IDM organized on April 13 the first multi-stakeholder forum on anti-money laundering. The forum brought together representatives of civil society, investigative media, academia, private sector associations, public institutions, policy makers and international partners to discuss the common challenges of the fight against money laundering in Albania. The forum aimed to contribute to the greater role, visibility and influence of non-state actors in money laundering prevention policies.
Mr. Sotiraq Hroni, who delivered the opening speech, moderated the initial panel. Mrs. Adea Pirdeni, Deputy Minister of Justice, Mr. Benjamin Rockwell, representative of the US Embassy in Tirana and Mr. Aurélien Juliard, representative of the Delegation of the European Union to Albania, also addressed the participants with their speeches.
The panel discussion, moderated by Mr. Gjergji Vurmo, provided the views of various actors on the challenges and priorities regarding the prevention of money laundering and the role of civil society, academia and the media in efforts to improve the regime. Mrs. Ardita Shehaj, advisor at GIZ Albania, elaborated on the essential importance of involving civil society in anti-money laundering policies. Mr. Fabian Zhilla, researcher at GI-TOC, addressed the potential of academia to foster research, while Ms. Kristina Voko, Executive Director of BIRN Albania, spoke on the difficulties of journalism in investigating money laundering cases.
The multi-stakeholder forum was held in the framework of the program “Supporting the Fight against Money Laundering in Albania”, implemented by the Institute for Democracy and Mediation in cooperation with the American Bar Association, with the support of the US Department of State.
For more on this topic, read the report Download: Event summary AML forum.
