The EU Delegation/Office of the Special Representative in B&H is disappointed by the failure to adopt the proposed law to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, said to Fena the spokesperson of the EU Delegation Andy McGuffie, after this bill was blocked by RS representatives for the second time yesterday in the Joint Commission for Defense and Security.
Spokesperson McGuffie said that the proposed law is harmonized with leading international instruments from this area, especially with the 40+9 recommendations of the working group for the financial action task force (FATR) and the EU third directive. According to him, the failure to adopt this law means that B&H missed the opportunity to improve its system against money laundering and to meet its international obligations undertaken by MONEYVAL. The next meeting of MONEYVAL will be held in April this year, when the plenary session is expected to discuss the failure of adoption and action in accordance with it.
‘’The failure to adopt a system against money laundering with international standards could result in putting B&H under strong financial pressure. Banks and other financial institutions in B&H could face difficulties when sending money around the world. Financial institutions in other countries would closely watch the transfer of money to and outside of B&H, and this could lead to serious delays in the transfer of money. Thus, for example, there would be delayed remittances from abroad. Also, due to possible delays, potential investors could seek other locations for investing. Others would not even have the opportunity to invest in B&H. From such a loss, reputation would be difficult to recover. The EU Delegation and Office of the Special Representative in B&H once again emphasizes the need to adopt a Law to prevent money laundering and financing of terrorism’’, said Spokesperson McGuffie.
