"They are also used to launder money" - For every 400 Albanians there is a non-profit organization, almost 6 thousand in total

For every 400 Albanians there is now one non-profit organization, mostly associations, followed by foundations and centers.

With the main goal of protecting the rights of individuals, the "business" of NGOs has taken off like never before. In total, there are 5,761 of them in the country.

"There are actually many active NGOs, meaning those that really have an impact on daily life, that can be counted on the fingers of one hand and do not exceed a double-digit number," said economics expert Pano Soko.

Data shows that in the last five years alone, 804 new non-profit organizations have been created. In almost 6,000 non-profit organizations, a little more than 9,000 individuals work. Although increasing, this number indicates a close relationship between registered entities and contributing individuals.

"It has been a good business for Albania. The NGO has been seen...the fact that Albania came from communism and had a period of transition, this aimed to increase the absorptive capacity of society so that we could reach the level of civilization of other countries," Soko continued.

Due to their legal status, non-profit organizations in the country are rarely inspected. Last year, the tax administration conducted only 13 inspections of these entities. In 2019, Moneyval raised concerns that non-profit organizations posed a high risk of money laundering.

SPAK says it has uncovered a similar corrupt scheme, created between companies and non-profit organizations of the wife of arrested mayor Erion Veliaj and a group of businessmen close to him, with a transaction value of more than 1 million euros.

"This is a fact. NGOs have been used to launder money by exploiting the attributes that come as a result of funds of unknown origin," said Soko.

Data from the Institute of Statistics shows that the majority of NGOs in the country, over 62 percent, are concentrated in the capital, followed by Shkodra, Durrës, Elbasan and Fier. Their number is expected to shrink further following the suspension and termination of funds from the United States of America and Switzerland. (A2 Televizion)