Money laundering drives up real estate prices in Western Balkan cities.

The real estate and construction sectors are being used to launder illicit money from drug trafficking and migration schemes in the Western Balkans, driving up real estate prices, according to a report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.

Laundering money through construction and real estate companies "is popular because it remains relatively easy and can absorb large amounts of capital," according to the report Spot Prices: analyzing the flow of people, drugs and money in the Western Balkans. "Real estate can be a place for significant capital accumulation, its potential growth in value, and an improvement in the quality of life for criminals," the' noted 'money laundering in the region, which has seen a significant rise in real estate prices in recent years. In Albania, according to the report, prices have risen sharply both in the capital Tirana, which has experienced a construction boom and a jump in real estate prices, and in the coastal city of Vlora, where prices have also soared. While Albania's overall economy, especially the tourism sector, has been hit by the pandemic, real estate activity is up 5.5% in 2020.

In Montenegro, it is estimated that the Kavac and Skalari clans own real estate with an estimated value of 27 million euros. Bosnia's real estate market, especially in Sarajevo, attracts not only local criminal elements, but also internationally active drug smuggling groups and Arab investors...