The UK ambassador to Tirana, Alastair King-Smith, stated on an Albanian broadcast that there will be a new wave of sanctions, a step that comes shortly after the declaration of former Prime Minister Sali Berisha as "persona non grata".
He said that the purpose of these sanctions is not only individuals, but the accountability of those involved in corruption and money laundering.
“There is nothing personal here about how I and the rest of us act. The British government follows a principled approach, so we have our policies and we implement them appropriately, in accordance with our laws, the rule of law in the UK and beyond. On the elections, and this relates to the previous elections and the upcoming elections, in a democratic system, usually after a significant electoral defeat, leaders analyse what the implications are, what the citizens are telling them and political parties need to think about what the implications are for them, so that there is a renewal of democracy after these elections. So we will promote ways of renewing democracy in Albania that can be really successful for the future.
As I said before, we want to see a strong and effective opposition that holds the government to account and that can be a credible alternative to governing in the future. In terms of sanctions and action to be taken against those we believe are involved in criminal activity and corruption, we are again taking a balanced approach. This is not targeting any one individual, as Lord Peach made clear when he announced the first wave of sanctions, back in July last year, it was against a range of individuals. As you know, in terms of restrictions on entry into the UK, as in this case, we do not name names. But, as I said before, there will be further waves of sanctions on those involved in criminal activity and corruption,” the ambassador stressed.
The UK diplomat said that the second wave of sanctions could begin next week and based on that, the names will be made public.
“There will be other waves of sanctions and you have to look at it as a whole. My prediction, as I have expressed publicly in the past, is that this year we will see further sanctions, the second wave could come in the coming weeks. That will be decided by London and there is a possibility that they will be public sanctions, so not just bans from entering the UK, where names are not made public. So it is done in the category of Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions,
"Those names will be made public and there will also be a travel ban, a ban on entering the UK and the seizure of any assets they have in the UK. As I said, those decisions have not been made yet, because they are being made by the leaders of the British government, so we have to see what happens in the coming weeks," he said.
