Over 1 million lek will not be exchanged at currency exchange points - BoA changes regulation to prevent money laundering
Citizens cannot exchange more than 1 million lek at currency exchange points. The Bank of Albania has decided to make some changes to the regulation on the licensing, organization, operation and supervision of currency exchange offices, adding criteria for licensing such offices, fines that apply in case of violation of the legal and regulatory framework, or limiting the amount of money that citizens can exchange.
The Bank of Albania emphasizes that foreign exchange offices may not carry out transactions in physical money (cash) exceeding an amount of 1,000,000 (one million) lekë or its equivalent in other foreign currencies, carried out in a single transaction or in several transactions related to each other. Transactions exceeding the amount of 1 million lekë or its equivalent in other foreign currencies must be carried out through bank accounts or payment accounts.
The imposition of such restrictions is done to prevent money laundering or other illegal activities.
On the other hand, the Central Bank has added as a criterion for licensing foreign exchange offices the suitability, good reputation and integrity of the shareholder/partner, beneficial owner and administrator of the entity at the time of licensing. Therefore, it must respect the legal and regulatory framework in force, including those related to the prevention of money laundering and the financing of terrorism, must not have a criminal record, have financial stability, must not be subject to investigations or sanctions for non-compliance with the applicable legal and regulatory framework, and others. If this criterion is not met, the Bank will reject the licensing request.
Foreign exchange offices do not hold cash on a daily basis in excess of the minimum initial capital. The minimum initial capital required to be licensed by the Bank to conduct foreign exchange activities was previously 2,500,000 lek, while it is now 5,000,000 lek.
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