UNODC continues to support the First FBiH Asset Recovery Strategy

30-31 March, Bjelasnica, Bosnia and Herzegovina: Under the leadership of the Asset Management Agency of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBIH), and with continuous support from UNODC and the EU Delegation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the development of the first ever FBiH Strategy on Asset Recovery successfully continues.

The development of a strategic framework for asset recovery has become and imperative for an adequate response to corruption and organized crime as was reiterated in the new EU Directive on asset recovery and confiscation, proposed by the Commission to the European Parliament and the European Council in 2022.

It is with this objective that the FBIH Working Group on the development of the Strategy and Action Plan on Asset Recovery convened a meeting bringing together the relevant actors from the government, law enforcement, judiciary and academia as well as representatives from UNODC, Office of the High Representative and the EU Delegation who further worked on the draft which has reached its finalization stage. Consultative meetings are part of the adoption process, which ensures that all relevant contributions are taken into consideration benefitting the future implementation.

In the upcoming period, UNODC plans to continue supporting the consultation process and follow the Government‘s adoption process in the following months. UNODC anti-corruption and asset recovery activities in South-Eastern Europe are conducted in the framework of the regional Anti-Corruption and Illicit Finance Roadmap generously supported by the Government of the United Kingdom.