EU funded “Project on Criminal Assets Recovery in Serbia (CAR Project)”, implemented by the Council of Europe began on April 1, 2010 and will last for the next three years.
Economic and organised crime, corruption and money laundering are serious threats to economies, democracy and the rule of law across the world. South-Eastern Europe is particularly vulnerable to these threats due geographical, political and historic reasons.
Criminal activity generates proceeds the amount of which is difficult to address. Development of systems to search, seize and confiscate criminally gained assets is a matter of urgency and one of the most effective ways not only to recover the assets that can be used to fund public expenditures and compensate the crime victims; but also to satisfy the sense of justice and practically apply the principle that “crime should not pay”.
The Purpose of this Project is to enhance the institutional capacity and efficient functioning of the Directorate for Management of Seized and Confiscated Assets at the Ministry of Justice, the Financial Investigation Unit of the Ministry of Interior as well as other key institutions involved in the search, seizure, management and confiscation of the proceeds from crime in the Republic of Serbia.
This project builds on the results of the previous joint projects funded by the European Union and implemented by the Council of Europe such as the CARDS Regional Police Project (CARPO – 2004-2007), Project against Economic Crime and Money Laundering in Serbia (PACO-Serbia – 2005-2007), and Support to Prosecutor’s Network in South-Eastern Europe (PROSECO – 2008-2010).
It is expected that by the end of this project the assets recovery system in Serbia will be fully operational, which will be reflected by the significant increase in the amount of seized and confiscated criminal assets.
