The Kosovo Banking Association condemns the severe attack on the ATM of one of the commercial banks

Kosovo Banking Association condemns the criminal attack of armed groups with explosive materials caused this morning, 17.10.2020 against one of the commercial banks in the city of Ferizaj.

These attacks are aimed at empowering criminal groups in Kosovo and are destroying the law and order in our country by seeking to find a place in Kosovo to expand their criminal activity. This should not be allowed under any circumstances by the country's security institutions and all state security mechanisms should be used to prevent such groups from doing so.

The area where the attack took place is a residential area where, in addition to the damage caused to the bank and surrounding businesses, the residents of that neighborhood were also concerned and the lives of citizens were endangered because the explosion was quite large.

The Kosovo Banking Association urges law and order institutions to take all the measures necessary in order that these groups are identified as soon as possible and are brought in front of the judicial authorities.

In 2019, the Kosovo Banking Association signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Kosovo Police and the Central Bank of Kosovo to coordinate activities in combating and preventing these phenomena. This cooperation was successful thus resulting in significantly reducing the number of attacks on banks during 2019 and 2020.

The Kosovo Banking Association also states that banks have taken a number of measures to increase security and consequently the possibility for these criminal groups to take advantage of these attacks is minimal. Nevertheless, the possibility of causing material damage to businesses and endangering human life remains quite high.