Across the Western Balkans, illicit money moves through notarised contracts, property deeds, loan agreements, invoices and audited financial statements – paperwork that requires a licensed professional to sign, certify or stamp before it can be considered legitimate.
In Serbia, professional money laundering has been institutionalised through cooperation within the financial sector and the real estate sector, according to a report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC).
“Notaries, intermediaries and accountants routinely formalise the sale of undervalued assets, fictitious loans and inflated invoices, providing a legal façade for illicitly obtained funds,” the report states, as reported by Nova Ekonomija.
The report notes that the 2024 national risk assessment identifies the real estate, accounting and brokerage sectors as key channels for money laundering.
At the beginning of 2026, the discovery of at least €968,880 derived from cocaine trafficking in Serbia revealed a criminal group active between 2019 and 2024. According to reports, the group concealed illicit profits by storing cash in safes and investing in property in Serbia and Austria, while the organiser remains abroad in Ecuador, researchers from GI-TOC note.
They state that Serbia’s anti-money laundering administration recorded a significant increase in the number of suspicious transaction reports between 2021 and 2023, highlighting ongoing procedural vulnerabilities.
“The convergence of illegal construction, shell companies and asset transfers through opaque intermediaries reveals how professionals embed criminal proceeds into legitimate structures,” the report says.
Law enforcement sources note that these actors use their licensing and fiduciary status to lend credibility to transactions that would otherwise raise suspicion, the report adds.
The GI-TOC regional report is based on 89 interviews conducted in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia between December 2024 and January 2026, as well as court records, national risk assessments and MONEYVAL evaluations.
According to the report, real estate remains the primary channel for money laundering in the region.
“Undervalued or inflated property contracts, rapid resale between connected parties, notarised loans without a plausible source of funds, and nominee buyers replacing the true owner are recurring patterns across all six countries. Shell companies, fake invoices and cross-border corporate structures add additional layers, typically facilitated by the same small circle of notaries, lawyers and accountants, rather than a single operator,” the GI-TOC researchers write.
An Italian accountant, recorded discussing funds moving through Albania and Montenegro, described his approach without much subtlety: “First we make them disappear, then we transfer them to Hong Kong or elsewhere,” the report states.
Western Balkan countries have largely aligned their anti-money laundering legislation with FATF and EU standards, but supervision remains the weak link.
The report states that a functional system requires clearer limits on professional secrecy, background checks for notaries and accountants, standardised reporting templates, and genuine feedback between financial intelligence units and reporting professionals.
(Danas, 19.06.2026)