MONEYVAL wrote to the Ministry of Security: June 1st deadline for adopting the Law or sanctions will follow

A letter from MONEYVAL has arrived at the BiH Ministry of Security, as the BiH news agency Patria unofficially learns, informing this Ministry that sanctions will indeed follow for BiH if the Law on Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorist Activities is not adopted by June 1st. A letter warning of sanctions also arrived at the address of the BiH Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Sanctions would include placing BiH on a blacklist of countries along with Ukraine, Iran, and North Korea in the area of money laundering and terrorist financing. 

Namely, although an extraordinary session of the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliament was discussed, for which the Bosniak Caucus initiated it, it did not happen today. The session is scheduled for June 6th, but six days after the deadline given by the Committee of Experts of the Council of Europe (MONEYVAL) to BiH to adopt this law, writes the Patria news agency.

This law was adopted by the House of Representatives, but this is only a partial solution, because without confirmation in the House of Peoples, the law is effectively not adopted. Samir Omerhodžić, a member of the BiH delegation to Moneyval, says that the conclusions reached at the meeting of this body in Strasbourg are clear.

- It was stated then that if BiH does not adopt the laws by June 1st, there will be an official announcement that BiH is uncooperative, that it does not apply international standards. This is now a partial solution – Omerhodžić told NAP earlier.

He said he was not sure if this partial solution would be accepted, and this letter is more than a clear message, writes NAP.

Omerhodžić could not provide more information today. Today, Denis Bećirović, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliament, also requested in an open letter that the Speaker of the House of Peoples, Dragan Čović, schedule a session of the House of Peoples before June 1st. He stated that otherwise, the consequences for BiH could be very serious.

- Banks and other financial institutions in BiH would face difficulties in transferring money worldwide, and all money transactions in and out of BiH would be closely monitored by financial institutions of other countries, which would lead to serious delays in money transactions. For example, remittances from our citizens from abroad would be delayed. At the same time, due to delays in money transactions, potential investors would look for other destinations for investment or would not even consider the possibility of investing in BiH. And recovery from such a degradation of the country's reputation is long and difficult – the letter states, reports Patria.