Within the project “Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in Serbia”, a two-day workshop has been organised in Vrdnik to present and discuss the findings and recommendations on the effectiveness of the asset recovery (AR) regime in the Republic of Serbia. This workshop was a follow-up to an extensive report assessing the Serbian legislation and institutional capacities for successful asset recovery. The analysis also provided an overview of the alignment of the Serbian legislation with the EU acquis communautaire and international standards.

The workshop gathered representatives of the Supreme Court of Serbia, Appellate Courts, Republic Public Prosecutor's Office, Prosecution for Organised Crime, Appellate Prosecutions, Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Justice. The participants had the opportunity to discuss ambiguities in the legislation related to the concept of ownership and third parties, which have been creating obstacles in the implementation of the AR regime and resulting in diverse jurisprudence of different courts. Throughout the workshop, different models of confiscation, including alternatives to criminal confiscation were considered and the possibility of introduction of non-conviction based confiscation was raised. Iissues regarding proof of the legal origin of property were highlighted and discussed in depth.

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.