The Steering Committee of the Project “Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in Serbia” met virtually for its second meeting on 26 May 2021. The meeting was co-chaired by the Economic Crime and Cooperation Division of the Council of Europe and the Administration for Prevention of Money Laundering (FIU of Serbia). The meeting gathered the members and observers of the Steering Committee, represented by officials from Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Economy, Business Registers Agency, Anti-Corruption Agency, Office of the Republic Public Prosecutor, High Court of Cassation, National Bank of Serbia, Securities Commission, Customs Administration, and Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.

Presentation made by the project team highlighted the progress made during six months of project implementation, challenges and lessons learned. Key activities launched in this period focused on supporting the implementation of newly adopted legislation regulating virtual assets, including oversight and supervision of the sector and assessment of sector-specific risks. Other areas where the project made progress are development of training programs on compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing requirements for legal professionals and gaming sector, review of beneficial ownership disclosure rules, and raising understanding on practical approaches and good practices on terrorist financing risk assessment. This was followed by a presentation of proposed workplan for the upcoming period and discussion with the participants.

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.