Bank of Albania Revokes 83 Currency Exchange Licenses for Violations and Evasion

A series of in-depth inspections by the Bank of Albania has led to the revocation of 83 licenses for currency exchange points during the year 2025. This action came after the finding of a series of violations, including evasion in money circulation.

According to the Annual Supervision Report for 2025, controls were intensified due to the nature of this activity, which operates with large amounts of physical cash and has direct contact with the public. As a result, administrative fines were imposed on 201 offices, one was given a warning, and 83 entities had their right to exercise the activity revoked.

In the same period, the supervisory authority also licensed 33 new points, bringing the net decrease to 50 entities, or about 8% less than at the end of 2024. This is the first significant contraction after nearly a decade of uninterrupted growth, during which the number of offices had increased from 397 in 2015 to a peak of 642 entities in 2024, before falling to 592 at the end of 2025.

The main shortcomings identified during the inspections relate to the full implementation of due diligence and enhanced vigilance measures towards customers. In some cases, the entities did not have centralized systems for collecting and analyzing information, while the documentation of checks against sanctions lists presented significant weaknesses.

Also, the report highlights serious problems in record-keeping and in the process of analyzing the sources of funds, compromising efforts to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.