On 9–10 July 2025, two training sessions focused on enhancing the capacity of the exchange office sector in Serbia to detect and report suspicious financial activities were held in Belgrade. The event brought together over 100 professionals working directly in the exchange office sector as well as the representatives of the supervisory authority – National Bank of Serbia. The training focused on raising awareness of obliged entities on their new obligations under amended Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) legislation and key risks for the sector of exchange offices identified in the National Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment (NRA).
In the latest NRA, it was assessed that the risk of money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation through exchange offices has increased from medium in 2021 to high in 2024, due to lack of awareness of the obliged entities, low number of reported suspicious transactions and their quality. To address this issue, Council fo Europe in cooperation with National Bank of Serbia has developed Guidelines for exchange offces containing overview of key risks for the sector, updated indicators and typologies for recognizing of suspicious transactions and instructions for development of entity-level risk-assessments. The training also offered guidance on content of suspicious transactions reports, reporting timelines and interaction with Financial Intelligence Unit.
Through interactive segments and case-based discussions, participants were provided an opportunity to work on real-life scenarios, helping to clarify the ambiguities regarding new obligations under amended AML/CFT Law. This training marks another step forward in strengthening Serbia’s framework for preventing economic crime, reinforcing the operational capacity of key actors in one of the more vulnerable segments of the financial system.
The activity has taken place within the Project “Countering Economic Crime in Serbia”, funded by the Swedish International Development Agency, and implemented by the Council of Europe.
