The training was delivered within the framework of a UK-funded project aimed at strengthening public awareness and media oversight of anti–money laundering policies and practices in Albania.
It provided participants with a structured overview of the national legal and regulatory framework governing AML, as well as the roles, responsibilities, and coordination mechanisms of the key institutions involved in prevention, supervision, and enforcement. Particular attention was paid to how these frameworks operate in practice and to the systemic challenges that affect transparency, effective enforcement, and institutional accountability.
Participants also engaged in in-depth discussions on the practical difficulties journalists encounter when reporting on AML-related issues, including limited access to information, gaps and inconsistencies in available data, and the technical complexity of financial disclosures and institutional reporting.
The second part of the training was designed as a practical exercise, encouraging journalists to identify and pitch concrete story ideas, investigative angles, and potential television debate formats that local media outlets can develop in the coming months. These discussions aimed to translate complex AML topics into accessible public-interest journalism capable of informing audiences and strengthening public scrutiny.
The training forms part of BIRN Albania’s broader efforts to support public-interest journalism and enhance local media capacity on complex rule-of-law and governance issues.