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| Yuri Kim with Ilirjan Celibashi and representatives of political parties in Albania |
U.S. Ambassador Yuri Kim met with Central Election Commission Chair Ilirjan Celibashi and representatives of political parties today to discuss the serious threat of Russian covert political financing and the threat it poses to democracy and anti-corruption efforts. The threat of Russian covert political financing underscores the importance of increasing transparency in campaign finance, foreign agent registration, and measures to identify and prevent money laundering. The United States will continue to work with partners throughout Albania’s democratic institutions to protect against these threats.
Russia has financed the Albanian Democratic Party with at least 500,000 euros during the last elections, the BBC reports, based on CIA data. Meanwhile, it is not known whether Russia has financed other Albanian parties.