Country
Albania
Year
2022
Issuing Entity
US
Type
Individual
Institution
US Department of Treasury
Executive Order
E.O. 14033
Grounds
Corruption
Additional information
Aqif Rakipi (Rakipi) is a notorious former Member of Parliament from Elbasan, Albania, who has a damaging and destabilizing influence on political processes in Albania. Multiple organized crime groups (OCGs) in Albania have offered money, gifts, or promises for jobs or concessions in return for votes for their preferred political party. Rakipi has long been involved in organized crime and is closely associated with one OCG, within which he exerted political influence, including through corruption. For example, Rakipi has utilized his political influence to nominate his cronies to key public positions in Elbasan and Tirana. Rakipi lost his mandate as a member of Albania’s parliament after prosecutors confirmed his role in criminal activity under an alias. He was designated pursuant to E.O. 14033 for being responsible for or complicit in, or for having directly or indirectly engaged in, corruption related to the Western Balkans, including corruption by, on behalf of, or otherwise related to a government in the Western Balkans, or a current or former government official at any level of government in the Western Balkans, such as the misappropriation of public assets, expropriation of private assets for personal gain or political purposes, or bribery.
