Anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism discussed at a conference organized by the OSCE, GIZ and BiH Ministry of Security

SARAJEVO, 15 December 2022 – The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) co-organized a two-day conference on the subject of preventing money laundering and financing of terrorism to increase the awareness of the key stakeholders on the most relevant developments and challenges.

At the conference, which gathered over 80 participants from more than 40 institutions, and which concluded today in Sarajevo, Edin Jahić, Head of the Ministry of Security’s Department for Fight against Organized Crime and Corruption said:

“Considering that the new evaluation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Moneyval Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism started last week, this conference is very important for institutions and agencies working in this field. In the past, the EU and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) had designated BiH as a country with a high level of risk in terms of preventing money laundering and financing of terrorism - a designation that carries political, economic and financial consequences. The new evaluation cycle places far more emphasis on implementation of FATF recommendations, risk assessment, and the impact on implementation of measures to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. Changes in the FATF methodology mean that, in case of a negative evaluation finding, BiH would need to go beyond merely amending legal provisions in order to fulfil requirements.”

Bakir Haverić, Advisor in GIZ recalled that “an effective system of combating money laundering and terrorist financing is crucial for BiH's prospects for membership in the European Union”. He moreover reaffirmed that, through the Global Program on Combating Illicit Financial Flows, GIZ will continue to strengthen relevant capacities of BiH partner institutions.

Selma Zeković, Chief of Anti-terrorism at the OSCE Mission to BiH highlighted that “the participation of a wide range of government and private sector actors from across BiH in the conference illustrates the degree of commitment to improving the country’s frameworks for anti-money laundering and combating of terrorist financing”. She also reaffirmed that the OSCE will continue to support efforts to increase BiH capacity for detecting and combatting money laundering and terrorist financing as well as for improving BiH compliance with the related international commitments and standards.