On the last day of September, a public debate of the Draft Law on Central Records of Beneficial Owners, proposed by the Ministry of Economy, was completed. The public hearing lasted 20 days, which is the minimum deadline prescribed by the Rules of Procedure of the Government, and no round table was organized during it, in order to enable interested parties and professionals to express their opinions, exchange experiences and discuss with representatives of the Ministry. In addition to being nonparticipatory, this process is characterized by a lack of transparency, bearing in mind that the composition of the Working Group that worked on the text of the Draft is not available to the public.

 

The proposed provisions on beneficial owners are potentialy very problematic, because due to the imprecision and too wide-set frameworks, they could particularly complicate the position of citizens' associations, which have repeatedly indicated that the registration of the beneficial owners of the association is inconsistent with the legal nature of these entities, and that another mechanism should be found that would allow the necessary controls to be carried out in accordance with the legal framework in the field of anti-money laundering,  and also take into account the specificity of the legal forms of different subjects. The adoption of the proposed provisions would thus lead to adverse consequences on the work of the association, and therefore on the narrowing of freedom of association in our country.

 

Partners Serbia participated in the public debate by submitting general comments on the process and text of the Draft, as well as concrete proposals for amending certain provisions.