The application of the Asset Forfeiture Module in courts and prosecutors’ offices in Bosnia began on 1 January 2020, the EU Delegation to Bosnia said on Tuesday, adding that its aim is to facilitate the procedures of data delivery and verification for cases in which the court has rendered the decision to seize assets.

“The establishment of the Asset Forfeiture Module is a very important aspect of the overall efforts to position asset seizure at the very top of the priorities within the work of the judiciary and of all relevant prosecutors’ offices in Bosnia. Applying the module at the level of each prosecutor’s office and court, judicial officeholders will have access to exact data at any time on how many financial investigations and temporary or permanent asset seizures have been processed,” the EU Delegation said.

“The new module can serve as a best practice example to other countries in the region that need to build similar mechanisms″, said Professor at the Faculty of Criminal Justice, Criminology and Security Studies in Sarajevo Eldan Mujanović who took part in the preparation of the module.

The EU Delegation noted that asset seizure has been introduced in all criminal codes in the country, as well as in the: Law on Confiscation of Proceeds of Crime in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity (FBiH), Law on Confiscation of Proceeds of Crime in the Republika Srpska (RS) entity and Law on Confiscation of Proceeds of Crime in Brcko District of BiH.

“Rigorous punishments do not only penalise crimes but have also an additional effect. Asset seizure is a complementary measure in this regard and ensures that nobody benefits from committing a criminal act,” the Delegation added.

The module was developed with the financial assistance of the European Union and the Federation Agency for the Management of Seized Property provided expert input.