The value of money circulating outside banks in the country rose to nearly ALL 390 billion in May, after a slight decline in April. This is among the highest ever recorded levels of cash circulating in the Albanian economy.
"Money that flows outside the banking system is part of the informal economy and, together with it, there is money from criminal activities that are taking place inside or outside our country," Zef Preci, economic expert, told A2CNN.
Compared to May a year ago, the value of money outside the banking system has expanded by nearly ALL 5.3 billion or 1.4 percent.
"This is a legacy problem that requires a lot of work and willingness to be resolved. It has to happen step by step."
In relation to the total money circulated in the Albanian economy, which is estimated at 1.67 lek, informal money accounts for more than 23 percent of the total.
To understand the high amount of money outside banks, suffice to say that in the European Union countries this indicator does not exceed 9 percent.
"Somewhere because of the incompetence of the administration and elsewhere allowing money to be entered by criminal activities has led to us having such a high level of money outside the banking system today."
Economic experts estimate that such a large circulation of money outside banks is the main cause of the devaluation of the euro and other cages.