Proceeds of crime are becoming a real threat for society

This article has been written for Albanian Free Press newspaper and www.afp.al

The arrival of FBI experts to Tirana during the month of November, something which was announced by Prime Minister Rama during the parliamentary session, showed that we now have a real chance on fighting crime, money laundering and massive corruption. This is also a chance to establish order in a country which is still stuck in transition, where there is no legal stability, because laws change according to the interests of the majorities which are formed after the elections. This seems to be the only hope, because the monitoring that will come from foreign experts may force the law to act on everyone. We may no longer see society be divided into two categories, as it’s been the case so far: between the untouchables and common people.

Our most senior officials seem to admit that they are still powerless to carry out this transformation by themselves. Minister Xhafaj says that a part of police has collaborated with crime and traffic and for this, he promises drastic changes. For the remaining part, the minister suggests that they should not apply two standards: lenient standards against traffickers and severe standards against common people. To complete the picture of criminality in the country, the head of the Parliamentary Committee on Security, Ermonela Felaj, offers a shocking figure. “The Financial Intelligence Unit has done a very good job in terms of seizing assets generated from the proceeds of crime. This institution has seized 60 million euros worth of assets”. 60 million euros in four years, generated from criminal activities, financing of terrorism and corruption. This is the largest amount ever seized throughout the years, but it seems that something is not right. In any other case, this would be considered as a big success and an indicator of the fight against the criminalization of the economy without showing any tolerance. The fact that this is not being trumpeted, shows that this is only a small portion and that perhaps, the arrival of foreign experts who will support the fight against crime and corruption, may reveal even more shocking figures concerning money that is being circulated by crime and corrupt officials. The Financial Intelligence Unity may have done a very good job during this period, but this may precede what will be revealed later on as part of the Vetting process and the establishment of the Bureau of Investigation, because the media has just recently reported about a former head of the Financial Intelligence Unit who owned a 11 thousand square meter property in Dhermi.

Although former minister Felaj said that judges and prosecutors have also been involved in these shady transactions and that the evidence has been sent to the Prosecution of Serious Crimes and police, the issue is deeper than this, because the report also reveals terrorist funding transactions and this should be a cause for concern.

Money seized from criminal activities has nothing to do with common people and street crime. They are money which has been invested in different sectors of the economy and with the new laws in place, they could be vested with the status of strategic investor for the construction of tourist resorts if they submit a project amounting to 5 million euros. And this is the reason why common people want to leave the country. Crime and criminalized economies are in their own haven and have no reason to leave the country. This country is now being bought with crime money, crime in the sense of traffickers and crime in the sense of corrupted officials, because in both cases, they account for a serious violation of the law and disrupt the normal functioning of a state. And for this, we just need to follow news bulletins, where people who have been declared wanted and who have been convicted in European countries, are considered as powerful businessmen by the Albanian media. If the situation continues to escalate in this manner, we, as a state and society may sink into a pit from which we will never be able to come out again.

Note: The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Albanian Free Press’ editorial policy