Kasumović: Brussels has punished the citizens of BiH with the 'black list', not the politicians

The placement of BiH on the European Union's black list by the Financial Action Task Force has caused sharp reactions in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Fuad Kasumović, the mayor of Zenica and one of the more influential economic experts in the country, stated that citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina will suffer the most from Brussels' latest decision, and the least will be the politicians, who are responsible for the poor laws in the country.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) concluded that BiH has not done enough to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. Progress is visible, but not sufficient. Because of this, BiH has been placed on the EU's black list.

- Although some progress has been made, especially in the part related to terrorist financing, the overall progress regarding BiH's criminal law and the implementation of bylaws is not sufficient – the FATF stated.

The Association of Banks of BiH states that in practice, this means that a number of foreign banks are daily refusing to execute transactions initiated by BiH banks. Furthermore, foreign banks that conduct payment transactions to or from BiH are slowing down, complicating, or increasing the cost of processes, all with the aim of terminating business cooperation with banks from BiH.

Fuad Kasumović told the Patria News Agency that he was surprised by the latest decision from the European Union. He is aware that the authorities in the country are doing almost nothing to improve laws and align them with European laws, but he believes Brussels should have punished BiH politicians, not the citizens who are already suffering enough due to their poor policies in the country.

Kasumović is even more surprised by the latest decision from Brussels because, just a few weeks earlier, the European Union had praised Bosnia and Herzegovina's progress on its EU path. The messages from Brussels were that BiH was implementing reforms at a pace never seen before in the country.