The House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at an urgent session, unanimously adopted the Law on Restricting the Disposal of Property with the Aim of Preventing Terrorism, Financing Terrorism and Financing the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, proposed by the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, under urgent procedure.
All 14 delegates present voted in favor of the law.
The adoption of this law is one of the conditions for Bosnia and Herzegovina not to be placed on the Moneyval grey list.
However, some delegates noted during the discussion that, in addition to the adoption of this law, a few more conditions need to be met.
There were also objections due to the fact that the representative of the proponent of the law was not present at the session. In this case, it was the Minister of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina, or Deputy Minister Ivica Bošnjak, who holds the position of minister.
Speaker of the House of Peoples Kemal Ademović said that Deputy Minister of Security Ivica Bošnjak, the ministry that prepared this law, had notified that he would not be attending the session because he was outside Bosnia and Herzegovina.
– Also, according to my knowledge, the secretary of the ministry is outside of BiH. He submitted that advisor Vedran Knezović and assistant for personnel and general material and financial affairs Jelena Savić would be present. However, when I called the roll call, no one reported that they were there, I had no record that they were present and that they could speak on this law – explained Ademović.
Speaking about the Law on Restricting the Disposal of Property with the Aim of Preventing Terrorism, Financing Terrorism and Financing the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, Ademović noted that the Council of Ministers of BiH is the proposer, and on behalf of the proposer, the drafters are, in the case of this law, the Ministry of Security, and in the case of another law concerning the disposal and management of illegally acquired property, the Ministry of Justice of BiH.
He added that Minister of Justice Davor Bunoza was present at today’s session.
– However, this law is stuck in the Council of Ministers, it has not been passed by the Parliamentary Assembly. In addition, another condition from the recommendations of the MONEYVAL report is the establishment of a register at the Federation level. This is not a law, but the establishment of a register of beneficial owners of legal entities. According to my information, no activity has even begun on its creation – said Ademović.
He added that the FATF is meeting tomorrow, “and is specifically considering recommendations on the fulfillment of MONEYVAL guidelines and recommendations from Bosnia and Herzegovina”.
– So, it is specifically considering what we have done. If we do not adopt this law today, it is quite certain that Bosnia and Herzegovina will end up on the MONEYVAL grey list. If we adopt it, that is not yet certain. I am in communication with the delegation representing Bosnia and Herzegovina and I have asked them to inform the authorities that we will consider and probably adopt this law today. To ‘look the other way’ for us once again or to give us a new deadline, because your arrival today shows that this is in the interest of all citizens of BiH, regardless of which part they come from, primarily the economy and financial sector – said Ademović.
In mid-March, the Council of Ministers of BiH unanimously adopted and sent the proposal for this law to the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH for consideration under the urgent legislative procedure. The goal is to establish a reliable, timely and complete mechanism for the implementation of sanction measures.
The proposed law, prepared by the Ministry of Security in cooperation with relevant institutions, eliminates a key systemic deficiency from the report of the Committee of Experts for the Evaluation of Measures Against Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL), which in December 2024 assessed that BiH does not have a functional and complete system for the implementation of international financial sanctions.
The provisions of that law ensure the immediate, direct and effective implementation of the decisions of the UN Security Council and its sanctions committees, as well as decisions of institutions in BiH and other measures, as well as full compliance with the relevant FATF recommendations, thereby our country fulfills its international obligations and preserves its financial system – the Council of Ministers of BiH stated earlier.
By systematically regulating the prohibition of temporary disposal of assets for the purpose of preventing, or financing terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, while respecting the principles of legality and legal certainty, as well as by clearly defining procedures and specifying the competent authorities, supervisory bodies and obliged entities that implement the measures under that law, a broader legal basis is created for the prevention of money laundering and financing of terrorism in BiH.
The proposed law is of exceptional importance for preserving BiH’s international reputation and avoiding entry into the FATF’s ICRG process (International Co-operation Review Group), according to the BiH Council of Ministers.
