The Anglo Adriatic Investment Fund SA was an investment fund set up to hold privatisation vouchers issued by the government of post-Communist Albania. It was unsuccessful in its attempts to reinvest them and collapsed.
Structure The Anglo Adriatic Investment Fund SADetails for ANGLO ADRIATIC INVESTMENT FUND SA at ICPCredit.com (AAIF) was established by Irish entrepreneur Declan Ganley. AAIF was the first foreign-managed investment fund in Albania, provisionally licensed on 13 April 1996"Albania 1999 Country Profile" Business Forum Report, London 17–20 April 1999, from Southeast Europe Online and definitively licensed on 22 May 1996."MASS PRIVATISATION PROCESS AND POST PRIVATISATION IN ALBANIA" by FATMIR MEMA, University of Tirana, Faculty of Economics, Albania and NEVRUZ KOÇI Albanian State Insurance Company (INSIG), Albania, a paper given in the 1–3 June 2001 SEED Conference "Restructuring, Stability and Development in Southeastern Europe." AAIF collected privatisation vouchers"On the mysterious trail of 'Mr No'", Irish Times, 31 May 2008 that the government of post-communist Albania was giving to Albanians, and it used the nominal value of those vouchers for investment in areas such as fertilizer, breweries,"THE ECONOMIC DESTRUCTION OF ALBANIA" by Michel Chossudovsky, Ottawa, 1997 via www.blythe.org cement and pharmaceuticals. The Albanians who deposited their vouchers with AAIF received shares in the fund in return.
Early success At one point the fund had 450,000 shareholders and vouchers with a nominal value of more than $120 million.
Collapse But AAIF had collected too many vouchers: it had 12% of all the vouchers and privatisation leks combined, more than the 10% maximum prescribed by law.Law No. 7979, entitled "On Investment Funds", dated 26.07.95, see for source Following a lengthy period of negotiation and accusation between AAIF and the Albanian government, AAIF was left unable to continue with the privatisation. Even worse, the market value of the vouchers had dropped during the collapse of the Albanian economy from 25.6% of their nominal value in January 1996 to 1.7% in October 1998. AAIF was bankrupt.
Funding AAIF was officially funded by Ganley International,"Irish anti-EU party to set up in Austria for June elections" Austrian Times, 19 February 2009 with a 10% stake taken by the US-based Rothschild Emerging Markets Fund. Der Spiegel stated"Wie ein Milliardär Europa aufschrecktv", Spiegel Online, 28 September 2008, English translation here that AAIF's UK office (128 Mount Street, London, W1Y 5HA"Company Profile - Anglo-Adriatic Investment Fund" , entry on PSEPS venture capital and private equity directory ) shared an address with the European branch of US investment fund Paladin Capital, and also stated that Paladin Capital's advisory board was chaired by former CIA director James Woolsey. Ganley denies any involvement with the CIA."Facts not politics, learn the truth about Libertas " , Libertas press office, undated
See also 1997 rebellion in Albania Declan Ganley
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