A two-day mission to discuss practical aspects of the prosecution and adjudication of money laundering (ML) cases was held on March 9th and 10th in Serbia with representatives from prosecution, judiciary and police.
The mission aimed to develop an overview of the practical challenges for the effective application of Serbia's measures for combating money laundering, including the processing and adjudication of ML cases. The legal and institutional frameworks were taken into account as part of the review of the practices of the competent authorities. During the visit, a team of international experts held meetings with representatives of the Republic Public Prosecution, Prosecution for Organised Crime, Appellate Court, High Court of Cassations, and the Service for Combating Organised Crime of the Ministry of Interior. The discussions focused also on the procedures for prosecuting and adjudicating money laundering cases in Serbia and highlighted areas where the existing approaches need to be streamlined or relevant requirements and guidelines consistently applied by the authorities.
The findings of the mission will inform a report, which will be presented to the authorities of Serbia. The report will include recommendations for consolidating the authorities’ action and examples of good practices for improving the country's criminal justice response, as well as for enhancing cooperation and coordination between the relevant authorities in the fight against money laundering.
The Project “Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in Serbia” is funded by Sweden, represented by the Swedish International Development Agency and implemented by the Council of Europe.