The fight against money laundering, corruption and organised crime continue to be important priorities for Serbia, in view of the negative impact they have on the rule of law and the economic development of the country. The Council of Europe remains dedicated to supporting the public authorities in Serbia on the path towards consistent and sustainable strengthening of the mechanisms for prevention and fight against money laundering and corruption . Building upon solid co-operation with the authorities and civil society, the Council of Europe will continue to contribute to Serbia’s efforts to update its policies in the field, in line with the evolving European and international standards.
These were the key conclusions of the public event held in Belgrade today to mark the finalisation of the implementation of the four-year project “Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in Serbia” and the launch of the new phase of the Council of Europe support to the country through the project “Countering Economic Crime in Serbia”.
Nadia Cuk, Deputy Head of the Council of Europe Office in Belgrade in her welcoming remarks highlighted the importance of the Council of Europe co-operation with Serbia in fighting economic crime, having in mind the erosive effect that money laundering, corruption and related crime have on democracy and democratic institutions. Ms Cuk confirmed the commitment of the Council of Europe to continue providing assistance to Serbian authorities in the process of preparation for the Sixth Round of Evaluations by MONEYVAL and in addressing recommendations given by GRECO in their Fifth Round Evaluation of Serbia.
“Over the span of 4 years, the first phase of the project has contributed to the development and adoption of a number of strategic documents in this area, the review and upgrade of existing legal framework, strengthening of capacities of the judiciary and the law enforcement to combat corruption and organised crime and to detect, process and adjudicate cases of money laundering and terrorism financing,” stressed Nadia Cuk.
”The overall objective for Swedish development cooperation is to create preconditions for better living conditions for people living in poverty and under oppression. There is a clear link between money laundering as a form of organised crime and the distribution of resources, balance of powers and human security. For Sweden the project Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in Serbia is one of the flagship initiatives in the Rule of Law area. It addresses the new reality where criminal justice system worldwide need to be revamped to be able to face and counteract the adaptability and efficiency of organised crime groups, to which Serbia is no exception”, said Anna-Charlotte Malm, Head of Development Cooperation in the Embassy of Sweden, the country which has funded the project in Serbia.
Željko Radovanović, Acting Director of the Administration for the Prevention of Money Laundering, said that Serbia has conducted significant reforms demonstrating clear political commitment at the highest level for the fight against money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation. The essence of the reform has been explained and foreseen by the Strategy for Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing 2020-2024. As of December 2023, the system is officially aligned with all of the FATF 40 recommendations, which puts Serbia in a relatively small circle of countries that has succeeded in it. Such a significant success compels us to invest even stronger efforts to bring the system to desired level of effectiveness. Already during 2024, after update of the risk assessments, the new Strategy will be developed with accompanying quatriennial workplan.
Dejan Damnjanovic, Director of the Agency for Prevention of Corruption of Serbia stated that Council of Europe has always been a reliable partner , providing the Serbian authorities and agencies not only with resources, but also with precious knowledge, experience and expertise. “The agency for prevention of corruption is dedicated to fight against corruption and organized crime and we are ready to join with Council of Eurpe, to fullfil the objectives of the current project “.
The event is organised within the Council of Europe projects ‘’Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in Serbia’’ and “Countering Economic Crime in Serbia”, funded by the Swedish International Development Agencyaiming to support Serbia in addressing systemic deficiencies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
