Civic Initiatives (Građanske inicijative), a Serbian NGO coalition, has formally alerted FATF, MONEYVAL, and UN human rights monitors to new evidence of state authorities abusing anti-money laundering (AML) laws to target critics. In a February 2025 report submitted by the Global NPO Coalition on FATF, the group documented how Serbia’s Financial Intelligence Unit (AMLU) issued “strictly confidential” orders to banks in December 2024 and January 2025, demanding personal account data for five prominent civil society leaders—including Maja Stojanović (Civic Initiatives) and Sofija Todorović (Youth Initiative for Human Rights)—under the guise of investigating unspecified “criminal acts”. All targeted individuals lead NGOs advocating for electoral reforms, environmental protections, and government accountability amid ongoing nationwide protests.
The AMLU refused to disclose which “state body” requested the investigations or what alleged crimes justified the probes, citing risks to “pre-investigation proceedings”. This mirrors the 2019 “List” case, where the AMLU illegally obtained financial records of 20 journalists and 37 NGOs, later leaked to pro-regime media. Despite MONEYVAL’s 2021 rebuke, which barred Serbia from using AML/CFT measures without concrete evidence of financial crimes, the AMLU has escalated retaliatory tactics during the current wave of student-led demonstrations against corruption.
The report demonstrates a larger systemic pattern of repression: in 2024, pro-government outlets broadcasted confidential transaction data for 39 NGOs during environmental protests, falsely alleging “foreign-funded destabilization”. FATF and MONEYVAL have repeatedly warned Serbia against conflating civil society with terrorism risks under Recommendation 8, yet authorities continue exploiting AML frameworks to legitimize harassment.
Civic Initiatives’ appeal demands FATF enforce binding consequences for Serbia’s non-compliance with human rights safeguards, noting that the country’s AML/CFT reforms—partially funded by the Council of Europe—have failed to prevent institutionalized retaliation. With Serbia still addressing FATF-identified deficiencies, the report warns that inaction risks normalizing AML systems as tools of democratic erosion.
