Hadžović: Failure to adopt the law would be a catastrophe

News that Republika Srpska is leading Bosnia and Herzegovina to the list of countries that do not respect international standards in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, like Iran or North Korea, has stirred passions on the BiH political scene. SNSD blocked the adoption of the Law on Prevention of Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorist Activities in the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the consequences for our country, if this happens again, could be immeasurable.

This opinion is shared by Denis Hadžović, Secretary General of the Center for Security Studies (CSS), who told the Patria News Agency that it would be a catastrophe if BiH ended up on the black list.

- First, we would probably go on the grey list. That would be like a warning, but it would still endanger and burden our banking and financial system. We would go two steps back from what we have built in these obligations that we are fulfilling. That would be the first warning. I dare not even think about the black list, because that would severely endanger the financial stability and credibility of BiH – said Hadžović, adding that he hopes it will not come to that.

If BiH suspends progress in harmonizing preventive legislation in this regard, international institutions will send a notice to countries to be particularly cautious during financial transactions with Bosnia and Herzegovina.

We remind that the State Department also warned that large amounts of cash are suspiciously passing through BiH, which the adoption of this law would prevent. However, SNSD claims that this law infringes on entity competencies, and the EU Delegation has clearly stated that there is no way to regulate this area at the entity level.