At the meeting held on 22 October 2024 in Sarajevo, the authorities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska, and the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina were presented with a draft roadmap for establishing and enhancing Beneficial Ownership (BO) Registers in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A step-by-step guide includes discussion of potential challenges and offers recommendations aimed at aiding authorities in implementing effective and transparent systems within each of the jurisdictions, with calls for ensuring their interconnectivity via one unified access point. 

Drawing on international best practice and lessons learned from other jurisdictions, the foundational guide identified several stages and focus areas, to be considered according to the current progress in the establishment of the BO Registers, including the planning and development phases of the register creation, potential challenges in maintaining accurate and reliable data, necessary definitions and regulation of the access and transparency of registers. 

The stakeholder discussion crystalized practical challenges, such as the disparity of legal frameworks, shortcomings of the current registration and control practices, data verification, and future interconnectivity of the registers. 

As the next step and based on the received feedback, the Draft Roadmap will be finalized and further used as the guiding document for not only the authorities, but also the Council of Europe’s work in this area. 

This workshop is a part of the Council of Europe's three-year initiative focused on combating corruption, money laundering, and terrorist financing in Bosnia and Herzegovina, funded under the European Union/Council of Europe Horizontal Facility for Western Balkans and Türkiye III and by a voluntary contribution of the Council of Europe.