Albania to be asked to return frozen properties to Saudi

TIRANA, Sep 9 – Albanian authorities may be soon required to release the property and bank accounts of a Saudi man, following a verdict by the European Court.
Albanian authorities froze some thousands of square meters and $3 million dollars belonging to Kadi, who left Albania several years ago and is listed on a U.N. sanctions list requiring all U.N. members to enforce a travel ban on him and block his assets. The European Union and the United States have also frozen his assets.
According to the court ruling, the U.N. has three months to prove why Kadi should remain on the list.
Albania has also blocked the bank accounts, investments and other assets of other Arab citizens living and working in Albania and Islamic civic organizations, accused by the United Nations, of funding terrorist activities. The government has also passed laws allowing it to seize assets believed to be linked to terror financing.
Kadi went into hiding just before Albanian authorities, including police, began investigating him.
The decision to freeze his real estate holdings, along with Kadi’s bank accounts, followed an investigation that was launched after the Finance Ministry said his Arab company was involved in money laundering.
Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, Albania has strengthened legislation to fight terrorism, screened all foreigners in the country, toughened border controls and reviewed the financial assets of Arab residents suspected of having ties with al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden’s organization.
Then-finance minister, Arben Malaj, said in December 2004 that “the Albanian government complied with some obligations of international law.”