Tabaku: Corruption, money laundering and lack of transparency are becoming a threat to national security

Democratic Party MP Jorida Tabaku took part today in the international conference organized by the International Republican Institute (IRI) on the theme “Countering Authoritarian Influence,” attended by politicians, security experts and representatives from countries across the region.

In her remarks, Tabaku focused on the ways democracies can strengthen their resilience against authoritarianism and foreign interference, pointing out that the source of the problem lies not only beyond the country’s borders, but also in the state’s internal weaknesses.

“External actors are not the only problem. Foreign interference works only where institutions are weak, where corruption is tolerated, where transparency is lacking and where citizens lose trust in the state,” Tabaku said.

She argued that in Albania and the Western Balkans, corruption, money laundering, organized crime and state capture can no longer be viewed simply as issues of good governance, as in her view they now constitute direct risks to national security.

Tabaku also stressed that open economies must not remain unprotected.

“Economic security is national security. Energy security is national security. Technological security is national security. The same goes for financial transparency,” she said, underlining the need for democracies to build mechanisms to avoid the creation of strategic dependencies.

In this context, the MP presented two of the initiatives she has supported during her work in parliament.

The first, she said, concerns the establishment of a modern framework for screening strategic foreign investments (FDI Screening), which would enable Albania to verify investments in critical sectors such as infrastructure, energy, telecommunications, ports, data and strategic technologies.

She explained that this mechanism is not intended to curb investment, but to ensure that economic openness does not turn into a strategic vulnerability.

Tabaku also highlighted the importance of her proposed package against corruption and money laundering, which envisages greater transparency over the beneficial ownership of companies, stronger oversight of large financial transactions, transparency in public procurement and measures to prevent illegal capital from entering strategic sectors of the economy.

An important part of her speech was also devoted to the role technology plays in the global geopolitical race. According to Tabaku, artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, data and advanced technologies are now part of national power, and Albania should therefore invest in building institutions that attract reliable investment and encourage innovation.

In closing her remarks, Tabaku called on international partners to assess the countries of the region on the basis of the concrete implementation of reforms rather than promises, while urging Western Balkan lawmakers to treat the fight against money laundering, beneficial ownership transparency and the screening of strategic investments as tools to protect their countries’ sovereignty.

“Foreign interference is drawn to weakness. The strongest response a democracy can give is to build resilience through transparency, the rule of law, accountability and citizens’ trust in institutions,” Tabaku concluded.