Overview: Albania continued to be a strong supporter of counterterrorism efforts in 2014 and joined the Global Coalition to Counter the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. In August and December, Albania donated a sizeable amount of weapons and ammunition for Peshmerga forces in northern Iraq. Albania is a source country of foreign terrorist fighters going to Syria and Iraq.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: Albania criminalizes terrorist acts; financing of terrorism; collection, transfer and concealment of funds that finance terrorism; conducting transactions with persons in the UN list; recruiting and training people to commit terrorist actions; incitement of terrorist actions; and establishing, leading, and participating in terrorist organizations.

In 2014, Parliament added three statutes to Albania's Criminal Code aimed primarily at strengthening the government's ability to address the problem of Albanian nationals who travel to fight in the conflict in Syria. The changes made it illegal to (1) participate in; (2) organize the participation of; or (3) call for participation in military action in a foreign country. Specifically, these statutes punish participation in "military or paramilitary organizations in an armed conflict taking place in the territory of a foreign country," unless a person is a citizen of the foreign country, a member of the armed forces of one of the parties in the conflict, or a member of an official military mission of another country or an international military organization. The statutes also cover recruiting, training, equipping, or providing funds or other material support for people participating in these military actions. Those people guilty under these statutes are subject to maximum penalties of between three years (calling for participation) and 15 years (organizing the participation) in prison. These laws came into effect on September 3.

While Albanian law enforcement actively detects and deters illicit activities related to drugs and smuggling, it has not taken an equally aggressive approach to countering potential terrorist threats. With concern about terrorism increasing in connection with foreign terrorist fighters, however, the Albanian State Police announced plans in October 2014 to expand substantially its counterterrorism unit. A significant effort will likely be needed to equip and train the unit sufficiently to achieve the necessary level of capacity to counter terrorism effectively.

Albania does not have the capacity to collect biometric data other than that contained on biometric identity cards and passports presented at border crossing points. The Department of Justice's International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP), funded by the Department of State, provided a new information technology module to the Albanian government which gives it the capacity to incorporate online fingerprint identification functions, and is in the process of providing fingerprint scanning equipment to equip all 26 border crossing points. The border control module will allow Albanians to collect entry and exit information of international travelers.

The Customs agency has improved its performance at ports of entry and has strengthened its relationship with the Border Police.

In March, Albanian State Police acted against an alleged Syria fighter recruitment ring, resulting in the arrest of nine people for "Inciting Acts of Terrorism." Two of the arrestees were imams at mosques on the outskirts of Tirana that allegedly promote violent extremism. As of December 31, 2014, the investigation was ongoing.

Corruption, combined with a poorly functioning judicial system, continued to hinder Albania's law enforcement efforts.

Countering the Financing of Terrorism: The Albanian financial intelligence unit (FIU) is a member of the Egmont Group. Albania is also a member of the Council of Europe Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL), a Financial Action Task Force (FATF)-style regional body.

Albania has adopted measures against persons and organizations listed by the UN as financers of terrorism, and it has established a preventive anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) system that includes extended due diligence and the obligation to file suspicious transaction reports and currency transaction reports.

The FATF currently lists Albania on its list of High Risk and Non-Cooperative Jurisdictions. Since June 2012, Albania has been working with FATF and MONEYVAL to address the identified weaknesses in AML/CFT. In 2013, Albania adopted a new law against financing terrorism to comply with the FATF and MONEYVAL Recommendations and has focused on its implementation in 2014, resulting in the confiscation of approximately 10 million euros (approximately US $11,189,000), a large increase from the 213,000 euros (approximately US $241,712) confiscated in 2013.

For further information on money laundering and financial crimes, see the 2014 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), Volume 2, Money Laundering and Financial Crimes: http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/index.htm.

Regional and International Cooperation: Albania is a member of the UN, OSCE, NATO, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The Albanian government participated in the Foreign Terrorist Fighters roundtable for Balkan countries hosted by the State Department on the margins of the UNGA.

Countering Radicalization to Violence and Violent Extremism: The Government of Albania provides financial support to the Albanian Islamic Community (AIC), the official administrative body of the Albanian Sunni Muslim community, and actively engages it to discuss radicalization to violence and terrorist recruitment.

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