Slovenia has paid 54 million euros to former depositors of Ljubljanska Banka

In the nine months since it began receiving requests from depositors of the former Ljubljanska Bank in Croatia and BiH for the return of old foreign currency savings from the time of former Yugoslavia, Slovenia has paid them a total of approximately 54 million euros, announced the communications office of the Slovenian government in a statement. So far, the office for succession issues of the Slovenian government has issued 4,200 informational calculations for depositors of Ljubljanska Bank in Zagreb, which the depositors have not contested, media reports.

So far, they have been paid 54 million euros for the provisionally issued decision, while more than a thousand old depositors have contested the calculations, who were supposed to receive another 31 million euros, but will have to wait for a final decision due to the appeals process.

The payment to foreign currency depositors of the former branch of Ljubljanska Bank in Sarajevo has not yet begun as it is necessary to wait for the scanning of part of the bank’s documentation located in Banja Luka to be completed. The scanning in Sarajevo was completed last month, and there is a possibility that payments may begin by the end of the year, announced the communications office of the Slovenian government.

The decision to return once disputed deposits, which Ljubljana claimed should be resolved as part of the succession of the former state, was made by the Slovenian government based on the law two years ago, after the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg determined that the state, as the founder and owner of that bank, is responsible for the return of funds in the same way it did about twenty years ago for depositors in Slovenia.

According to calculations by the Slovenian government, approximately 230,000 depositors of Ljubljanska Bank in Croatia and Slovenia should receive a total of 258 million euros, and the debt should be settled within two years, provided they submit all necessary documents that are verified in Ljubljana along with their request.