The Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has adopted a bylaw on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, with the aim of meeting FATF and Moneyval recommendations and avoiding the grey list.
As stated in the announcement, the adoption of this bylaw represents a key step in aligning BiH with the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), as well as with the standards of MONEYVAL, the expert body of the Council of Europe.
Alignment with FATF and Moneyval recommendations
By adopting the bylaw, BiH strengthens the institutional framework for combating money laundering and terrorist financing. The document is directly aimed at the implementation of FATF recommendations, thereby ensuring the application of international standards in this area.
At the same time, obligations toward Moneyval are also being fulfilled, which is of crucial importance in order to avoid placing BiH on the so-called grey list, which would have serious consequences for the country’s international reputation and financial flows.
The bylaw precisely defines: risk assessment, measures for client identification and monitoring, and the manner of submitting data to the Financial Intelligence Department of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA).
The application of these measures further strengthens the system of early detection of suspicious financial activities and contributes to the stability of the financial sector in BiH.
Moneyval warned of weaknesses in the system
At the same session, the Information on BiH’s obligations under MONEYVAL-recommended measures was also adopted, together with the Action Plan for their implementation.
The MONEYVAL report from the fifth round of evaluation recognizes certain progress, including the adoption of the Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and the National Risk Assessment, but also points out a number of problems.
Among the key weaknesses cited are: insufficient understanding of the risk of terrorist financing, delays in establishing a system for managing seized assets, weak coordination of institutions at the state level.
Deadline until February 2026
In order to avoid placing BiH on the FATF grey list, institutions are obliged to achieve measurable results in the implementation of the recommended measures by February 2026.
Special focus has been placed on: strengthening capacities to combat money laundering, supervision of the non-financial sector, improvement of international cooperation, and the implementation of targeted United Nations (UN) financial sanctions.
Responsibilities of institutions
The Council of Ministers of BiH tasked the competent institutions to begin implementing the remaining activities from the Plan without delay.
The governments of the entities and the Brcko District were called upon to fulfil their obligations, while the Ministry of Security of BiH was tasked with monitoring implementation and regularly reporting to the Council of Ministers.
