning of transparency programs in public authorities; c) conducts administrative investigation ex officio or based on a complaint in pursuance of the Commissioner’s powers; ç) examines and has access to the information and documents subject to the complaints as provided for in this Law, or related to thereto, including the classified information. In these cases, the Commissioner shall be obliged to ensure the secrecy of classified information, according to law no. 10/2023, “On classified information”; d) has the right to ask the classification authority to declassify the classified information where estimates that its publication is warranted by state interests superseding the need to keep it classified, in accordance with law no. 10/2023, “On classified information”. Access to NATO and EU classified information is subject to NATO and EU declassification rules; dh) imposes administrative sanctions according to the provisions of this law; e) promotes the transparency of public authorities, especially by raising awareness and providing information on matters of the right to information; ë) conducts annual surveys on various issues in respect of the right to information; f) makes recommendations to public authorities regarding the design and implementation of institutional transparency programs; g) at the request of the reviewing courts, submits written opinions on any issue on the right to information; gj) provides necessary and continuous training to the coordinators for the right to information, the employees of public authorities, and stakeholders; h) where the Commissioner concludes that the provisions of this law have been breached, the Commissioner shall notify the public authority of the outcome of the administrative investigation and, and if the case, proposes disciplinary measures for the responsible employee. (Article 9/1., Law No 119/2014 on the right to information )

Legislation

*Last update: 2017

Public Procurement

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Quantitative Data

Primary Metric

201220152016201720202024Trend
Scope2182859299
Information availability2222224796
Evaluation3175317588
Open competition7875676469
Institutional arrangements2121212136

Values lie in range between 0 and 100, higher values implying higher legislation comprehensiveness

Qualitative Data

We are frequently reviewing and refining our data, so in case you notice any mistake in our assessment, feel free to send us an email by clicking the button ()

Scope

Threshold - lowest PP

What is the minimum contract value above which the public procurement law is applied? (Product type GOODS) ALL 100,000. Below ALL 100,000: small value procedure (simplified direct award); ALL 100,000–3,500,000: simplified national open procedure; above ALL 3,500,000: full open/restricted/negotiated procedures with mandatory publication in the SPE; above the EU-equivalent upper threshold: procedures with broader competition requirements. (Law No. 162/2020, Art. 12; CMD No. 285/2021)
What is the minimum contract value above which the public procurement law is applied? (Product type WORKS) ALL 300,000. Below ALL 300,000: small value procedure; ALL 300,000–14,500,000: simplified national procedures; above ALL 14,500,000: full EU-aligned procedures with mandatory SPE publication. (Law No. 162/2020, Art. 12; CMD No. 285/2021)
What is the minimum contract value above which the public procurement law is applied? (Product type SERVICES) ALL 100,000. Same structure as goods; Law No. 16/2024 eliminated the "Consultancy Service" procedure as it had no basis in the EU Directives; social and specific services follow a light-touch regime above the equivalent of EUR 750,000. (Law No. 162/2020 as amended by Law No. 16/2024, Art. 12; CMD No. 285/2021)

Threshold - by PP type

What are the minimum application thresholds for the procurement type? (Entity: PUBLIC SECTOR) ALL 100,000. Contracting authorities in the classical sector: below ALL 100,000 – small value procedure; ALL 100,000–3,500,000 – simplified national procedures; above ALL 3,500,000 – EU-aligned procedures. (Law No. 162/2020, Art. 12; CMD No. 285/2021)
What are the minimum application thresholds for the procurement type? (Entity: UTILITIES) ALL 3,500,000. Utilities entities follow higher upper thresholds aligned with Directive 2014/25/EU; below ALL 100,000 – small value procedure; above the higher utilities upper threshold – EU-aligned procedures. (Law No. 162/2020, Arts. 3–12; CMD No. 285/2021)
What are the minimum application thresholds for the procurement type? (Entity: DEFENCE) ALL 100,000. Defence and security procurement is regulated by Law No. 36/2020, transposing Directive 2009/81/EC; the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Interior and AKSIK are the principal responsible institutions; specific thresholds are set by law and related CMD decisions. (Law No. 36/2020; Law No. 162/2020, Art. 3)

Threshold - by product type

What are the minimum application thresholds for the procurement type? (Product type GOODS) ALL 100,000. Below ALL 100,000: simplified direct award; ALL 100,000–3,500,000: national simplified procedures; above ALL 3,500,000: EU-aligned procedures with SPE publication. (Law No. 162/2020, Art. 12; CMD No. 285/2021)
What are the minimum application thresholds for the procurement type? (Product type WORKS) ALL 300,000. Below ALL 300,000: simplified direct award; ALL 300,000–14,500,000: national simplified procedures; above ALL 14,500,000: EU-aligned procedures with SPE publication. (Law No. 162/2020, Art. 12; CMD No. 285/2021)
What are the minimum application thresholds for the procurement type? (Product type SERVICES) ALL 100,000. Same structure as goods; "Consultancy Service" procedure eliminated by Law No. 16/2024 as it had no basis in the EU Directives. (Law No. 162/2020 as amended by Law No. 16/2024, Art. 12; CMD No. 285/2021)

Information availability

Publishing and record keeping

Is there a requirement that tender documents must published in full? Yes. Contracting authorities are required to publish complete tender documents in the SPE from the date of publication of the call for tenders; access is free and unrestricted; the PPA publishes standard model tender documents for all procedure types. (Law No. 162/2020, Arts. 43–47; CMD No. 285/2021)
Are any of these documents published online at a central place? Yes. Electronic Procurement System (SPE/EPS): https://www.app.gov.al/e-prokurim/; Open Procurement Albania: https://openprocurement.al; PPA website: www.app.gov.al; all notices, documents and results are published electronically; the SPE is the mandatory central platform for all procedures. (Law No. 162/2020, Art. 43; CMD No. 285/2021)
Is it mandatory to keep all of these records? -Public notices of bidding opportunities, -Bidding documents and addenda, -Bid opening records, -Bid evaluation reports, -Formal appeals by bidders and outcomes, -Final signed contract documents and addenda and amendments, -Claims and dispute resolutions, -Final payments, -Disbursement data (as required by the country’s financial management system) Yes. Contracting authorities must fully document the course of each procurement procedure and retain all documents; Law No. 119/2014 on the Right to Information imposes additional transparency obligations regarding public contracts, including the list of contracts concluded, contracted value, parties and description of goods/services/works; the PPC publishes all complaints and decisions in OCDS JSON format. (Law No. 162/2020; CMD No. 285/2021; Law No. 119/2014)
Are contracts awarded within a framework agreement published (ie mini contracts)? Yes. Contracts awarded under framework agreements (marrëveshje kuadër) are published in the SPE; Law No. 162/2020 and CMD No. 285/2021 establish the obligation to publish all procurement outcomes, including those concluded under framework agreements, in the electronic system. (Law No. 162/2020, Art. 84; CMD No. 285/2021, Art. 90)

Sub-contracting

Is it mandatory to publish information on subcontractors (ie names) in some cases? Yes. Law No. 162/2020 (as amended by Law No. 16/2024) and CMD No. 285/2021 require the winning tenderer to declare all known subcontractors in the offer and/or at contract signing; subcontractor information is published in the SPE as part of the contractual documents. (Law No. 162/2020 (as amended by Law No. 16/2024), Art. 77; CMD No. 285/2021, Art. 39(5)–(6))
If yes, what is the threshold for publication (i.e. the % of total contract value subcontracted)? For example, if the threshold is 75%, and you have subcontracted out only 40% of your contract, no disclosure is required. Consultant will insert 75% in the short answer column. 0%. Regardless of the percentage subcontracted, the tenderer must declare all known subcontractors; there is no percentage threshold that triggers or exempts the disclosure obligation. (Law No. 162/2020, Art. 77; CMD No. 285/2021, Art. 39)

Evaluation

Preferential treatment

Is there a ban on mentioning specific companies or brands in tender specification/call for tender? Yes. Technical specifications may not refer to a specific manufacturer, origin, process, trademark, patent, type, or place of production in a way that would favour or eliminate certain operators or products; such references are permitted only if justified by the subject of the contract and must be accompanied by the words "or equivalent", in alignment with Article 42 of Directive 2014/24/EU. (Law No. 162/2020, Art. 48; CMD No. 285/2021)
Is there a preferential treatment for small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs)? No. There is no explicit preferential treatment for SMEs; Law No. 162/2020 establishes principles of equal treatment and non-discrimination; however, the National Public Procurement Strategy 2024–2030 includes objectives to facilitate SME access to public contracts. (Law No. 162/2020, Art. 3; National Strategy AP 2024–2030)
Is there a preferential treatment for local/national companies? (companies from other EU MS are considered foreign companies) No. Principles of equal treatment and non-discrimination between economic operators apply; no preferential treatment is afforded to local or national companies. (Law No. 162/2020, Art. 3)
Is there a specific set of rules for green/sustainable procurement? Yes. Law No. 162/2020 includes environmental considerations in evaluation criteria and technical specifications; the National Public Procurement Strategy 2024–2030 (with SIGMA-OECD support) includes Green Public Procurement (GPP) as a strategic priority; a separate GPP Strategy for Albania was developed in force at end-2024 with support from the Millennium Challenge Corporation Albania programme (MCCA2); the PPA has published GPP guidance materials. (Law No. 162/2020, Arts. 48–53; National Strategy AP 2024–2030; GPP Strategy Albania Dec. 2024)

Bid evaluation

Are there restrictions on allowable grounds for tenderer exclusion? Yes. Law No. 162/2020 establishes mandatory exclusion grounds (final criminal convictions for: participation in criminal organisations, corruption, fraud, terrorist financing, child labour; non-payment of taxes and social contributions; insolvency/bankruptcy) and discretionary exclusion grounds (grave professional misconduct; anti-competitive agreements; conflict of interest; false information); Law No. 16/2024 added new immediate disqualification criteria for economic operators in the evaluation stage, including bid rotation, false bids and unjustified withdrawals. (Law No. 162/2020 (as amended by Law No. 16/2024), Arts. 55–60; CMD No. 285/2021)
Are some bids automatically excluded? e.g., lowest/highest price; unusually low price, etc. Yes. Bids may be automatically excluded in certain situations, including when: the tenderer does not meet qualification criteria; qualification documents are incomplete or false; the bid does not comply with technical specifications; the price is abnormally low and the tenderer fails to provide satisfactory justification within the set time limit; Law No. 16/2024 explicitly introduced immediate disqualification grounds in the evaluation stage. (Law No. 162/2020 (as amended by Law No. 16/2024), Arts. 55–60; CMD No. 285/2021)
Is scoring criteria published? Yes. Contracting authorities are required to publish award criteria and their relative weights in the tender documents from the date of publication of the notice; the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT) is the principal award criterion; quality, sustainability and innovation criteria may be included; the lowest price alone is no longer permitted as the sole criterion for social services. (Law No. 162/2020, Arts. 62–65; CMD No. 285/2021)
Are decisions always made by a committee? Yes. Law No. 162/2020 and CMD No. 285/2021 require the constitution of a mandatory Evaluation Commission (Komisioni i Vlerësimit) for the evaluation of tenders; the commission must have at least 3 members with professional experience relevant to the subject of the contract; the commission issues a written, reasoned decision. (Law No. 162/2020, Art. 66; CMD No. 285/2021)
Are there regulations on evaluation committee composition to prevent conflict of interest? Yes. Law No. 162/2020 includes explicit conflict-of-interest provisions; evaluation commission members must declare any conflict of interest and recuse themselves; contracting authorities must take appropriate measures to prevent, detect and eliminate conflicts of interest; Law No. 16/2024 tightened monitoring requirements for economic operator behaviour (bid rotation, false bids, unjustified withdrawals). (Law No. 162/2020 (as amended by Law No. 16/2024), Arts. 23–24; CMD No. 285/2021)
Is some part of evaluation committee mandatorily independent of contracting authority? No. There is no legal requirement for evaluation commission members to be independent of the contracting authority; members are generally officials of the contracting authority with relevant expertise; external experts may be co-opted but this is not mandatory. (Law No. 162/2020, Art. 66; CMD No. 285/2021)
Are scoring results publicly available? Yes. Evaluation results, including the ranking of tenderers and reasons for the award, are published in the SPE; contracting authorities publish award notices with data on the winning tenderer, contract value and reasons for the decision; Open Procurement Albania publishes structured data on all awards; the PPC publishes all complaint decisions in real time on its website in both PDF and OCDS-compliant JSON format. (Law No. 162/2020, Art. 71; CMD No. 285/2021; Law No. 119/2014)
Does the law specify under which conditions the tender can be cancelled? Yes. Law No. 162/2020 specifies conditions under which a procurement procedure may be cancelled: no offer was submitted; no offer meets the requirements; circumstances have fundamentally changed; there are grounds of public interest; the procedure is vitiated by essential errors; the cancellation decision must be published in the SPE and reasoned. (Law No. 162/2020, Art. 72; CMD No. 285/2021)

Open competition

CFT publication

Does the law specify the location for publicizing open calls for tenders? Yes. Electronic Procurement System (SPE/EPS): https://www.app.gov.al/e-prokurim/; PPA website: www.app.gov.al; Official Gazette of Public Procurement (BOAP) – published electronically; all open procedures, including small value ones, are published in the SPE. (Law No. 162/2020, Arts. 43–47; CMD No. 285/2021)
Does the law specify the location for publicizing restricted calls for tenders? Yes. Same requirements as for open procedures: SPE and PPA website; the restricted procedure (Procedura e Kufizuar) is published in the SPE. (Law No. 162/2020, Arts. 43–47; CMD No. 285/2021)
Does the law specify the location for publicizing negotiated calls for tenders? Yes. Same requirements: SPE and PPA website; the negotiated procedure is published in the SPE with a prior notice. (Law No. 162/2020, Arts. 43–47; CMD No. 285/2021)

Minimum # of bidders

What is the minimum number of bidders for restricted procedures? 3. The minimum number of candidates invited in the restricted procedure is 3, aligned with Directive 2014/24/EU. (Law No. 162/2020; CMD No. 285/2021)
What is the minimum number of bidders for negotiated procedures? 3. The minimum number of candidates for the negotiated procedure with prior publication is 3. (Law No. 162/2020; CMD No. 285/2021)
What is the minimum number of bidders for competitive dialogue procedures? 3. The minimum number of participants in competitive dialogue is 3, aligned with Directive 2014/24/EU. (Law No. 162/2020; CMD No. 285/2021)

Bidding period length

What are the minimum number of days for open procedures? 35. For open procedures above the upper monetary threshold: minimum 35 days; for simplified open procedures below the upper threshold: minimum 15 days; urgent procedures: reduced time limits per CMD No. 285/2021. (Law No. 162/2020; CMD No. 285/2021)
What are the minimum number of days for restricted procedures? 30. Minimum 30 days from publication of the notice for submission of candidacy applications; minimum 40 days from the invitation to tender for submission of offers. (Law No. 162/2020; CMD No. 285/2021)
What are the minimum number of days for competitive negotiated procedures? 30. Minimum 30 days for the candidacy stage; time limits for the offer stage are set by CMD No. (Law No. 162/2020; CMD No. 285/2021)

Institutional arrangements

Institutions and regulations

Does the law specify the main EXCEPTIONS preventing the application of the public procurement law for tenders/organisations? Yes. Law No. 162/2020 does not apply to: (1) contracts with institutions for persons with disabilities, charitable organisations and penal institutions; (2) contracts under agricultural or food aid programmes; (3) contracts under international treaties for jointly financed objectives; (4) contracts with international organisations following their special procedures; (5) acquisition of weapons, munitions and war material (governed by Law No. 36/2020); (6) arbitration and conciliation services; (7) employment contracts; (8) R&D services; (9) certain civil protection services; (10) concession and PPP contracts (governed by Law No. 125/2013). (Law No. 162/2020, Arts. 3 and 11; Law No. 36/2020; Law No. 125/2013)
Does the law specify the main types of institutions that must apply the public procurement law? Yes. Law No. 162/2020 applies to: (a) central administration of the Republic of Albania, including ministries and subordinate institutions; (b) local self-government units (municipalities); (c) legal persons governed by public law established to meet general interest needs; (d) entities carrying out public utility activities in the sectors of water, energy, transport and telecommunications; (e) associations formed by contracting authorities. (Law No. 162/2020, Arts. 7–9)
Does the law specify the main procedure types or procurement methods permitted? Yes. Open procedure (Procedura e Hapur); Simplified open procedure (Procedura e Hapur e Thjeshtësuar); Restricted procedure (Procedura e Kufizuar); Restricted procedure for reconstruction; Negotiated procedure with prior publication; Negotiated procedure without prior publication; Competitive dialogue; Innovation partnership; Small value procedure; Design contest; "Consultancy Service" procedure eliminated by Law No. 16/2024. (Law No. 162/2020 (as amended by Law No. 16/2024), Arts. 30–42; CMD No. 285/2021)
Is there a procurement arbitration court dedicated to public procurement cases? Yes. The Public Procurement Commission (PPC / Komisioni i Prokurimit Publik – KPP) is the central first-instance review body for complaints against procurement procedures and award decisions, subordinate to the Prime Minister; an electronic complaints system (e-complaints) was launched on 27 October 2021, enabling suppliers to submit complaints online and the PPC to manage them digitally and openly in real time; PPC decisions may be challenged at the Administrative Court (appeal instance); the PPC also has jurisdiction over concessions/PPP and public auctions. (Law No. 162/2020, Arts. 99–115; Open Contracting Partnership data)
Is there a procurement regulatory body dedicated to public procurement? Yes. The Public Procurement Agency (PPA / Agjencia e Prokurimit Publik – APP) is the central regulatory and supervisory body, subordinate to the Prime Minister, funded from the state budget; the PPA manages the SPE, publishes instructions, standard model documents, annual reports and provides professional training; the Central Purchasing Operator (OBP / Operatori i Blerjeve të Përqendruara) was established as a central purchasing body for centralised procurement of ministries and institutions subordinate to the Prime Minister. (Law No. 162/2020, Arts. 116–125; CMD No. 285/2021)
Does the law specify procurement advisors' profession (i.e. degree to be obtained, official list of members of the professional association) and its role in the tendering process (e.g. right to draft tender documentations, conduct market research identifying bidders)? No. Law No. 162/2020 does not regulate the profession of procurement adviser (no mandatory academic degree, no official list of professional association members); the qualifications of evaluation commission members are defined generically as professional experience relevant to the subject of the contract. (Law No. 162/2020, Art. 66; CMD No. 285/2021)
Is disclosure of final, beneficial owners required for placing a bid? No. Law No. 162/2020 does not require beneficial owner disclosure as a precondition for placing a bid; however, Albania's beneficial ownership register (introduced as part of the anti-money laundering package) and the National Strategy AP 2024–2030 include objectives on beneficial ownership transparency in public procurement. (Law No. 162/2020; National Strategy AP 2024–2030)

Complaints

Is there a fee for arbitration procedure? Yes. The fee for filing a complaint with the PPC is 0.5% of the estimated contract value; if the complaint is upheld, the fee is reimbursed to the complainant; if dismissed, the amount is transferred to the state budget; in 2021, PPC decisions generated approximately EUR 1 million for the state budget through fees; the e-complaints system (launched October 2021) eliminated the bureaucracy associated with physical submission. (Law No. 162/2020, Art. 103; CMD No. 285/2021)
Is there a ban on contract signature until arbitration court decision (first instance court)? Yes. Upon receipt of a complaint by the PPC, the contracting authority is required to automatically suspend continuation of the procurement procedure until the PPC issues its decision; the suspension is automatic from the date of receipt of the complaint by the PPC. (Law No. 162/2020, Art. 104; CMD No. 285/2021)
What is the maximum number of days until arbitration court decision from filing a complaint in the case of awarded contracts? 7. The PPC must decide within 7 working days of receiving a complaint regarding tender documents; in all other cases, within a maximum of 20 working days from receipt of the complete documentation; if the PPC requests additional information, the time limit restarts upon receipt of the response; the OECD (2024) notes the PPC has significantly reduced time required for handling complaints. (Law No. 162/2020, Arts. 106–109; CMD No. 285/2021)
Is there a requirement to publicly release arbitration court decisions ? Yes. The PPC is required to publish all its decisions; the e-complaints system (launched October 2021) ensures real-time electronic access to complaint decisions for all interested parties; the PPC also publishes decisions in OCDS-compliant JSON format, making Albania one of the few countries in the region to provide machine-readable procurement review data; the Administrative Court publishes its decisions through the judicial system. (Law No. 162/2020, Art. 110; Law No. 119/2014; Open Contracting Partnership data)

Legislation

Decision of the Council of Ministers No. 285/2021 "On Approval of Public Procurement Rules" (Albanian)pdf
Law No. 119/2014 "On the Right to Information" (Albanian)pdf
Law No. 125/2013 "On Concessions and Public Private Partnership" (Albanian)pdf
Law No. 162/2020 "On Public Procurement" (Albanian)pdf
Law No. 36/2020 "On Procurement in the Field of Defence and Security" (Albanian)pdf

*Last update: 2017

Anti Money Laundering

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Quantitative Data

Primary Metric

201220152016201720202024Trend
Risk-based approach67
Sanctions for natural persons100
Sanctions for legal persons100
Pecuniary sanctions for obliged entities40
Beneficial ownership of legal persons and legal arrangements43
Supervision of obliged entities100
Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs)83
Mutual legal assistance (MLA) and International Cooperation50

Values lie in range between 0 and 100, higher values implying higher legislation comprehensiveness

Qualitative Data

We are frequently reviewing and refining our data, so in case you notice any mistake in our assessment, feel free to send us an email by clicking the button ()

Country score

Risk-based approach

Each Member State shall be legally required to prepare a national risk assessment that outlines appropriate steps to identify, assess, understand and mitigate the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing affecting it. Yes. The General Directorate for the Prevention of Money Laundering as a financial intelligence unit, shall, pursuant to this law, have the following duties and functions: (...) ll) periodically reviews the effectiveness and efficiency of the national systems for combating money laundering and financing of terrorism through statistics and other available information. To this effect the responsible authority requests statistics and data from entities, supervisory authorities and other competent authorities with a responsibility for combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism, that as a minimum, shall include: i. suspicious transaction reports including breakdown by reporting entities, analysis and dissemination; ii. on-site supervisory examinations, sanctions imposed including breakdown by type, sector and amount; iii. cases investigated, persons prosecuted and persons convicted; iv. property frozen, seized or confiscated; v. mutual legal assistance and other international requests for cooperation; (Article 22, ll) Law No.9917, May 19, 2008 “ON THE PREVENTION OF MONEY LAUNDERING AND FINANCING OF TERRORISM”, amended 2019)
Member states shall be legally required to keep the national risk assessment up to date and review it at least every 4 years. No. The law does not dictate a precise period of time for the assessments. (Missing from legislative framework)
Member states should legally designate an authority or mechanism to co-ordinate actions to assess risks. Yes. The General Directorate for the Prevention of Money Laundering as a financial intelligence unit, shall, pursuant to this law, have the following duties and functions: (...) ll) periodically reviews the effectiveness and efficiency of the national systems for combating money laundering and financing of terrorism through statistics and other available information. To this effect the responsible authority requests statistics and data from entities, supervisory authorities and other competent authorities with a responsibility for combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism, that as a minimum, shall include: i. suspicious transaction reports including breakdown by reporting entities, analysis and dissemination; ii. on-site supervisory examinations, sanctions imposed including breakdown by type, sector and amount; iii. cases investigated, persons prosecuted and persons convicted; iv. property frozen, seized or confiscated; v. mutual legal assistance and other international requests for cooperation; (Article 22, ll) Law No.9917, May 19, 2008 “ON THE PREVENTION OF MONEY LAUNDERING AND FINANCING OF TERRORISM”, amended 2019)

Sanctions for natural persons

The following conduct, when committed intentionally, is punishable as a criminal offence: the conversion or transfer of property, knowing that such property is derived from criminal activity, for the purpose of concealing or disguising the illicit origin of the property or of assisting any person who is involved in the commission of such an activity to evade the legal consequences of that person’s action; Yes. Disposing, transferring, concealing, obscuring the nature, source, or ownership of property derived from criminal activity, is punishable by three to ten years of imprisonment. (Article 287, Criminal Code of Albania )
The following conduct, when committed intentionally, is punishable as a criminal offence: the concealment or disguise of the true nature, source, location, disposition, movement, rights with respect to, or ownership of, property, knowing that such property is derived from criminal activity; Yes. Disposing, transferring, concealing, obscuring the nature, source, or ownership of property derived from criminal activity, is punishable by three to ten years of imprisonment. (Article 287, Criminal Code of Albania )
The following conduct, when committed intentionally, is punishable as a criminal offence: the acquisition, possession or use of property, knowing at the time of receipt, that such property was derived from criminal activity. Yes. Disposing, transferring, concealing, obscuring the nature, source, or ownership of property derived from criminal activity, is punishable by three to ten years of imprisonment. (Article 287, Criminal Code of Albania )
Aiding and abetting, inciting and attempting a money laundering offence is punishable as a criminal offence. Yes. Chapters III and IV of the Criminal Code of Albania punish aiding and abetting, as well as attempts of the criminal offences (Chapters III and IV of Criminal Code of Albania)
Money laundering offences are punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least four years. Yes. Disposing, transferring, concealing, obscuring the nature, source, or ownership of property derived from criminal activity, is punishable by three to ten years of imprisonment. /// Commission of financial transactions or other economical transactions for the purpose of money laundering, which are known to stem from criminal activity, and their recirculation and production for entrepreneurial or economic activity of any kind, is punished by five to ten years of imprisonment. (Article 287 and 287 (a), Criminal Code of Albania)
A prior or simultaneous conviction for the criminal activity from which the property was derived is not a prerequisite for a conviction for money laundering offences Yes. Disposing, transferring, concealing, obscuring the nature, source, or ownership of property derived from criminal activity, is punishable by three to ten years of imprisonment. /// Commission of financial transactions or other economical transactions for the purpose of money laundering, which are known to stem from criminal activity, and their recirculation and production for entrepreneurial or economic activity of any kind, is punished by five to ten years of imprisonment. (Article 287 and 287 (a), Criminal Code of Albania)
A conviction for money laundering offences is possible where it is established that the property was derived from a criminal activity, without it being necessary to establish all the factual elements or all circumstances relating to that criminal activity, including the identity of the perpetrator; Yes. Disposing, transferring, concealing, obscuring the nature, source, or ownership of property derived from criminal activity, is punishable by three to ten years of imprisonment. /// Commission of financial transactions or other economical transactions for the purpose of money laundering, which are known to stem from criminal activity, and their recirculation and production for entrepreneurial or economic activity of any kind, is punished by five to ten years of imprisonment. (Article 287 and 287 (a), Criminal Code of Albania)

Sanctions for legal persons

Legal persons can be held liable for the breaches of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 or Regulation (EU) 2023/1113 committed on their behalf or for their benefit by any person, acting individually or as part of a body of that legal person and having a leading position within that legal person, based on any of the following: a power to represent the legal person; an authority to take decisions on behalf of the legal person; an authority to exercise control within the legal person. Yes. Article 3 Legal person's liability for committing a criminal offense A legal person is liable for criminal offenses committed: a) in its name or for its benefit, by its bodies and representatives; b) in its name or for its benefit, by a person who is under the authority of the person who represents, directs and administers the legal person; c) in its name or for its benefit, due to the lack of control or supervision by the person who directs, represents and administers the legal person. (Article 3, Law 9754/2007)
Legal persons can be held liable where the lack of supervision or control has made possible the commission of any money laundering offences for the benefit of that legal person by a person under its authority. Yes. Article 3 Legal person's liability for committing a criminal offense A legal person is liable for criminal offenses committed: a) in its name or for its benefit, by its bodies and representatives; b) in its name or for its benefit, by a person who is under the authority of the person who represents, directs and administers the legal person; c) in its name or for its benefit, due to the lack of control or supervision by the person who directs, represents and administers the legal person. (Article 3, Law 9754/2007)
Legal persons held liable are punishable by criminal or non-criminal fines. Yes. Article 9 Main penalties 1. The following main penalties shall be imposed on legal persons responsible for the commission of a criminal offence: a) fine; b) termination of the legal person. 2. The main penalty, specified in point 1 of this article, shall not apply to local government units, public legal persons and political parties and trade unions. (Article 9, Law 9754/2007)
Legal persons held liable are punishable by other sanctions, such as: exclusion from entitlement to public benefits or aid; temporary or permanent exclusion from access to public funding, including tender procedures, grants and concessions; temporary or permanent disqualification from the practice of commercial activities; placing under judicial supervision; a judicial winding-up order; temporary or permanent closure of establishments which have been used for committing the offence. Yes. Article 10 Additional penalties 1. Legal persons, who are responsible for the commission of a criminal offence, may be subject to one or more of the following additional penalties in addition to the main penalty: a) closure of one or more activities or structures of the legal person; b) placing the legal person under controlled administration; c) prohibition to participate in public procurement procedures; ç) revocation of the right to obtain or use licenses, authorizations, concessions or subsidies; d) prohibition to publicly solicit funds and financial resources; dh) revocation of the right to exercise one or more activities or operations; e) obligation to publish the court decision (Article 10, Law 9754/2007)

Pecuniary sanctions for obliged entities

In the event of a breach of Regulations (EU) 2024/1624 and (EU) 2023/1113, where obligations apply to legal persons, pecuniary sanctions can be imposed and administrative measures can be applied not only to the legal person, but also to the senior management and to other natural persons who under national law are responsible for the breach. Yes. apart from as provided in the above, where the entity is a legal person and the administrative offense has been committed: i) by a non-senior employee and / or administration, the person who has committed the violation is fined from 20,000 (twenty thousand) to 300,000 (three hundred thousand) Lek; ii) by an administrator or manager of the entity, the person who has committed the violation is fined from 40,000 (forty thousand) to 4,000,000 (four million) Lek. (Article 27(1) dh) of Law no. 9917/2008)
Pecuniary sanctions shall be imposed on obliged entities for serious, repeated or systematic breaches, whether committed intentionally or negligently, of the requirements laid down in the following provisions of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624: Chapter II (Internal policies, procedures and controls of obliged entities); Chapter III (Customer due diligence); Chapter V (Reporting obligations); Article 77 (Record retention). If they do not constitute a criminal offense, violations of the provisions of this law constitute an administrative offense and the responsible authority shall impose one or more of the following administrative measures: a) warning; b) an order compelling the entity to stop a particular conduct, work or business practice, and not to repeat it in the future; c) order for the temporary suspension or replacement of the heads of units responsible for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing; ç) fine; d) public statement regarding the offender and the nature of the offense. (Article 27 of Law no. 9917/2008)
Supervisors are able to apply administrative measures to an obliged entity, where they identify: breaches of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 or Regulation (EU) 2023/1113, either in combination with pecuniary sanctions for serious, repeated and systematic breaches, or on their own; weaknesses in the internal policies, procedures and controls of the obliged entity that are likely to result in breaches of the requirements; that the obliged entity has internal policies, procedures and controls that are not commensurate with the risks of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing to which the entity is exposed. Yes. If they do not constitute a criminal offense, violations of the provisions of this law constitute an administrative offense and the responsible authority shall impose one or more of the following administrative measures: a) warning; b) an order compelling the entity to stop a particular conduct, work or business practice, and not to repeat it in the future; c) order for the temporary suspension or replacement of the heads of units responsible for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing; ç) fine; d) public statement regarding the offender and the nature of the offense.///////Article 26 Revocation of the license (Amended letter ‘b’ of para.1 and added para. 3 with law no. 10 391, dated 3.3.2011) 1. The responsible authority may request the licensing and/or supervisory authority to restrain, suspend or revoke the license of an entity: a) when it ascertains or has facts to believe that the entity has been involved in money laundering or terrorism financing; b) when the entity repeatedly commits one or several of the administrative violations set forth in article 27 of this law. 2. The licensing and/or supervisory authority shall consider the request of the responsible authority based on the accompanying documentation, which shall represent the suspicions or the data, based on concrete circumstances and facts, according to the paragraph 1 of this article. The licensing and/or supervisory authority shall make a decision to approve or decline it, in accordance with the provisions of this law and with the legal and secondary legislation provisions, which regulate its activity and the activity of the entities licensed and supervised by it. 3. With regard to the entities that carry out banking activity under the circumstances stipulated in letters „a‟ and „b‟ of paragraph 1, of this article, the responsible authority may request from the Bank of Albania the enhancing of the level of supervision of the entity. (Article 26 of Law no. 9917/2008)
Where obliged entities fail to comply with administrative measures applied by the supervisor within the applicable deadlines, supervisors are able to impose periodic penalty payments in order to compel compliance with those administrative measures. No. Absent from legislative framework.
Supervisors are required to publish on their website, in an accessible format, decisions imposing pecuniary sanctions, applying administrative measures or imposing periodic penalty payments. No. Publishing of the decisions is a an appliable sanction, but its application is discretionary, not mandated by the law. (Article 27(1) of Law no. 9917/2008)

Beneficial ownership of legal persons and legal arrangements

Beneficial ownership information must be held in a central register in the Member State where the legal entity is created or where the trustee of an express trust or person holding an equivalent position in a similar legal arrangement is established or resides, or from where the legal arrangement is administered. Yes. "Register of Beneficiary Owners" is a state electronic database, in which are registered the data of the beneficial owners of the entities that have the obligation to report them, which collects in real time the data registered in the respective state registers administered by the relevant state institutions, as well as serves as the official electronic archive and ensures transparency in the field of beneficiary owners. (Article 3(8) of Law no. 112/2020)
Member States shall ensure that the entities in charge of the central registers are empowered to request from legal entities, trustees of any express trust and persons holding an equivalent position in a similar legal arrangement, and their legal and beneficial owners, any information necessary to identify and verify their beneficial owners, including resolutions of the board of directors and minutes of their meetings, partnership agreements, trust deeds, power of attorney or other contractual agreements and documentation. Yes. c) the reporting entity within 20 calendar days from the date of notification of the National Business Center must: i. update in the register the data for their beneficiary owners, according to this law, if the ascertainment of the obligated subject is correct, or; ii. confirm in the register the data for their beneficiary owners, previously registered, if the ascertainment of the obliged subject is not correct; (Article 6(3), c) of Law no. 112/2020)
Where no person is identified as the beneficial owner, the central register shall include: (a) a statement that there is no beneficial owner or that the beneficial owners could not be determined, accompanied by a corresponding justification (b) the details of all natural persons who hold the position of senior managing officials in the legal entity equivalent to the following information: all names and surnames, place and full date of birth, residential address, country of residence and nationality or nationalities of the beneficial owner, number of identity document, such as passport or national identity document, and, where it exists, unique personal identification number assigned to the person by his or her country of usual residence, and general description of the source of such number No. Absent from legislative framework (Absent from legislative framework)
Entities in charge of the central registers are required to verify, within a reasonable time upon submission of the beneficial ownership information, and on a regular basis thereafter, that such information is adequate, accurate and up to date. no. Absent from legislative framework (Absent from legislative framework)
Competent authorities, if appropriate and to the extent that such requirement does not interfere unnecessarily with their functions, are required to report to the entities in charge of the central registers any discrepancies they find between information available in the central registers and the information available to them. Yes. 3. If a obliged entity finds that the data registered in the Register of Beneficiary Owners do not match the data held by this obligated entity for the beneficial owners then: a)the obligated entity notifies the reporting entity and the National Business Center; (Article 6(3), a) of Law no. 112/2020)
The information contained in the central registers must include any change to the beneficial ownership of legal entities and legal arrangements and to nominee arrangements, following their first recording in the central register. Yes. 2. Beneficiary owners of reporting entities have the obligation to provide reporting entities with all necessary information, in order for reporting entities to fulfill the legal obligation set out in point 1 of this article. 3. The registration by the reporting entities of the data of the beneficial owners in the Beneficial Owners Register is done in the following deadlines: (...) ç) in the case of registration of changes in the data of the beneficial owners of reporting entities, the registration is done within 90 (ninety) calendar days from the date of occurrence of the actual change (Article 5 (2) (2) of Law no. 112/2020)
The entity in charge of the central register is empowered, whether directly or by application to another authority, including judicial authorities, to carry out checks, including on-site inspections at the business premises or registered office of legal entities, in order to establish the current beneficial ownership of the entity and to verify that the information submitted to the central register is accurate, adequate and up-to-date. No. Inspecting authorities are different from the authority that holds the register. The National Business Centre cannot initiate directly or indirectly any inspection, but it has the obligation to provide access to the inspecting authorities
Where verification leads an entity in charge of a central register to conclude that there are inconsistencies or errors in the beneficial ownership information, the entity in charge of a central register is able to withhold or refuse to issue a valid certificate of proof of registration, or to suspend the validity of an existing certification of proof of registration. Yes. 4. The NBC and the authority responsible for maintaining the Register of Non-Profit Organizations for reporting entities, which commit the violations provided in paragraph 2 of this article, will not provide services to them, except for the registration of changes in the data of the legal representative, and will change the status of the reporting entities from “active” status to “suspended” status in the commercial register and in the Register of Non-Profit Organizations until the payment of the fine and the registration of relevant data for the beneficial owners. (Article 13(4) of Law no 112/2020)
The entity in charge of the central register is empowered to, whether directly or by application to another authority, including judicial authorities, apply effective, proportionate and dissuasive measures or impose such pecuniary sanctions for failures, including of a repeated nature, to provide the central register with accurate, adequate and up-to-date information about their beneficial ownership. Yes. 3. The fine is imposed by the head of the NBC, whose decision is appealed directly to the competent administrative court in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Administrative Procedures. (Article 13(3) of Law no. 112/2020)
Competent authorities have immediate, unfiltered, direct and free access to the information held in the interconnected central registers without alerting the legal entity or legal arrangement concerned. These competent authorities include: self-regulatory bodies in the performance of supervisory functions of AML rules; tax authorities; national authorities with designated responsibilities for the implementation of Union restrictive measures; AMLA for the purposes of joint analyses; EPPO; OLAF; Europol and Eurojust when providing operational support to the competent authorities of Member States. Yes. 3 The competent state authorities will have free, direct and unrestricted electronic access to the data registered in the register, in order to fulfill their legal duties related to the inspection of the Register of Beneficiary Owners and the collection of data on the beneficiary owners. (Article 7(3) of Law no. 112/2020)
Beneficial ownership information held in central registers may be made available to obliged entities upon payment of a fee, which shall be limited to what is strictly necessary to cover the costs of ensuring the quality of the information held in the central registers and of making the information available. Those fees shall be established in such a way as not to undermine effective access to the information held in the central registers. Yes. .4 Obliged entities may obtain information on the data registered in the register, which are not freely accessible and public, when this data is needed for the fulfillment of their legal duties./// .6 The entities defined in points 4 and 5 of this article, in order to obtain data on the beneficial owner of a certain reporting entity, must submit a written or electronic request./// 10. The respective value of the fee for providing information according to point 6 of this article, will be determined by a joint sub-legal act of the relevant ministers responsible in the field of economy and finance. (Article 7(4) (6) (10) of Law no. 112/2020)
Any natural or legal person that can demonstrate a legitimate interest in the prevention and combating of money laundering, its predicate offences and terrorist financing has access to the following information on beneficial owners of legal entities and legal arrangements held in the interconnected central registers, without alerting the legal entity or legal arrangement concerned: the name of the beneficial owner; the month and year of birth of the beneficial owner; the country of residence and nationality or nationalities of the beneficial owner; for beneficial owners of legal entities, the nature and extent of the beneficial interest held; for beneficial owners of express trusts or similar legal arrangements, the nature of the beneficial interest. Yes. 1. The data registered in the Register of Beneficiary Owners, which will be freely accessible and public are: a)name and surname of the beneficiary owner; b) citizenship c)year and month of birth; d) the date of determination of the individual as a beneficiary owner; e) type and percentage of ownership. - direct - indirect. 2. Other data of the beneficiary owners, registered in the Register of Beneficiary Owners and which are not freely accessible according to point 1 of this article, can be accessed by: a) persons authorized to represent the reporting entity only in the data registered in the register for the entity they represent; )b competent state authorities./// .5 Any person may obtain information about the data recorded in the register, which is not freely accessible and public, only if he proves that he has a legitimate interest in obtaining this information. (Article 7 (1) (2) (5) of Law no. 112/2020)
The following natural or legal persons shall be deemed to have a legitimate interest to access the information listed above: persons acting for the purpose of journalism, reporting or any other form of expression in the media, that are connected with the prevention or combating of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing; No. Absent from legal framework
The following natural or legal persons shall be deemed to have a legitimate interest to access the information listed above: civil society organisations, including non-governmental organisations and academia, that are connected with the prevention or combating of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing; No. Absent from legal framework
The following natural or legal persons shall be deemed to have a legitimate interest to access the information listed above: natural or legal persons likely to enter into a transaction with a legal entity or legal arrangement and who wish to prevent any link between such a transaction and money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing; No. Absent from legal framework
The following natural or legal persons shall be deemed to have a legitimate interest to access the information listed above: Member States’ public authorities in the context of public procurement procedures, in respect of the tenderers and operators being awarded the contract under the public procurement procedure; No. Absent from legal framework
Member States shall ensure that the information provided by central registers does not lead to the identification of any person consulting the register where such persons are: persons acting for the purpose of journalism, reporting or any other form of expression in the media, that are connected with the prevention or combating of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing; No. Absent from legal framework
Member States shall ensure that the information provided by central registers does not lead to the identification of any person consulting the register where such persons are: civil society organisations that are connected with the prevention or combating of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing. No. Absent from legal framework
Where entities in charge of central registers decide to grant access to beneficial ownership information, they shall issue a certificate granting access for 3 years. Entities in charge of central registers shall respond to any subsequent request to access beneficial ownership information by the same person within 7 working days. No. Absent from legal framework
Member States shall ensure that entities in charge of central registers shall only refuse a request to access beneficial ownership information on one of the following grounds: the applicant has not provided the necessary information or documents pursuant to paragraph 1; a legitimate interest to access beneficial ownership information has not been demonstrated; where on the basis of information in its possession, the entity in charge of the central register has a reasonable concern that the information will not be used for the purposes for which it was requested or that the information will be used for purposes that are not connected to the prevention of money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing; one or more of the situations referred to in Article 15 applies; the legitimate interest to access beneficial ownership information granted by the central register of another Member State does not extend to the purposes for which the information is sought; where the applicant is in a third country and responding to the request to access information would not comply with the provisions of Chapter V of Regulation (EU) 2016/679. No. 7 The NBC, after examining the request and noticing that there is a legitimate interest of the person submitting the request for obtaining additional data of the beneficiary owners, according to point 6, and we are not in the conditions of restricting access to information based on reasonable reasons and, after verifying the payment on the requested information, provides the required data to these entities within 10 working days. .8 The NBC may reject the request of the entities defined in point 5 of this article, for obtaining data on the beneficiary owners of a certain reporting entity, in case the beneficiary owner is a minor or incapable of acting, or in the event that the provision of information would expose the beneficial owner to a disproportionate risk, to the risk of fraud, kidnapping, blackmail, extortion, harassment, violence or intimidation. (Article 7 (7) (8) of Law no. 112/2020)
In exceptional circumstances to be laid down in national law, where the access to beneficial ownership information would expose the beneficial owner to disproportionate risk of fraud, kidnapping, blackmail, extortion, harassment, violence or intimidation, or where the beneficial owner is a minor or otherwise legally incapable, Member States shall provide for an exemption from such access to all or part of the personal information on the beneficial owner. Member States shall ensure that such exemptions are granted on a case-by-case basis upon a detailed evaluation of the exceptional nature of the circumstances and confirmation that those disproportionate risks exist. The right to an administrative review of the decision granting an exemption and the right to an effective judicial remedy shall be guaranteed. .8 The NBC may reject the request of the entities defined in point 5 of this article, for obtaining data on the beneficiary owners of a certain reporting entity, in case the beneficiary owner is a minor or incapable of acting, or in the event that the provision of information would expose the beneficial owner to a disproportionate risk, to the risk of fraud, kidnapping, blackmail, extortion, harassment, violence or intimidation. (Article 7 (8) of Law no. 112/2020)

Supervision of obliged entities

Each Member State shall ensure that all obliged entities established in its territory are subject to adequate and effective supervision. To that end, each Member State shall appoint one or more supervisors to monitor effectively, and to take the measures necessary to ensure compliance by the obliged entities with Regulations (EU) 2024/1624 and (EU) 2023/1113. Yes. 1. The Supervisory Authorities are: a) The Bank of Albania for the entities referred to in letters „a‟, „b‟, „c‟, „ç‟ and „d‟, of article 3,of this law; b) The Financial Supervisory Authority for the entities referred to in letters „e‟ and „ë‟ and „j‟ of article 3 of this law c) Respective ministries for the supervision for the entities referred to in letters „f‟, „g‟, „gj‟, „h‟, „i‟, „k‟ and „l‟, of article 3, of this law; ç) The National Chamber of Advocates for lawyers; d) The Ministry of Justice for notaries; (Article 24 of Law no. 9917/2008)

Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs)

Each Member State shall establish an FIU in order to prevent, detect and effectively combat money laundering and terrorist financing. Yes. 1. “Responsible authority” is the General Directorate for the Prevention of Money Laundering that reports directly to the Minister of Finances, and serves as Financial Intelligence Unit of Albania (Article 2(1) of Law 9917/2008)
The FIU as the central national unit shall be responsible for receiving and analysing suspicious transaction reports and other information relevant to money laundering, associated predicate offences or terrorist financing. Yes. The General Directorate for the Prevention of Money Laundering as a financial intelligence unit, shall, pursuant to this law, have the following duties and functions: a) collects, manages, processes, analyses and disseminates to the competent authorities, data, reports and information regarding cases of money laundering and terrorism financing. b) has direct access to information technology systems or databases and to any information administered by public institutions, to private entities owned by the state or granted by the state in favour of private entities under a contract, and in any public register, relating to court records, cross- border data, foreign citizen registry, civil registry, passport and other identification cross- border documents, data on movable and immovable property of any kind, data on the rights or property interests of any kind on movable and immovable property, centralized register of contracts and / or liabilities of private entities with state bodies, notary registers, beneficiary owners register, bank account register, vehicles and driving licences data, tax and customs data, data on possible business relationships, commercial activities or other professional activities. The institutions or entities that have this data are obliged to cooperate and provide the required access to information. Other information and data, databases or systems classified as "state secret" may be accessed, if this action is in accordance with the legislation in force and in agreement with the relevant institution. The collection, processing and administration of data are subject to the rules for the protection of personal data, according to the current legislation; c) for the purpose of preventing money laundering and terrorism financing, requests any kind of information from the entities subject to this law; ç) supervises the activity of the reporting entities regarding compliance with the requirements of laws and secondary legislation on prevention of money laundering and (Article 24 of Law 9917/2008)
The FIU shall be responsible for disseminating the results of its analyses and any additional relevant information to the competent authorities where there are grounds to suspect money laundering, associated predicate offences or terrorist financing. Yes. The General Directorate for the Prevention of Money Laundering as a financial intelligence unit, shall, pursuant to this law, have the following duties and functions: a) collects, manages, processes, analyses and disseminates to the competent authorities, data, reports and information regarding cases of money laundering and terrorism financing. b) has direct access to information technology systems or databases and to any information administered by public institutions, to private entities owned by the state or granted by the state in favour of private entities under a contract, and in any public register, relating to court records, cross- border data, foreign citizen registry, civil registry, passport and other identification cross- border documents, data on movable and immovable property of any kind, data on the rights or property interests of any kind on movable and immovable property, centralized register of contracts and / or liabilities of private entities with state bodies, notary registers, beneficiary owners register, bank account register, vehicles and driving licences data, tax and customs data, data on possible business relationships, commercial activities or other professional activities. The institutions or entities that have this data are obliged to cooperate and provide the required access to information. Other information and data, databases or systems classified as "state secret" may be accessed, if this action is in accordance with the legislation in force and in agreement with the relevant institution. The collection, processing and administration of data are subject to the rules for the protection of personal data, according to the current legislation; c) for the purpose of preventing money laundering and terrorism financing, requests any kind of information from the entities subject to this law; ç) supervises the activity of the reporting entities regarding compliance with the requirements of laws and secondary legislation on prevention of money laundering and (Article 24 of Law 9917/2008)
The FIU shall be operationally independent and autonomous, which means that the FIU shall have the authority and capacity to carry out its functions freely, including the ability to take autonomous decisions to analyse, request and disseminate specific information. It shall be free from any undue political, government or industry influence or interference. No. The General Directorate for the Prevention of Money Laundering, pursuant to this law, exercises the functions of the responsible authority as an institution subordinate to the Minister of Finances (Article 21(1) of Law 9916/2010)
The FIU, regardless of their organisational status, is authorised to have access to the information that they require to fulfil their tasks, including financial, administrative and law enforcement information. Yes. The General Directorate for the Prevention of Money Laundering as a financial intelligence unit, shall, pursuant to this law, have the following duties and functions: a) collects, manages, processes, analyses and disseminates to the competent authorities, data, reports and information regarding cases of money laundering and terrorism financing. b) has direct access to information technology systems or databases and to any information administered by public institutions, to private entities owned by the state or granted by the state in favour of private entities under a contract, and in any public register, relating to court records, cross- border data, foreign citizen registry, civil registry, passport and other identification cross- border documents, data on movable and immovable property of any kind, data on the rights or property interests of any kind on movable and immovable property, centralized register of contracts and / or liabilities of private entities with state bodies, notary registers, beneficiary owners register, bank account register, vehicles and driving licences data, tax and customs data, data on possible business relationships, commercial activities or other professional activities. The institutions or entities that have this data are obliged to cooperate and provide the required access to information. Other information and data, databases or systems classified as "state secret" may be accessed, if this action is in accordance with the legislation in force and in agreement with the relevant institution. The collection, processing and administration of data are subject to the rules for the protection of personal data, according to the current legislation; c) for the purpose of preventing money laundering and terrorism financing, requests any kind of information from the entities subject to this law; ç) supervises the activity of the reporting entities regarding compliance with the requirements of laws and secondary legislation on prevention of money laundering and (Article 24 of Law 9917/2008)
FIUs are empowered to take urgent action, directly or indirectly, where there is a suspicion that a transaction is related to money laundering or terrorist financing, to suspend or withhold consent to that transaction. Yes. The General Directorate for the Prevention of Money Laundering as a financial intelligence unit, shall, pursuant to this law, have the following duties and functions: a) collects, manages, processes, analyses and disseminates to the competent authorities, data, reports and information regarding cases of money laundering and terrorism financing. b) has direct access to information technology systems or databases and to any information administered by public institutions, to private entities owned by the state or granted by the state in favour of private entities under a contract, and in any public register, relating to court records, cross- border data, foreign citizen registry, civil registry, passport and other identification cross- border documents, data on movable and immovable property of any kind, data on the rights or property interests of any kind on movable and immovable property, centralized register of contracts and / or liabilities of private entities with state bodies, notary registers, beneficiary owners register, bank account register, vehicles and driving licences data, tax and customs data, data on possible business relationships, commercial activities or other professional activities. The institutions or entities that have this data are obliged to cooperate and provide the required access to information. Other information and data, databases or systems classified as "state secret" may be accessed, if this action is in accordance with the legislation in force and in agreement with the relevant institution. The collection, processing and administration of data are subject to the rules for the protection of personal data, according to the current legislation; c) for the purpose of preventing money laundering and terrorism financing, requests any kind of information from the entities subject to this law; ç) supervises the activity of the reporting entities regarding compliance with the requirements of laws and secondary legislation on prevention of money laundering and (Article 24 of Law 9917/2008)

Mutual legal assistance (MLA) and International Cooperation

Member States shall ensure that the FIU to whom the request is made is legally required to use the whole range of its available powers which it would normally use domestically for receiving and analysing information when it replies to a request for information from another FIU. No. Absent from legal framework
Member States shall ensure that FIUs are legally required to exchange, spontaneously or upon request, any information that may be relevant for the processing or analysis of information by the FIU related to money laundering, its predicate offences, or terrorist financing, and the natural or legal person involved, regardless of the type of predicate offences that may be involved, and even if the type of predicate offences that may be involved is not identified at the time of the exchange. Yes. exchanges information with any foreign counterpart, subjected to similar obligations of confidentiality. The information provided should be utilized only for the purposes of prevention and fighting of money laundering and financing of terrorism. The information may be disseminated only upon prior consent of the parties; (Article 22 d) of Law 9917/2008)

Legislation

*Last update: 2017

Asset Recovery

asd asd

Quantitative Data

Primary Metric

201220152016201720202024Trend
Asset Offices0
Confiscation89
International cooperation50

Values lie in range between 0 and 100, higher values implying higher legislation comprehensiveness

Qualitative Data

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Country score

Asset Offices

Each Member State shall legally designate at least one asset recovery office to facilitate cross-border cooperation in relation to asset-tracing investigations and to conduct asset recovery functions in both criminal matters and civil or administrative matters. No. Albania has specialised structures (e.g. SPAK, special prosecution and courts, and police units) and a strong legal framework for seizure and confiscation, but there is no authority expressly designated in law as an “asset recovery office” in the sense of Council Decision 2007/845/JHA. (Criminal Code, Criminal Procedure Code and Law No. 10192/2009 (no formal ARO designation; asset recovery handled within prosecution, courts and police).)
Each Member State shall legally designate at least one competent authority to function as an asset management office for the purpose of the management of frozen and confiscated property until the disposal of that property further to a final confiscation order. No. Management of seized and confiscated assets is governed by general rules on custody and administration of sequestered items and state property; no separate asset management office is created by statute as a central AMO. (Criminal Procedure Code, Article 214 (custody of sequestered items); state‑property legislation (no dedicated AMO).)

Confiscation

Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the freezing of property necessary to ensure a possible confiscation of that property. The freezing measures shall consist of freezing orders and immediate action. (Freezing measures) Yes. The Criminal Procedure Code regulates sequestration of items connected with the criminal offence and items that may be confiscated, ordered by prosecutor or judge by a reasoned decision, including to secure assets for confiscation; the Anti‑Mafia Law (Criminal Procedure Code, Articles 207–208 and 517 (sequestration during searches, scope of sequestration and sequestration of items that can be confiscated); Law No. 10192/2009,)
Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the confiscation, either wholly or in part, of instrumentalities and proceeds stemming from a criminal offence subject to a final conviction, which may also result from proceedings in absentia. (Conviction based confiscation) Yes. The Criminal Code provides that confiscation is mandatorily applied by the court and consists in taking and transferring to the state the objects that have served or were designated to serve for the commission of the criminal offence, (Criminal Code of the Republic of Albania, Article 36 (Confiscation of instrumentalities of the criminal offence and products of the criminal offence).)
Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the confiscation of property the value of which corresponds to instrumentalities or proceeds stemming from a criminal offence subject to a final conviction, which may also result from proceedings in absentia. (Confiscation of equivalent value) Yes. Article 36 expressly provides that, where the proceeds cannot be confiscated in kind, the court orders confiscation in the same amount and manner from other assets, including assets into which the proceeds have been transformed or with which they have been merged, thus allowing value‑based (Criminal Code, Article 36(4) (confiscation of other income or profits from the criminal offence proceeds, from assets transformed or merged with the proceeds, in the same amount and manner as the proceeds).)
Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the confiscation of proceeds, or other property the value of which corresponds to proceeds, which, directly or indirectly, were transferred by a suspected or accused person to third parties, or which were acquired by third parties from a suspected or accused person. (Third-party confiscation) Yes. Confiscation applies to transformed and intermingled assets, and the Criminal Procedure Code allows sequestration of proceeds and any other kind of property that can be confiscated; case‑law and doctrine confirm that confiscation can reach assets in the hands of third parties, (Criminal Code, Article 36(4) (assets transformed or merged with criminal offence proceeds); Criminal Procedure Code, Article 517(2) (sequestration against items and proceeds of the criminal offence and any other property permitted to be confiscated under Article 36).)
Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the confiscation, either wholly or in part, of property belonging to a person convicted of a criminal offence where the offence committed is liable to give rise, directly or indirectly, to economic benefit, and where a national court is satisfied that the property is derived from criminal conduct. (Extended confiscation) Yes. The Anti‑Mafia Law, as lex specialis, provides for enhanced confiscation targeting assets of persons with unjustified economic status arising from suspected criminal activities, particularly organised crime and corruption, (Law No. 10192 of 3 December 2009 “On prevention and fight against organised crime and trafficking through preventive measures against property”, especially Article 2 (purpose))
Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the confiscation of instrumentalities, proceeds or property, or proceeds or property transferred to third parties, where criminal proceedings have been initiated but could not be continued because of illness, absconding, or death of the accused or the limitation period of the offence is below 15 years and has expired. (Non-conviction based confiscation) Yes. The Anti‑Mafia Law establishes a preventive confiscation regime based on civil‑type proceedings, separate from criminal conviction, allowing seizure and confiscation of assets of illicit origin belonging to persons suspected of involvement in organised crime, trafficking, corruption and related offences, (Law No. 10192/2009,)
Confiscation without a prior conviction shall be limited to cases where, in the absence of the circumstances above, it would have been possible for the relevant criminal proceedings to lead to a criminal conviction for, at least, offences liable to give rise, directly or indirectly, to substantial economic benefit, and where the national court is satisfied that the instrumentalities, proceeds or property to be confiscated are derived from, or directly or indirectly linked to, the criminal offence in question. (Non-conviction based confiscation) Yes. Preventive confiscation under the Anti‑Mafia Law is applied by courts on the basis of evidence of unjustified wealth and links to organised crime, trafficking or corruption, in line with international standards on non‑conviction based confiscation; (Law No. 10192/2009, chapters on preventive measures and confiscation of assets derived from criminal activities,)
Member States shall take the necessary measures to enable the confiscation of property identified in the context of an investigation in relation to a criminal offence, provided that a national court is satisfied that the identified property is (i) derived from criminal conduct committed within the framework of a criminal organisation and (ii) that conduct is liable to give rise, directly or indirectly, to substantial economic benefit. A ‘criminal offence’ in this case is punishable by deprivation of liberty of a maximum of at least four years. (Confiscation of unexplained wealth) Yes. The Anti‑Mafia Law operates as an unexplained‑wealth confiscation regime: it allows confiscation of assets of persons linked to organised crime, trafficking or corruption when they have unjustified wealth not corresponding to lawful income, following a civil‑type (Law No. 10192/2009, provisions on confiscation of assets of persons with unjustified economic status arising from suspected criminal activities,)
Member States are legally required to adopt a national strategy on asset recovery and update it at regular intervals of no longer than five years. (Deadline of 24 May 2027) No. Albania has developed a comprehensive legislative framework and specialised institutions (SPAK, special courts) for asset recovery, but there is no explicit statutory national asset recovery strategy with a mandatory five‑year (No explicit national asset recovery strategy provision identified in the Criminal Code, Criminal Procedure Code or Anti‑Mafia Law.)

International cooperation

To facilitate cross-border cooperation, Member States shall legally require measures to enable the swift tracing and identification of instrumentalities and proceeds, or of property which is, or might become, the object of a freezing or confiscation order in the course of proceedings in criminal matters. Yes. The Criminal Procedure Code allows sequestration of items that can be confiscated and recognises foreign requests, and Albania participates in international cooperation under Council of Europe (Criminal Procedure Code, Articles 207–208 and 517 (sequestration of items that can be confiscated, including in relation to foreign proceedings); implementation of Council of Europe Convention CETS 198.)
Member States shall legally require the necessary measures to ensure that their asset recovery offices provide, upon request from an asset recovery office in another Member State, any information that those asset recovery offices have access to, and that is necessary for the performance of the tasks of the asset recovery office requesting that information No. Albania does not have a single ARO formally designated in law; information exchange on assets is carried out through mutual legal assistance, police and FIU channels and cooperation under the Anti‑Mafia Law, rather than through an ARO‑to‑ARO (Anti‑Mafia Law and MLA provisions in the Criminal Procedure Code (no formal ARO designation or specific ARO‑to‑ARO duties).)
Member States may legally allow for cost-sharing agreements with other Member States on the execution of freezing and confiscation orders. No. Albanian legislation on mutual legal assistance and confiscation does not contain an explicit statutory provision on cost‑sharing (No explicit cost‑sharing clause identified in the Criminal Procedure Code or Anti‑Mafia Law.)
Countries should be able to share confiscated property with other countries, in particular when confiscation is directly or indirectly a result of co-ordinated law enforcement actions Yes. Albania (Implementation of Council of Europe conventions on confiscation and Albanian)

Legislation

*Last update: 2017