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Serbia's Administration for the prevention of money laundering, operating under the Ministry of Finance, requested comprehensive financial checks from all banks in Serbia on five civil society activists: Maja Stojanović (Građanske inicijative), Katarina Đukić (ProGlas), Sofija Todorović (Inicijativa mladih za ljudska prava), Predrag Voštinić (Lokalni front), and Nebojša Petković (Ne damo Jadar). The requests were signed by acting director Željko Radovanović - a former member of the Security Intelligence Agency (BIA) - and invoked the Law on the prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing. The documents, marked "strictly confidential" and "confidential," were obtained by weekly Radar. The checks requested included account balances, transaction records, authorized signatories, safety deposit boxes, and all related financial documentation.
This is not the first time the Administration has been used in this way. In January 2019, it requested financial data on 57 individuals and organizations - including investigative journalists and NGOs - in what became known as the "Spisak" (List) case. The data subsequently appeared in pro-government tabloids as part of a smear campaign. The abuse drew condemnation from 131 civil society organizations, Amnesty International, UN Special Rapporteurs, the European Union, and the United States. Finance Minister Siniša Mali, who oversees the Administration, defended the action at the time by claiming the institution was simply doing its job. Despite those condemnations, acting director Radovanović publicly participated in a fabricated scandal in 2021 in which he announced checks on opposition leader Dragan Đilas' accounts in Mauritius - accounts that turned out not to exist.
The five activists targeted have each previously been in the authorities' crosshairs. Voštinić was physically attacked in September 2023 and has documented illegal surveillance by BIA and police. Todorović says she has been routinely and groundlessly held at border crossings by police. Several have been publicly named by President Vučić himself. All five have spoken out in response to the latest action: they describe it as a politically motivated attempt to intimidate critics and generate material for tabloid campaigns, rather than any genuine financial investigation. As Voštinić put it, the real purpose is to produce information - salary details, donor names, financial flows - that can be fed to a media environment operating without accountability.
The action comes as student protests continue to spread and attract broader public support. Since the protests began, the ruling Serbian Progressive Party has sought to frame them as a foreign-funded NGO conspiracy.
This is not the first time the Administration has been used in this way. In January 2019, it requested financial data on 57 individuals and organizations - including investigative journalists and NGOs - in what became known as the "Spisak" (List) case. The data subsequently appeared in pro-government tabloids as part of a smear campaign. The abuse drew condemnation from 131 civil society organizations, Amnesty International, UN Special Rapporteurs, the European Union, and the United States. Finance Minister Siniša Mali, who oversees the Administration, defended the action at the time by claiming the institution was simply doing its job. Despite those condemnations, acting director Radovanović publicly participated in a fabricated scandal in 2021 in which he announced checks on opposition leader Dragan Đilas' accounts in Mauritius - accounts that turned out not to exist.
The five activists targeted have each previously been in the authorities' crosshairs. Voštinić was physically attacked in September 2023 and has documented illegal surveillance by BIA and police. Todorović says she has been routinely and groundlessly held at border crossings by police. Several have been publicly named by President Vučić himself. All five have spoken out in response to the latest action: they describe it as a politically motivated attempt to intimidate critics and generate material for tabloid campaigns, rather than any genuine financial investigation. As Voštinić put it, the real purpose is to produce information - salary details, donor names, financial flows - that can be fed to a media environment operating without accountability.
The action comes as student protests continue to spread and attract broader public support. Since the protests began, the ruling Serbian Progressive Party has sought to frame them as a foreign-funded NGO conspiracy.
