Strides made in risk assessment and prosecution of money laundering in Serbia

The Council of Europe's anti-money-laundering body, MONEYVAL, in its new report, has assessed the effectiveness of Serbia's measures against money laundering, countering terrorist financing and proliferation financing and their level of compliance with the Financial Action Task Force recommendations, at the time of the on-site visit conducted in May 2025.

The report acknowledges that thanks to regular national risk assessments, the Serbian authorities have improved their understanding of the relevant risks, enabling more targeted mitigation measures. Coordinated policy efforts, including strategies, action plans and effective monitoring, have moved progress along. However, analysis of the influence of corruption on its legal framework remains fragmented and should be consolidated so as to better prioritise countermeasures.

Working across borders

Law enforcement and regulatory bodies actively engage in international cooperation, both formally and informally, including through joint investigations. Nevertheless, more proactive measures for cross-border identification, seizure, and confiscation of criminal assets are needed, especially regarding transnational organised crime. Authorities should also strengthen coordination on asset recovery within Serbia.

Financial supervisors in the state can all identify with precision sectoral money-laundering and terrorism-financing risks, with MONEYVAL noting that the National Bank of Serbia demonstrates advanced understanding, especially within the banking sector. Supervisory planning and resource allocation and supervisory planning are generally adequate, though staffing constraints have affected the Securities Commission's work since 2022.

Some progress has been made in improving compliance with anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing obligations among designated non-financial businesses and professions through outreach, supervision, remedial actions and sanctions. Most supervisors in these areas have established internal procedures to support risk-based supervision, though implementation remains uneven. Further strengthening of institutional and sectoral risk understanding, supervisory engagement, and enforcement practices, particularly among lawyers, remain necessary given the significance of the legal sector.

Serbia generally ensures the availability of basic and beneficial ownership data and facilitates access to it. The authorities' controls are largely effective in ensuring up-to-date and accurate data is available. Further improvements are recommended to reduce overreliance on banks and the tax police, and to ensure that beneficial ownership data remains up to date.

Serbian authorities involvement: investigations and convictions

MONEYVAL acknowledges the contribution of the money laundering prevention authority - Uprava za sprečavanje pranja novca - in Serbia to the anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing system, through broad data, intelligence access and information access, thus supporting investigations and convictions. However, there are structural and operational challenges which need addressing.

Money-laundering convictions are on the rise, including cases involving both self- and third-party laundering. Prosecutions have resulted in indictments and convictions linked to several high-risk crimes, but MONEYVAL urges greater focus on prosecuting laundering linked to high-level corruption and serious organised crime. Several authorities are designated for financial investigations and asset confiscation, and different types of confiscation are applied. Although non-conviction-based confiscation is not provided for in law, the report notes the proactive approach to pursuing autonomous money-laundering cases, as well as authorities' efforts to promote extended confiscation. Serbia also enforces controls on undeclared cross-border currency and negotiable instruments, applying sanctions as needed.

Addressing terrorism-financing risks

The terrorism-financing risk in Serbia is identified as "medium", mainly in the form of self-radicalised individuals and connections to armed conflicts in Middle East and North Africa. The report notes some terrorism-financing investigations, but these only partly reflect Serbia's risk profile. High evidentiary requirements and a lack of strategic coordination limit their overall effectiveness.

Serbia has strengthened its enforcement of targeted financial sanctions on terrorism and proliferation financing, promptly implementing UN Security Council resolutions using an automated system. The national authority acts swiftly, notifying reporting entities within 24 hours of new or updated listings. Written guidelines are recommended to streamline complex case handling.

Following the assessment, Serbia received a roadmap of key recommended actions to be completed within three years. Based on the effectiveness and technical compliance ratings outlined in the MONEYVAL report, Serbia has been placed under regular follow-up and is required to report back to on progress made.

MONEYVAL

MONEYVAL reports on Azerbaijan, Croatia and Estonia