Hundreds of properties in BiH owned by foreign nationals are being checked

The Service for Foreigners' Affairs of BiH has been conducting the operation "Nekretnine" across BiH for 15 days, which pertains to properties purchased by foreign nationals throughout BiH, reports the Bosnian news agency Patria.

Checks are being carried out on more than 700 legal entities, settlements where numerous properties have been built. This operation is a continuation of earlier activities. More detailed information about the operation itself will be known next week.

Today's operation covers nationals of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Syria, Russia, Libya and Ukraine. Support was provided by SIPA, the Border Police of BiH, and tax institutions.

The operation was conducted at the beginning of August, aiming to obtain information on how many companies are registered in BiH, and to verify on the ground how many fictitious companies exist. At that time, 108 companies registered here and owned by foreigners were covered, of which 71 individuals from Kuwait are company owners, 13 from Libya, 12 from the UAE, 10 from Syria, and 2 from Qatar.

It was established that there are many, many fictitious companies, that some individuals have not even entered BiH, have no residence at all, but have authorized BiH nationals to purchase properties in BiH on behalf of their companies. It was determined that the founding capital for foreign companies registered here is, in 99 percent of cases, 2,000 KM.

- We have come across data that these legal entities own properties worth certainly 600, 700 thousand marks or more. So we have reached a situation where we suspect criminal acts of money laundering, tax evasion, and so on - said Slobodan Ujić, director of the Service for Foreigners' Affairs.