Citizens of the Middle East and North Africa countries have purchased approximately 15.3 million square meters of land from 2012 to the present in the Canton of Sarajevo and the surrounding area.
This was shown by several months of research by the Center for Investigative Reporting. They bought land and real estate by founding companies. BiH citizens were mostly agents or intermediaries in these companies and trade. But who and where are the real owners of luxuriously conceived resorts that become largely illegal construction sites?
About 160 companies own 15, 3 million square meters of land in and around Sarajevo Canton. For the sake of land acquisition and planned construction, mostly luxury settlements, these companies have been massively founded by citizens of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Libya … A significant number of illegal construction sites have been abandoned over time. Problems are increasingly being solved by municipal authorities. The question is why they did not face them – in a timely manner.
“The investors intended to continue the construction of resorts or buildings, hotels, individual facilities. However, the plans did not go the way they thought they should go. Many have now come into a stalemate because they do not have the documents they need to legalize, that is, legal continuation of construction, “said Mirjana Popovic, Center for Investigative Reporting.
Amarildo Gutić also addressed the huge interest of investors from Arab countries in the construction of tourist and residential settlements in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A journalist at the Journal is the author of the film, dubbed “The Arab Spring in the Golden Valley.”
“After the warning action by the Foreigners Service – it seems to me that other institutions that should take care of the legality of work and everything that is happening in the area – have not done their job. We still do not know if these lands and real estate have been purchased by ‘clean’ money or it’s ‘money laundering’, who is behind these companies, who are the owners … Even today, when you go to these places and try to get in touch with the owners – it will be very difficult, “ said. Gutić.
The owners are usually impossible to find, and not a significant number of companies are located at the addresses listed. This was demonstrated by the earlier control of the BiH Foreign Service. There were not even 469 of the registered addresses – out of 692 companies surveyed. There were 158 owners of companies without regulated residence status, and no entry for Bosnia and Herzegovina was recorded for 113 founders or co-founders.
“Then We found several foreign nationals and their businesses who owe millions of dollars in tax money to this country. Then we involved the Tax Administration, and also other security agencies – primarily SIPA. Later, some leaked investigations that have been completed at the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, “said Slobodan Ujic, director of the BiH Foreign Affairs Office.
It is not just investments or tourism that are on the scene – an academic who was among the first to point out the problematic implications of Arab investment.
“They are not investments, as many people would like to say, this is not tourism, but it is for sale – the ground is under its feet. In the meantime, a real invasion began, with migrations from Asia and Africa to BiH in the same time as the sale of this soil. , dozens of young people are moving out of BiH to Europe, and we are selling land and migrating migrants here. The result will be, if not today, no doubt – it will be fatal for the foreseeable future, ” said Esad Durakovic, an academic.
The Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina did not provide specific information at the request of N1, and from SIPA confirmed that during 2017 they acted on the orders of this institution.
ba.n1info.com / balkantimes.press
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