The Minister of Justice, Mr. Nikola Selaković, met today with the Deputy Commander of the Financial Guard of the Republic of Italy, General Pasquale Debidda, with whom he discussed the past and future cooperation of the two countries, particularly when the prevention in the fight against corruption is in question.

After the meeting, Mr. Selaković said that establishing good international cooperation in sharing experience as well as knowledge and education of financial forensics experts has been agreed. He emphasized that for the implementation of the Financial Investigation Strategy, developed by the Ministry of Justice in cooperation with other state authorities, to be submitted to the Government of the Republic of Serbia by mid-April, is of utmost importance.

“The role of of the Financial Guard of the Republic of Italy could be of great importance for Serbia when the preparation of human resources for the implementation of the mentioned Strategy is in question”, emphasized Selaković. He reminded that the Financial Investigation Strategy foresees the creation of a system where the  prosecution-led investigation shall be strengthened by the creation of strike investigation teams, which will include not only police officers, but also representatives of the Tax Administration, Customs Administration and Administration for the Prevention of Money Laundering, and all other experts for the fight against financial and economic crime.

General Pasquale Debidda expressed great pleasure for having the opportunity to talk with Minister Selaković and hear his opinion regarding the fight against corruption and all other illegal activities which are a threat both to Italy and Serbia.

“The Italian Financial Guard is completely at disposal of the Serbian institutions for any aspect of sharing experience, but also education in the fight against financial and economic crime“, said General Debidda.