Albania and Britain sign the first agreement in the region on the division of criminal assets
Albania and the United Kingdom have signed the first agreement of its kind in the Western Balkans on the sharing of assets recovered from organized crime, strengthening cooperation between the two countries in the fight against criminal finance.
The agreement relates to a criminal case concluded in England and Wales, which concerned the supply of cannabis to organised crime groups. Following cooperation between British and Albanian authorities, the proceeds of the criminal activity were identified and recovered in Albania.
Under the agreement, 54 thousand pounds of recovered real estate will be divided equally between the British government and the Seized and Confiscated Assets Management Agency (SAMA).
The agreement was finalized and officially signed in the United Kingdom on August 6, 2026, following a ceremony held in Tirana on July 13, attended by the British Ambassador to Albania, Nicholas Abbott, and the Director of AAPSK, Risena Xhaja.
This new mechanism aims to ensure that assets gained from criminal activities do not remain in the hands of criminal groups, but can be reinvested for social purposes in both countries.
Cooperation between Albania and the United Kingdom has expanded in recent years, including in the fight against money laundering and the use of cryptocurrencies by criminal networks.
According to publicly available data, in the first half of 2025 alone, the value of seized and confiscated assets in Albania exceeded 58 million euros, with more than 1,000 cases of seizure and confiscation of real estate.
Authorities in both countries consider the agreement another step in cracking down on the financial model of organized crime and ensuring that crime does not go unrewarded.
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