The Higher Public Prosecutor's Office (HPO) in Belgrade announced today that it has ordered the seizure of all documentation related to donations from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) from four non-governmental organizations in Serbia, as well as interviews with responsible persons of those NGOs regarding the spending of funds from donations.
The statement says that the police, at the behest of the VJP, this morning began collecting information regarding the work of the Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability (CRTA), Civic Initiatives, the Center for Practical Politics, and the Trag Foundation.
"The Special Department for Combating Corruption of the Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade has sent requests to collect the necessary information to the National Bank of Serbia and the Anti-Money Laundering Administration, in order to verify the financial transactions of the aforementioned non-governmental organizations," said Chief Public Prosecutor Nenad Stefanović.
He added that the VJT has contacted the US Department of Justice to provide the necessary information regarding "suspicions" raised by the country's highest officials regarding the misuse of funds, possible money laundering, and improper spending of US taxpayer funds in Serbia.
Stefanović stated that the statements by American officials mentioned non-governmental organizations, as well as contractors from the US who were awarded projects in Serbia.
"Among those who have expressed doubts about the work of USAID are US President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House Spokesperson Caroline Levitt, the US Department of Government Efficiency headed by Elon Musk, and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kesha Patel," Stefanović said.
According to him, the letter of request to the US Department of Justice was sent through international legal assistance in criminal matters through the Serbian Ministry of Justice.
"The reason for the appeal is the fact that the allocation and spending of USAID funds are not automatically available to the prosecution, but according to the rules established by that organization itself, USAID decides which data to submit to the prosecution, and only after the prosecution proves to USAID that there are specific suspicions of irregularities and money laundering," Stefanović stated.
The prosecutor added that the letter of request was sent to the US Department of Justice regarding the pre-investigation procedure initiated by the Special Department for Suppression of Corruption of the Public Prosecutor's Office to determine the existence of elements of the criminal offense of Abuse of Position of Responsible Person and the criminal offense of Money Laundering from the Criminal Code, against currently unknown persons.
"The excessive concentration of funds in the accounts of several NGOs or affiliated consulting firms in Serbia, along with a non-transparent process of allocating funds to only a narrow circle of NGOs and the absence of comprehensive financial reports, indicates the existence of grounds for suspicion regarding the legality of the spending of USAID funds," the prosecutor stated.
The US Department of Justice has been requested to assist in obtaining evidence, providing information or possible expert findings, providing financial, economic or business records (contracts, invoices, etc.) from banks or other financial institutions, and identifying or locating proceeds of crime or other items that may serve as evidence in criminal proceedings in Serbia before a competent court.
"At the same time, due to the seriousness of the allegations made, and in order to verify the allegations and collect evidence regarding suspicions of misuse of USAID funds, misuse of funds and possible money laundering by non-governmental organizations in Serbia, the Special Department for Combating Corruption of the Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade has sent the police a request to collect the necessary information in order to determine whether there are grounds for suspicion that a person has committed a criminal offense within the jurisdiction of this department," the Chief Public Prosecutor stated.
SSP: Vučić's retaliation
The Freedom and Justice Party (SSP) condemned the "shameful incursion of members of the Ministry of Interior into the premises of non-governmental organizations" and told "the commander of this action, Aleksandar Vučić, that the people fighting for freedom and justice cannot win with the repression that they are intensifying."
The SSP said in a statement that the police raid on the premises of Crta, Civic Initiatives and other NGOs was Vučić's retaliation for leaving all government working groups, after it became clear to everyone that the regime continues to destroy democracy.
"While the people, led by students, are protesting and demanding accountability and justice, Vučić's regime is being persecuted by the non-governmental sector, which has clearly told him not to implement the reform agenda he promised the Europeans," they said in a statement.
They pointed out that proof that this is naked terror against people who advocate for a free society and European values is that this legal violence was first announced by the regime's tabloids, and then the prosecution reacted by explaining its activities by saying that these organizations were funded by USAID.
"If they were really dealing with those funded by USAID, the police would today raid numerous ministries that received huge sums of money from USAID, and Ana Brnabić, who publicly thanked them for their donations, would have to explain everything," the statement reads.
Dojčinović: It's clear that everything is a setup
KRIK editor Stevan Dojčinović assessed that Serbia, with the police raid on four non-governmental organizations, has taken a significant step towards a dictatorship like Belarus, and that even from Prosecutor Stefanović's presentation, "it is clear that everything is a setup."
"Prosecutor Stefanović was visibly nervous at the conference," Dojčinović wrote on the social network Iks, assessing that the prosecutor himself "probably understood that he was on a path of no return."
"When the criminal is out of power in Serbia, he will be held accountable for such fabricated investigations," said the editor of KRIK, adding that "it is clear that everything is a fabrication, even from Stefanović's own words."
"America did not ask Serbia to conduct an investigation into the spending of USAID money, or American taxpayers' money. So, there is no basis for an investigation in Serbia. This is evident from the fact that the prosecutor says that he initiated the investigation based on public statements by people in America, and that Serbia sent letters of request to America, and not the other way around," Dojčinović stated.
The investigation into the spending of USAID money is, according to him, an idea from Serbia. Certainly not Stefanović's, but one that came from the top of the government, added the KRIK editor.
Apart from the fact that Serbia, as he stated, has nothing to do with how money from the American budget is spent, the criminal acts that Stefanović listed show, according to Dojčinović, that his investigation is a complete set-up.
"First of all, a criminal offense - money laundering. USAID allocated money transparently, publicly announcing it on its website, with payments that went directly from them to the accounts of non-governmental organizations. So everything was legitimate and transparent, without any cover-ups. There is no basis to suspect money laundering," Dojčinović pointed out.
DS: Escalation of repression and crackdown on regime critics
The Democratic Party (DS) assessed that this morning's police control of the work of non-governmental organizations in Belgrade represents an "escalation of repression" and a "showdown with critics of the regime."
In a statement, they assessed that the action, ordered by the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office, "used a fabricated pretext to silence all those who are an obstacle to the unlimited power of the Serbian Progressive Party and Aleksandar Vučić."
"It is no coincidence that the targets of this revenge attack are primarily CRTA and Civic Initiatives, which have publicly refused to cooperate with the regime and have argued and principledly sided with citizens in the ongoing protests, exposing government corruption," the DS assessed.
They stated that it is "ironical" that the review of the spending of USAID funds "is being initiated by the regime that appointed Ana Brnabić to head the government and the National Assembly, who was, as she herself points out, the founder and president of the Board of Directors of the NGO NALED, whose establishment was funded by USAID."
"Is there anything more bizarre than the fact that representatives of the regime are talking about 'foreign agents' while electing a person to the head of the Government and then the National Assembly who built his career through USAID, paid for with funds from this organization," asked the DS.
They assessed that "it is necessary to respond to the new escalation of violence by forming a broader front of organizations and individuals who must put aside all differences and find a way to act together, in an organized and synchronized manner, with the aim of restoring the rule of law, respect for human rights and freedoms, and constitutional guarantees for all citizens of Serbia."
PZP: Stop the intimidation
The Movement for Overturning (PZP) condemned today "the police raid on the offices of several non-governmental organizations" and asked the current government to "stop intimidation, because such persecution represents an abuse of institutions."
The movement assessed that the raid on the premises of non-governmental organizations represents "a continuation of the harassment" of civil society according to the prescription of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, "who also sent police to the premises of non-governmental organizations."
PZP added that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić is trying to discredit civil society using intimidation mechanisms that "take on the characteristics of paranoia in the search for the organizers of the color revolution in Serbia."
Ecological Uprising: Check documentation on USAID donations to the Government of Serbia
The Ecological Uprising Movement today asked Prosecutor Stefanović to, just as he issued an order today to investigate the operations of the NGOs Crta and Civic Initiatives, act in the same way and issue an order to seize all documentation related to USAID donations to the Government of Serbia.
In a statement, the Ecological Uprising also requested that the prosecutor's office conduct discussions with ministers regarding the circumstances of the spending of funds from donations, the pre-established procedures for spending USAID funds, and whether there was an obligation to inform donors about the intended spending of those funds.
"We insist that this request - order also include Ana Brnabić, who was engaged in various American consulting firms that implemented projects funded by USAID in Serbia," the movement added.
They also stated that Minister for European Integration Tanja Miščević said last year that since the beginning of cooperation with USAID in 2001, through various cooperation models and contracts, the US has invested 1,2 billion euros in Serbia.
"The law must apply equally to everyone, if it applies to NGOs, it must also apply to state bodies," said the Ecological Uprising.
ZLF: Police and BIA to search the Government, Parliament and ministries for USAID funds
The Green Left Front (ZLF) party announced today that it expects the police and the Security and Intelligence Agency (BIA) to conduct searches of the Serbian Government, the Serbian Parliament, the Supreme Court, and all ministries that have used USAID funds.
"Thankfully, Ana Brnabić removed the (USAID) logo from the National Assembly website. Some were not so up-to-date," the party wrote on its X social media account.
Institute for European Affairs: US aid through USAID ended up mostly in the Serbian budget
From 2000 to the present, the US has provided Serbia with development assistance totaling more than a billion dollars, and the dominant part of the donations ended up in the Serbian budget through USAID and other American agencies, where it was at the disposal of the political majority, the Institute for European Affairs announced today.
From 2000 to 2012, American aid was crucial to Serbia's economic survival, as the US, among other things, supported the reconstruction of the energy system destroyed by sanctions, the establishment of the banking sector, as well as budgetary transfers that paid back wages, pensions, and social benefits, including debts incurred through the seizure of old foreign currency savings.
During that period, financial support was aimed at the basic stabilization of a state that was in deep economic and institutional collapse, in whose collapse Slobodan Milošević's then Minister of Information, Aleksandar Vučić, participated, the statement said.
Since 2012, the money the government receives from USAID and other US agencies has been redirected towards sectoral reforms – primarily in the areas of public administration, justice and security, it added.
However, according to the Institute for European Affairs, the spending structure has not changed - almost all the money still ends up in the Serbian budget, which is controlled by the political majority.
For the period from 2012 to 2020, the US Government donated as much as 110.330.310 US dollars to Serbia, it added.
As an example of the structure of donations, the statement states that in 2020 alone, Serbia received 9.422.000 US dollars from the US, of which one million dollars was donated to develop the government's e-Health program, and almost two million dollars was allocated to the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs through the International Criminal Investigation Training Assistance Program.
Almost $2,5 million was directed to support criminal justice reform in Serbia and the fight against corruption, while another almost $XNUMX million went to the Government of Serbia for various activities grouped into the so-called "supercluster support".
Of the total donation in 2020, $300.000 was also allocated to universities for research and studies, while the remaining funds were distributed to the media, media organizations, study tours, and the smallest portion to civil society organizations.
The official website of the Government of Serbia, which contains the database on international development assistance (ISDACON: http://evropa.gov.rs), currently does not contain data on US donations from 2021 to the present, but according to available information, support has continued to be of similar intensity, the statement added.
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