European Commission notes mixed progress made in the fight against economic crime in Serbia. In the annual Country Report on Serbia, the European Commission concluded that there has been no measureable impact of corruption-prevention reforms. The Commission further notes that corruption is prevalent in many areas in Serbia and that law enforcement and judicial authorities still need to establish a credible track record of prosecutions and finalised high-level corruption cases.

In terms of organized crime and anti-money laundering, the Commission reported some progress over the reporting period, however underlined that its previous recommendations were only partially met and remain valid. The Commission notes that the recommendations emerging from the 2018 AML/CFT risk assessment are still being implemented. The Commission welcomed the establishment of the Centralised Record of Beneficial Owners within the Serbian Business Registers Agency, as well as improvements to the supervision of DNFBPs. The Commission also observed that in 2018, Serbia improved its legal framework relating to terrorism financing and proliferation financing and implemented a new mechanism for implementing targeted financial sanctions.

The Commission observed that there has been an improvement in the ability of law enforcement to carry out complex financial investigations in parallel with criminal investigations as a result of legislative reforms, but that Serbia has still yet to establish a convincing track record of effective investigations, prosecutions and final convictions in both organised crime and money laundering cases. Concerning the seizure and confiscation of criminal assets, the Commission considers that the numbers remain low and capacities need to be increased.