Balkans Asset Management Interagency Network defines strategic priorities for asset recovery

On 28 and 29 May, the Heads of Asset Management Agencies from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Moldova, North Macedonia and Ukraine gathered in Skopje, North Macedonia for a meeting of the Steering Group of the Balkan Asset Management Interagency Network (BAMIN).

The event marked the handover of the BAMIN Presidency from Moldova to North Macedonia and served as a platform for discussing the network's operational strategy, exchanging on best practices, and developing asset management and other emerging needs.  North Macedonia’s Agency for Management of Seized and Confiscated Property will chair BAMIN until May 2025.

This two-day event also aimed to identify the needs and the importance of applying asset recovery provisions in the fight against organized crime, corruption, money laundering, and other criminal activities. The Steering Group emphasized the importance of BAMIN for regional co-operation on asset recovery and asset management, aligning with requirements stemming from the newly adopted European Union Asset Recovery and Confiscation Directive 2024/1260.

Within the framework of its Presidency, North Macedonia will host the BAMIN Annual General Meeting in September 2024 and expressed commitment to promoting co-operation in the field of asset management. Additionally, it will organize training events on the effective management of crypto assets, highlighting the importance of international collaboration in this field.

BAMIN is supported within the framework of the OSCE extra-budgetary project “Strengthening Asset Recovery Efforts in the OSCE Region”, which is funded by Austria, Germany, Italy and the United States.