Within the framework of the project Countering Economic Crime in Serbia, a two-day workshop on enhancing discrepancy reporting and enforcement of sanction regime for untimely and inaccurate beneficial ownership (BO) registration took place in Belgrade.

The workshop brought together 30 representatives of regulatory authorities, registry officials, financial supervisors, and the judiciary to discuss the possibilities for enhancing of the BO transparency in current legal framework in Serbia and in particular, accuracy and completeness of data contained in the BO registry and enforcement of proportionate and dissuasive sanctions regime. Over the course of the two days, participants discussed a set of recommendations aimed at closing the existing gaps in discrepancy reporting and addressing the absence of a concrete BO verification procedure. These recommendations envisage the establishment of a comprehensive coordination mechanism between the Registry, supervisory authorities, the Tax Administration, and legal entities; establishment of a beneficial ownership risk assessment procedure within the BO Registry; the dissemination of its results, and the development of guidelines for processing discrepancies in cooperation with misdemeanour courts.

Special sessions included high-level comparative analysis of Serbia and the EU frameworks, practical guidance for regulators and supervisors, best practices in BO verification, and sanctioning procedures at misdemeanour courts. The workshop contributed to strengthening the knowledge and capacity of Serbian institutions to tackle challenges in beneficial ownership registration and to enforce an effective sanction regime in accordance with international standards.

The activity took place within the project “Countering Economic Crime in Serbia”, funded by Sweden, represented by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, and implemented by the Council of Europe.