As a follow up to the workshop held in May 2023, the Council of Europe Office in Sarajevo organized a meeting for the members of the Interagency Working Group on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) risk assessment of virtual assets and virtual assets service providers (VAs/VASPs) on 11 July 2023.

The main objective of the workshop was to discuss the current state of affairs and review the draft Assessment Report produced by the Working Group. The risk assessment was initiated in 2022 by applying the Council of Europe's sectorial risk assessment methodology and coordinated by the Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The final report, which is expected in the coming months, will enhance the understanding of the ML/TF risks of VAs/VASPs and serve as the basis for developing an Action Plan that will, among other, include concrete measures for closing the gaps in the existing legislative and regulatory framework. 

Around 30 participants, including representatives from the Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Financial Intelligence Unit, entity-level Ministries of Finance, Indirect Taxation Authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entity-level Tax Administrations, Association of Banks of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entity-level Securities Commissions, Ministry of Interior of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska, High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brcko District police, Intelligence Service, and private sector, attended the meeting. 

The meeting was organised within the framework of the European Union and Council of Europe “Horizontal Facility for Western Balkans and Türkiye – Phase III: Action against Corruption, Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in Bosnia and Herzegovina."