Serbian police have raided several major non-governmental organisations in search of evidence of financial malfeasance.
The move on February 25 came as four organisations were accused of embezzling funds from the US development agency USAID.
According to the NGOs, which have supported the ongoing protests against the current President Aleksandar Vučić, the police action was an attack on their civil rights.
In a statement to the press, Nenad Stefanovic, Belgrade’s prosecutor general, accused the four NGOs searched of possible “embezzlement of American taxpayers’ funds”.
He cited the “doubts about USAID’s work” expressed by “US President Donald Trump and the US Department of Government Efficiency [DOGE], led by Elon Musk”.
Stefanovic said the Special Anti-Corruption Department had contacted the US Justice Department for information concerning USAID over the possible abuse of funds, money laundering and the improper spending of US taxpayers’ funds in Serbia.
All USAID-related documents were seized from the four NGOs by the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office, which also questioned those in charge of spending.
Several non-governmental organisations in Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia described these raids as an attempt to intimidate these groups.
In a reaction in French newspaper Le Monde on February 26, Radovan Kupres, a representative of the Centre for Research, Transparency and Accountability (CRTA), said: “It’s the first time we’ve been subjected to something like this, we have more and more the impression of living like in Belarus.”
The CRTA described itself as an independent, non-partisan civil society organisation committed to developing democratic culture and civic activism.
Other NGOs in the crosshairs of the police were the watchdogs Gradjanske Inicijative (Civic Initiatives), Trag and the Policy Centre.
Maja Stojanovic, director of Civic Initiatives, told Reuters that 20 detectives raided its offices “without a court order”.
“Today’s intrusion by the police … represents a brutal demonstration of force and continued pressure on civil society in Serbia,” Stojanovic said.
Since 2001, USAID has donated close to $1 billion (€950 million) to Serbia. Officially, this was to “strengthen the rule of law and improve good governance” but some, including the Serbian Government, have doubted these intentions.
In recent years, Serbia has seen multiple protests against Vučić, driven by accusations of corruption, electoral fraud and growing authoritarianism.
A significant trigger was the November 2024 collapse of a train station canopy in Novi Sad, killing 15 people, which demonstrators blamed on government negligence and graft tied to a Chinese-led reconstruction project.
This sparked major student-led protests, starting in November 2024 and growing into the largest protest movement in Serbia’s history by early 2025, with tens of thousands demanding governmental accountability and Vučić’s resignation.
In late January, he resigned, stating he did not want to fuel social tensions further.
Why is the position of the European Union with Serbia so delicate?
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For years, the European Union had been critical of Vučić’ and his “illiberal democracy”.
Brussels scolded him for his consolidation of power, suppression of media freedom and erosion of judicial independence.
Vučić’s ties with Moscow, exemplified by his refusal to impose sanctions on Russia after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, drew particular ire. The European Parliament explicitly condemned Serbia’s stance in resolutions that tied its EU accession to stricter compliance.
The war in Ukraine and the EU’s growing need for critical resources, especially lithium, then prompted an apparent change of attitude.
Brussels started to see Serbia’s Jadar Valley, home to one of Europe’s largest lithium deposits, as key for its “green” transition.
By mid-2024, the EU’s tone had softened as it sought to secure Serbia’s lithium through a deal it signed with Serbia in July with then-German chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič, granting European carmakers exclusive access to the reserves.
That was despite the popular protest in the valley, fuelled by environmental concerns, on top of the national protests against Vučić’s regime.
COMMENT: Its official rationale is to “strengthen democracy”. In reality, USAID funded organisations that oppose conservative governments, promote progressive policies and undermine national traditions and identities, writes @BogdanosK. https://t.co/epr9DNDlCQ
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) February 10, 2025
