OSCE Mission to Serbia supports capacity of the police to fight corruption

On the second anniversary of Serbia’s Interior Ministry’s Anti-Corruption Department, held in Belgrade on 6 March 2020, ten Serbian police officers received diplomas after successfully completing internationally accredited courses in financial crime forensics.

On the same occasion, the OSCE Mission to Serbia handed over IT equipment to the Department aiming to further enhance police officers’ professionalism and competence in conducting efficient and effective investigations of economic crime and corruption.

“The systematic changes that the Ministry introduced in the fight against corruption are the best testimony to the country’s ownership of key achievements, resulting in efficiency in investigating, deterring and curbing economic crime and other forms of corruption,” said Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia Andrea Orizio. 

“I particularly commend the Ministry of Interior for its commitment and effort in developing the Anti-Corruption Department’s capacity to conduct complex financial investigations, examine fraud, and investigate money laundering and other forms of crime,” said Orizio.

This initiative is part of an OSCE project that aims to strengthen the investigative capacity of the Ministry of the Interior’s Anti-corruption Department established in 2018.

The OSCE Mission to Serbia is implementing this project with the financial support of the Government of Norway, which has funded a series of specialized courses on various aspects of investigating economic crime and corruption. The Government of Italy funded the IT equipment donated to the Anti-corruption Department.   

The OSCE Mission to Serbia has been working in partnership with Serbia’s Ministry of Interior on enhancing police capacities to effectively prevent and combat corruption since 2013.