[4] Since the beginning of its presence in Albania, Bankers has allegedly made profits of €4 billion [5] and paid around $900 million in royalties and duties.

[7] In January 2016, the Energy Ministry announced Albania's intention to renegotiate its contracts with all oil companies with a view to reducing the margin of tax-free spending.

[9] Upon receiving approval from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) in October 2016, the Chinese company proceeded to acquire all of Bankers' issued and outstanding common shares through its subsidiaries for approximately $575 million.

[10] In accordance with the terms of the contract signed with the Albanian state, the company has been granted the right to refrain from paying income tax until such time as its profits have amortized its investments.

This was due to concerns that the product, which had been declared as raw material, was being sold on the market, resulting in a significant tax evasion scheme.

The company told the international news organization Reuters that had “Bankers has never violated free market and competition rules and moreover has abused with any ‘dominant’ position.”[19] According to Reuters, Bankers was reacting to a six-month investigation launched by the Competition Authority into its business from Jan. 1, 2016 to October 2019 to see whether it had abused its dominant position complaints to the regulator from a local refiner.