Systematic collection and processing of information is crucial for better processing of criminal offences of money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as for the effective seizure and confiscation of proceeds of crime. The Case Management System, currently being developed with the support of the Swedish International Development Agency and the Council of Europe, will become operational by July 2024. It will allow for electronic processing and exchange of information on illicit assets between state authorities. Better co-ordination and automatic exchange of data is expected to lead to larger number of investigations and criminal proceedings for money laundering and terrorist financing offences in Serbia. The reception, processing and disclosure of information will be carried out in accordance with the European standards and in line with the standards on personal data protection.
Nadia Cuk, a.i. Head of Council of Europe Office in Belgrade, underlined that the upgraded hardware equipment addresses one of the highest priorities identified by Ministry of Interior in their efforts towards a more effective detection and processing of cases of money laundering and terrorism financing. “This activity is part of a larger set of measures, implemented by Serbian authorities with the support of the Council of Europe, aimed at fully bringing the country’s legal and institutional framework in line with Council of Europe’s standards in the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing and at effectively dismantling criminal groups and their financial structures. Ultimately, the improved handling of collected information will contribute to easier identification of assets held or controlled by criminals and criminal groups, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of the seizure and confiscation of proceeds of crime.”
Anne-Charlote Malm, the Head of Co-operation Department at Embassy of Sweden stated: “This is (unquestionably) one of the flagship initiatives of the Swedish development cooperation in Serbia and is monitored by the Embassy of Sweden with a lot of interest and high hopes.” She added: “It is (therefore) of paramount importance to support the development of a functioning case management system in the Ministry of Interior to facilitate the collection and processing of information and improve in all aspects of processing of criminal offences of money laundering and terrorist financing.” Anne-Charlotte Malm concluded: “It is a step towards a better investigation, prosecution and adjudication of cases of money laundering and terrorist financing.”
Ministry of Interior has pointed out the significance of this donation, which will significantly improve existing software for case management of money laundering and terrorism financing cases and contribute to the optimisation of the respective business processes. On the one hand, each unit will be able to monitor the workflow more efficiently in individual cases, actions and measures undertaken, while on the other hand the communication and data exchange among the different organisational units would be facilitated and expedited. This will be of particular relevance for the exchange of information between the operational units and the Unit for Financial Investigation and Division for Criminal Analytics.
The new Case Management System is being developed under the Council of Europe’s project “Preventing money laundering and terrorism financing in Serbia”, funded by the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Economic Crime and Co-operation Division of Council of Europe.
For further information, please contact:
- Ana Selić, Ana.SELIC [a] coe.int , +382 67 211 126
- Marija Simić Marija.SIMIC [a] coe.int, +381 63 60 13 37
