Three years in prison for hiding party financiers

The Serbian government will determine the day after the Bill on the financing of parties that is included in the conditions without which Serbia will not be able to get EU candidate status

Under the new law on party financing, which the Serbian government on Thursday to determine not only the limited contributions of citizens - 20 average salaries, but also provides for stiff penalties for those who conceal the source and amount of funds collected by party - from three months to three years in prison.

The regulation is on the list of ten well-known conditions without which Serbia can not become a candidate member of the European Union, and is to be found before the members.

Djordje Vukovic, CeSID program director and a member of the Working Group for the preparation of this law, the "Politika" said that the Venice Commission and the EU had some comments on a draft law, but their comments that these were not essential. "It was more about clarification, because it is about people who do not know the whole legal system of Serbia," said our source.

The new law, introducing European standards in this area, will be introduced limits to which the citizen of a political party can submit a maximum of 20 average salaries, a company 200th In an election year, and that the elections at all levels, the limit would effectively be double: the citizen will be able to donate 40, 400 salary and the company.

Interestingly, after adoption of this law will not only be liable if the party receives a contribution above the amount of illegal and all donations over a thousand dinars will have to be transferred to the account, but will respond to anyone who gives such a contribution.

Are prescribed and heavy fines, and imprisonment for those who violate its provisions. Vukovic estimates that the planned punishment harsher than the existing ones. Practically, there are three sets of sanctions: penalties, those with abuse of the law and those that include the seizure of funds from public sources.

According to the Draft Law envisages, for example, the sentence of three months to three years in prison for donors and the responsible parties if they conceal the source of funding or the amount of collected funds. A fine of 200,000 to two million dinars will be penalized for example, if a party receives funding for its money from foreign governments, foreign companies and foreigners, anonymous donors ...

In addition to the duty of political parties, the allegations true and obligations of the Anti-corruption that will control the legality of their funding. Therefore, Vukovic thought to be related with the regulation of three key things. First, it is modeled so that solutions match existing practice. Second, the Anti-Corruption enabled the so-called parallel monitoring, and she will, at a time when the party's report, have your system information, and assessment of how determined the party spent in an electoral campaign. Of course, and there will be some discrepancies, but will at least be possible insight on whether the deviation is large or not. "If the agency sees that a party spent two million euros for the campaign and the party says it has spent five hundred thousand, then it will be a signal to check what's wrong here", says Vukovic. The third important thing, according to Vukovic, is that it introduces a whole system of the Agency, which provide numerous opportunities for control of funding.