Money Laundering Law Rejected, Sanctions Against BiH to Follow!

The Law on Money Laundering and Prevention of Terrorism Financing was rejected today at the Session of the Joint Defence and Security Commission! Representatives of parties from Republika Srpska voted against the law, which is a key step in the country's fight against these two types of crime.

This has put BiH in a position to face severe consequences, as it will be categorized with Iran or North Korea in terms of cash flow control. This will be on the agenda of the Moneyval committee at the beginning of April.

The European Union had previously warned that all remittances from abroad would be slowed down, and BiH would be under special scrutiny by all international financial institutions. This law was also a condition of the arrangement with the IMF.

The Minister of Security of BiH, Fahrudin Radončić, also attended today's session of the Joint Defence and Security Commission of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, and told reporters how important it was for parliamentarians to consider the Law on Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Activities and adopt it.

Commission member Šefik Džaferović said that if the law is not adopted, BiH will be in a difficult position.

- We will end up on the grey list, then the black list. All transactions made from BiH will be subject to a special regime, and perhaps the visa-free regime will be abolished - said Džaferović, adding that the previous proposal of this law was also acceptable to him.

Radončić said he did not want to create pressure with warnings, but noted that the law was unanimously adopted by the Council of Ministers.

- We are ready to work on amendments, and we must send a positive signal by March 21. Otherwise, we will find ourselves among those countries with a special status, like Iran and North Korea. I ask all members to consider the problems the economy could face - said Radončić.

During the discussion, Dušanka Majkić noted that the law received a negative opinion in the first phase and stated during the discussion that she "feels uncomfortable and is under tremendous pressure".

- There has never been such unheard-of pressure. This is shameful in a democratic country to exert such pressure. Everyone has the right to their political stance - said Majkić. After the discussion, it was proposed to postpone everything for seven days, but that was also rejected, so the law was put to a vote and rejected.