BiH Security Minister Dragan Mektic says that more than 700 legal entities were inspected during the operation code named Real Estate organised by the Service for Foreigners’ Affairs of BiH.
It has been established that approximately 400 of them can be characterized as fictitious, and registered only to acquire the right to purchase real estate.
“For quite a while, we are trying to monitor and influence the obvious problem of abuse of law in BiH and the BiH legal framework understatement when it comes to the purchase and acquisition of real estate by foreign entities,” Mektic told reporters.
Mektic points out he has nothing against actual foreign investors and the arrival of foreign capital in BiH, but only if it is about serious investors and investments that will enable the creation of new values and employment.
According to him, the large number of them “did not have such intentions, but to get to the space and territory.”
“A good portion of these fictitious companies registered through intermediaries, agents and these allegedly registered foreign companies have never arrived in Bosnia. Out of 545 inspected entities in Sarajevo, there is no one at the addresses which nearly 400 of them are registered at and no financial transactions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, “added Mektic.
He has noted that real estate of enormous value has been purchased through these fictitious companies.
“We are going to take all measures within our jurisdiction and involve judicial institutions, police, security agencies, and intelligence and inspection services to annul the fictitious character of these companies in order to prevent the purchase of space and territories without serious intentions for serious investments,” said Mektic.
BiH Security Minister added that 15 or more companies have been registered at the address of a Sarajevo’s hotel, but once you come to the scene, no one is there.
“There are failures and oversights done by the inspection and other bodies that should perform checks during a company’s registration. The problem occurs when foreigners, as a natural persons, purchase real estate by signing the contracts through notary offices; it is impossible to register the property under their names, but a notary contract is a guarantee” warned Mektic.
He urged the Notary Chamber to assist in solving this problem, because the notaries are those who make contracts which cannot be fully realized