BANK OF ALBANIA
Statement by the Bank of Albania

Subsequent to some special meetings of its Supervisory Council and several other measures, the Bank of Albania would like to inform the public on the following:

After the conclusions of working groups established upon an order of the Administrator for identifying irregularities in the functioning of the Cash Operations Unit and Cash Stock Unit of the Issue Department; a working group for determining whether state secret information has been leaked; and commissions for the inventory of monetary values at the Bank of Albania; Bank of Albania's management has taken further measures to ensure the normal activity of the Issue Department and Security and Protection Department.

The Bank of Albania continues its close cooperation with the Tirana District Prosecution Office for identifying any breach of legal acts and bylaws that have created favourable circumstances for the misappropriation of monetary values by former employees of the Bank of Albania. The Bank of Albania is determined to hold liable all employees, who, either with their action or omission, have allowed for this serious breach to happen. After the dismissal of the Head of the Issue Department, Mr. Dorian Çollaku, on 01.08.2014, Mr. Stefan Sevo, an experienced employee of the Bank of Albania, was appointed as his replacement.

The Head of the Cash Operations, Cash Stock and all the other employees of these units, in charge of the monetary values, as well as the supervisory controller were discharged on 31.07.2014 and replaced.

After replacements in the entire management structure of the Issue Department, business operations continue normally in this Department to provide the interbank market with the necessary supply of cash, and to facilitate services in bank counters.

In the Security and Protection Department, two monitoring operators have been replaced. They had been found to have severely breached regulatory obligations for safekeeping and administering monetary and material items. Mr. Ilir Mollaymeri has been appointed as the new Head of the Security and Protection Department. This Department continues to guarantee the physical security of all Bank of Albania premises, in close cooperation with the Department of the State Police responsible for guarding designated premises.

After the conclusion of the inventory process, appointment of directors and other employees in charge of monetary values, who have already assumed office, the normal activity of issue and security and protection functions at the Bank of Albania has been guaranteed. Work continues on taking measures for identifying and improving any practice or standard as regards accomplishing such functions. 

The Supervisory Council of the Bank of Albania is constantly examining the implementation of the plan of measures, proposed by the administrators of the bank and approved by it, for a normal continuation of the legal and constitutional activity of the Bank of Albania.

The Bank of Albania continues to keep all domestic financial institutions and international partners informed on the progress of implementation of the plan of measures, for guaranteeing the safeguarding of macroeconomic stability and assurance of depositors in the Albanian banking system.