The Acting Director of the Agency for Prevention of Corruption, Dušan Drakić, participated as a panelist at the regional conference “Berlin Process 2025: Combating Illicit Finance,” held in Podgorica under the auspices of the United Kingdom.

The event brought together regional and international experts who discussed measures to strengthen financial integrity and support the European path of the countries in the region.

At a special panel dedicated to the topic of beneficial ownership, Drakić presented the experiences of the Agency in the fight against corruption and emphasized the importance of cooperation among institutions within the system.

“The key question in our work is whether a public official uses their position for personal gain, most often through illicit acquisition of property or abuse of power. Only through strong cooperation among all institutions—from anti-money laundering units, through the police and prosecution services—can we ensure effective investigations and real results. Special communication channels, harmonization of registers, and real-time access to information are the only path forward in the fight against corruption. This requires serious commitment and readiness of all institutions to serve the public,” Drakić stated.

He added that the control of income and assets of public officials in the country is fully regulated by the current legislation and that anti-corruption institutions are fully capable of carrying out this task. Control abroad, he emphasized, remains within the competence of the prosecution authorities.

“That is why regional cooperation is essential, especially through initiatives that enable faster data exchange on the assets, bank accounts, and companies of public officials across the region. An international agreement on data exchange for the purpose of verifying asset declarations represents a major potential. We appeal for this agreement to be signed and ratified as soon as possible in the parliaments of the remaining six countries of Southeast Europe. This would undoubtedly give significant momentum to the fight against corruption in the region,” Drakić emphasized.

The event “Berlin Process 2025: Combating Illicit Finance” was supported by international institutions and organizations, including the World Bank, the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the British AIRE Centre, and the Czech Police.