Minister of Finance and Treasury of BiH Nikola Špirić reminded today that he has done everything he could so BiH would not suffer sanctions which concern financial transactions to and from BiH for failure to adopt the laws.
He added the Law on Anti-Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism was adopted in the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, but amendments to the Criminal Code are still in parliamentary procedure.
”Laws need to be adopted, but that does not mean that laws are ideal. Only after adoption of the laws will the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL) evaluate the laws. That is why it is surprising to me that we are working so hard in BiH to agree on draft law which will only be evaluated later”, said Špirić.
He emphasized there is lack of will within BiH for discussion, because when it comes to the Law on Anti-Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism it only took a little more understanding to see that everything is in line with requirements of MONEYVAL.
”I hope everyone will do their share so BiH is not put on a ‘blacklist’. I cannot even imagine that because it would cause great consequences for everyone in BiH. All financial transactions would take time. That would create a negative image about BiH. I want to stay optimistic. It would be bad if BiH paid the price because laws were not adopted”, concluded Špirić.
Member countries, 36 of them, of the FATF-Financial Action Task Force and representatives from FATF regional bodies will meet in Paris on June 25-27 to hold the third and final plenary session chaired by Vladimir Nechaev from the Russian Federation.
As Deputy Minister of Security of BiH Mladen Ćavar said earlier, the issue of BiH should be considered at this session, given the fact that delegates of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH have not adopted amendments to the Criminal Code of BiH, which was one of the conditions of the Committee of Experts of the Council of Europe for the prevention of money laundering and financing of terrorism activities (MONEYVAL) so BiH would not be put on a black list when it comes to financial transactions to and from BiH.
MONEYVAL called all its members to report until July 1 on measures they have taken or plan to take when it comes to BiH concerning the declaration “Public Release on Lack of Harmonization of BiH legislation”, and FATF also noted the states and private sector should pay attention to the published declaration.
(Source: Fena)
