TIRANA — Mounting evidence suggests that sanctioned Russian interests may be exploiting weak oversight in Albania to skirt Western trade restrictions, raising serious concerns among European and NATO allies.
Through a mix of negligence, corruption and opaque corporate structures, companies operating within Albania’s critical infrastructure sectors appear to have enabled transactions that violate international sanctions on Russia and Iran.
A recent investigation by RBC Ukraine found that banned Russian fuel was being smuggled into Europe through Albanian ports. According to the report, two vessels docking at Porto Romano near Durrës in January falsely declared their cargo as cement but were, in fact, carrying roughly 600,000 litres of undeclared diesel. The oil may have originated in Russia and Libya, funneled through a network of intermediaries linked to armed groups and offshore firms, as detailed by Balkan Insight.
Around the same period, another case of infiltration emerged in a different sector. Reports indicate that a Swiss-based company — whose ultimate shareholders are Turkish-Iranian nationals previously sanctioned by U.S. authorities — entered Albania’s market through Algeria. The group allegedly maintains ties to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to findings first reported by a Hashtag.al investigation.
Further scrutiny has fallen on Vlora International Airport, a strategic project billed as a symbol of Albania’s modernization. Local journalists have revealed that the airport’s operating company is partnered with an offshore entity named Compartment Bernina, registered in Luxembourg under securitisation law. Investigators at Vox News Albania found that Bernina is connected to figures with known ties to Russian state-linked networks and structured in a way that could shift ownership beyond Albania’s jurisdiction if liquidated.
The opacity surrounding these arrangements — and the potential flow of Russian capital into Albanian infrastructure — has deepened doubts about the country’s alignment with Euro-Atlantic partners. Analysts at The GPC warn that despite Albania’s NATO membership, its weak institutional safeguards leave critical assets vulnerable to exploitation by sanctioned actors.
Whether through deliberate collusion or systemic neglect, Albania now stands as one of the most troubling loopholes in the global sanctions framework. Unless transparency and enforcement improve, the breach could widen — undermining Europe’s efforts to contain Russian influence across the region.
