Compliance Champions: Crypto Compliance in Serbia: Navigating Digital Assets Law

Solidus Labs’ Delphine Forma hosts Nina Vukovic (Head of Compliance & MLRO, ECD) and Ilija Rilakovic (Attorney at Law, Lawdecoded) for a deep dive into Serbia’s crypto rulebook and day-to-day compliance on the ground. Nina explains how ECD—Serbia’s oldest regulated exchange and wallet provider with the country’s first crypto ATMs—navigates licensing, AML, and the Travel Rule. Ilija breaks down the Serbian framework across the Digital Assets Law, AML Law, and FX/capital controls, and why dual oversight (Central Bank vs. Securities Commission) can complicate what counts as a “cryptocurrency” vs. a “token.”

💡 What you’ll learn:

• Serbia’s framework rests on two pillars: the Digital Assets Law (2021) & AML Law (2018).
• Dual oversight: Central Bank regulates cryptocurrencies, while the SEC covers tokens, though the line between the two is often blurred.
• Serbia vs. MiCA key gaps: Different terminology, No clear token categories (all are just “tokens”), licensing limited to Serbia (no EU-style passporting).
• Compliance challenges: the difficulty of onboarding foreigners (restrictions on remote KYC & foreign bank accounts).
• Operational realities: Travel Rule rollout, market-abuse provisions (and why secondary market maturity matters), regulator engagement, and real fraud typologies targeting seniors.
• Token issuance: Simple and fast.
• Financial crime typologies: Organized fraud schemes targeting retirees with fake brokers highlight the risks of anonymity and scams.