BiH Faces MONEYVAL Assessment Challenges: Conference on Trade and Investment Protection, State Department Representatives Arrive

(Patria) - The Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in cooperation with the International Governance and Risk Institute (GovRisk) and the American Chamber of Commerce in BiH (AmCham), is organizing a high-level conference today dedicated to strengthening Bosnia and Herzegovina's resilience to financial crime and protecting the environment for trade and investment. The conference "From Risk to Resilience: Protecting Trade and Investment in BiH" will be held in the building of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Trg BiH 1).

The event will bring together high-level representatives of government institutions, the private sector, and international partners with the aim of identifying practical and coordinated measures in response to Bosnia and Herzegovina's MONEYVAL assessment. MONEYVAL, a Council of Europe mechanism, evaluates national systems for preventing money laundering and terrorist financing. The decision on whether Bosnia and Herzegovina will be placed on the FATF grey list is expected at the FATF plenary session in June 2026. Placing a country on the FATF grey list signals the existence of strategic deficiencies in the system for preventing money laundering and terrorist financing.

Although such a decision does not entail direct sanctions, it often leads to increased scrutiny by international banks and investors, slowing down cross-border transactions, increasing compliance costs, and negatively impacting foreign investment inflows.

The conference will focus on transforming identified risks into opportunities by strengthening investor confidence in Bosnia and Herzegovina through effective public-private partnerships. Discussions will focus on preserving economic stability, supporting the European integration process, and strengthening Bosnia and Herzegovina's position as a credible and reliable partner in regional and international trade.

Among the participants are the Deputy Minister of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ivica Bošnjak, the Minister of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina Davor Bunoza, the Head of the European Union Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the EU Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina Luigi Soreca, the Director of INL – Programs for Europe and Asia (US State Department) Mark Tervakoski, the UNDP Resident Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina Renaud Meyer, and representatives of the business sector.