Social reuse of illicit criminal gains in Bosnia and Herzegovina focus of OSCE workshop in Sarajevo

The Transnational Threats Department (TNTD) and the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) concluded a two-day workshop on social reuse of assets confiscated from organized crime, held on 23 and 24 February 2022 in Sarajevo.

Organized with the support of the OSCE Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and in co-operation with the Sarajevo-based civil society organization Centre for Civil Society Promotion, the event gathered around 45 civil society organizations and government officials from BiH.

The workshop introduced the concept of reusing assets confiscated from organized crime for social and entrepreneurial purposes to civil society organizations. Representatives of asset management agencies presented the legal frameworks that allow this practice in BiH, while civil society organizations from Albania and Italy shared their experiences and challenges in establishing social reuse models. Professor Eldan Mujanović from the Sarajevo Faculty of Criminalistics, Criminology and Security Studies familiarized participants with specificities of different mechanisms of social reuse in BiH. Mujanović highlighted the vital role of proactive participation and social responsibilities of civil society organizations in this process. Discussions emphasized the importance of possessing up-to-date information on legal processes and strengthening their capacities in a way that social reuse ideas can become sustainable long lasting projects.

The workshop was organized within the TNTD and OCEEA extra budgetary project “Strengthening the fight against transnational organized crime in South-Eastern Europe through improved regional co-operation in asset seizure, confiscation, management and re-use” supported financially by the United States, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom.