Serbian Police Raid NGO Offices For Abuse Of USAID Funds

ILLUSTRATION OF UNSPLASH/Gabe Pierce

JAKARTA - Serbian police raided the offices of two NGOs supervisory democracy based in Belgrade to seek information about alleged misuse of funds donated by the US international aid agency (USAID).

The move comes after US President Donald Trump's administration frozen USAID funding for 90 days in January and has since sought to reduce the amount of aid funds.

NGOs, media and humanitarian projects around the world are affected, including in southern and eastern European countries such as Bosnia and Hungary.

Nenad Stefanovic, Serbian senior prosecutor said prosecutors were seeking information from the US following Trump's statement, Foreign Minister Marco Rubio, billionaire Elon Musk and other US officials about freezing USAID funding.

Stefanovic said CRTA polls and supervisors of the Civic Initiatives, Trag, and Policy Center were being investigated following allegations by top US officials over-issued USAID funds.

The Special Anti-Corruption Department (Serbia) contacted the US Department of Justice to obtain information about USAID for misuse of funds, possible money laundering, and spending of American taxpayer funds that were not supposed to be in Serbia, "he said in a TV broadcast reported by Reuters, Tuesday, February 25.

Stefanovic said the High Prosecutor's Office had ordered the confiscation of all documentation related to USAID from the four organizations and ordered an examination of individuals responsible for expenses.

Maja Stojanovic, executive director of the Civic Initiatives, said about 20 officers raided his organization's offices without giving a court order.

The police's intrusion today represents brutal demonstrations of violence and ongoing pressure on civilians in Serbia, Stojanovic said.

The raid took place amid mass student protests that were ongoing against populist President Aleksandar Vucic and his government.

Students, opposition parties and human rights watchdogs accuse authorities loyal to Vucic and Serbia's Progressive Party of rampant corruption, bribing voters, curbing media freedom, committing violence against opponents, and having ties to organized crimes.

Vucic and his allies denied the allegations.

USAID has invested nearly $1 billion in Serbia since 2001 to support growth, strengthen the rule of law and improve good governance, including donations to government and parliamentary agencies, as well as a number of supervisory agencies and human rights organizations.