Operation "Courier": Chinese nationals laundered money, took 15 million euros out of BiH

At the order of the prosecutor from the Special Department for Organized Crime, Economic Crime and Corruption of the Prosecutor's Office of BiH, police officers of SIPA and the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH conducted an operation codenamed „Courier“, reports the Patria news agency.  

In this case, a detailed investigation established that Chinese nationals doing business in BiH, along with related companies and legal entities, over an extended period of time, smuggled and took out of BiH large amounts of cash (totaling at least 15 million euros), which was not transferred through payment transactions and bank transfers, but was physically smuggled from BiH to the territory of the Republic of Croatia and further abroad.

Given that the money was neither declared nor legally transferred from BiH, this constituted the criminal offense of money laundering in connection with the criminal offense of tax evasion or fraud.

This is the first major operation in the fight against this type of illegality in BiH, and the Prosecutor's Office of BiH, together with partner agencies, will continue the fight against this form of illegality and damage to the budget and payment system of BiH in the coming period.

The investigation, which has been ongoing for an extended period, was conducted in cooperation with investigators from USKOK of the Republic of Croatia, and at least 10 natural and legal persons are under investigation in BiH, some of whom are citizens of BiH and some are citizens of the People's Republic of China, along with related companies and legal entities.

As part of the investigation, investigators and prosecutors of the Prosecutor's Office of BiH held meetings with colleagues from USKOK, where the activities of the operation were planned in detail.

During the operation, searches are being conducted at several locations in the northern part of BiH, and several persons have been apprehended, who will be operationally processed by SIPA and the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH, and the Prosecutor's Office of BiH, after which a decision on further activities will be made, the Prosecutor's Office of BiH announced.