Selim Ibraimi- Combating money laundering has been a major challenge in recent years. In the digital age, apprehending the perpetrators has become even more difficult. While tracking financial flows can be increasingly complex, regions such as the Balkans, Western Europe, and Latin America have been areas where money laundering is easily carried out.
There have been instances where authorities failed to apprehend those involved in money laundering. The EU has now established a “central” authority to improve operational efficiency and ensure timely action. An authority dedicated to addressing these issues has been established within the EU, the bloc that North Macedonia and other Western Balkan states are striving to join.
The institution is named the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Authority (AMLA). AMLA is a EU agency responsible for coordinating national agencies tasked with enforcing relevant laws and regulations.
AMLA has taken significant steps to combat corruption both within and outside the EU by coordinating with agencies in candidate countries that are not yet EU members. “The measures focus on strengthening supervision and cooperation among Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) to establish a more effective anti-corruption framework,” states the AMLA work framework.
“AMLA’s 2025 Work Program aimed to create a unified anti-money laundering framework across Europe.” To ensure success, the authority has expanded cooperation with other partner organizations combating digital money laundering, exchanging information through the financial intelligence units of partner nations and entities collaborating with AMLA.
As an authority, the aforementioned agency employs a range of methods to identify perpetrators and detect suspicious activities related to money laundering and organized crime. These methods include joint analyses with partner nations, addressing specific operations, tracking illicit financial flows, and more.
It is worth noting that AMLA currently represents a genuine and positive model for candidate countries in the Western Balkans. The authority’s new regulation has now become a requirement for governments in the region as they work to meet EU standards. Cooperation between AMLA and Balkan states primarily concerns the alignment of laws and regulations as part of the EU accession process, specifically regarding Chapters 23 and 24.
Just as across the EU, authorities in our region, specifically in North Macedonia, have tightened regulations not only regarding banknote security but have also significantly expanded monitoring to cover crypto assets, high-value transactions, real estate dealings, ownership data, and more.
In this long-term effort, substantial assistance has been provided by the EU through the “Horizontal Facility” program, which has helped strengthen the institutional capacities and financial intelligence units of the region. With the support of external experts, North Macedonia has finalized its “National Strategy and Action Plan against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing.”
According to official announcements, this plan aligns North Macedonia’s financial monitoring protocols with the expectations set by AMLA and global supervisors, such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Meanwhile, the Financial Intelligence Office (FIO) and the Financial Police of North Macedonia have timely frozen assets worth millions of euros originating from corruption and other illicit sources.
As is the case in North Macedonia and across the region, corruption within courts and judicial bodies has hindered the proper resolution of cases. Balkan states must continue their efforts to combat money laundering, with a particular focus on meeting EU requirements.
Significant sums of money have been seized from individuals and organizations at border crossings and airports throughout the Balkans, including from those wanted by law enforcement and others attempting to evade regulations by failing to declare funds as required by law.
As detailed by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, this layout turns $3.4 billion to $6.9 billion in annual drug profits from the Balkan route into clean capital. The Balkan region lost over $111.6 billion in illicit financial outflows over a single decade, alongside massive asset seizures such as €50 million confiscated in Albania in 2024.
As the world becomes increasingly digitized, with artificial intelligence playing a pivotal role, activities are likely to shift toward a broader scope of money laundering and financial crime. In this arena, artificial intelligence and the human element will engage in numerous battles to prevent money laundering, illicit financial transfers, and related activities. As for AMLA, its headquarters is located in Frankfurt, Germany. The President of AMLA is Bruna Szego, a role she assumed in January 2025.
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