Conference “The role of notaries in preventing money laundering”

Details

Published: April 14, 2023

The conference on the role of notaries in preventing money laundering and in combating the financing of terrorism, and the relevant cooperation with other relevant stakeholders”, jointly organised by the Chamber of Notaries of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the German Federal Chamber of Notaries (BNotK) and the IRZ which took place in Sarajevo on 28 March, attracted great media attention.

The event took place in the context of various measures that have been implemented to de facto abolish the Latin notary public, which was introduced and implemented with great support from Germany, particularly from the IRZ and the GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit - a development agency), in the larger of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The organisers took this starting point as an opportunity to emphasise that the notary's office not only provides qualified, neutral legal advice and preventive administration of justice in civil law. Due to the examination and reporting obligations in the area of ​​combating money laundering, it also contributes to prevention in a part of criminal law that is important for society as a whole.

The event was opened by Anica Nakić, President of the Chamber of Notaries of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The introductory speeches were given by the BNotK representative for international affairs, notary, Dr. Lovro Tomašić, and the Chairman of the Committee for Professional Development at the Chamber of Notaries of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zdenko Puljić.

This was followed by words of welcome from the President of the International Union of Notaries (UINL), Lionel Galliez, who highlighted the importance of the Latin notariat as a generally recognised and reliable legal institution that contributes in many ways to the benefit of society as a whole.

During the panel discussion that followed, the former Deputy Minister of Justice of the umbrella state of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Head of the Committee of Experts of the Council of Europe on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (Moneyval) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dr. Nezir Pivić, President of the Administrative Committee of the Chamber of Notaries of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Notary Public Sefedin Suljević, Ajla Mešetović, from the State Agency for Investigation and Protection (SIPA) and Dr. Lovro Tomašić explored aspects of the conference theme. The responsible Project Area Manager at the IRZ, Dr. Stefan Pürner moderated the discussion in the local language.

The event was rounded off by numerous questions and contributions from the auditorium.

The event is part of a cooperation between the Chamber of Notaries of the Federation, the BNotK and the IRZ that has existed since the Chamber of Notaries was founded more than 15 years ago. In this context, a separate training course for notaries and employees of notaries' offices on the same topic was held on the same day.

The event attracted huge media attention.