Serbia's Anti-Corruption Agency: No grounds to act on minister's salary from dissolved institution

Serbia's Anti-Corruption Agency has declared it will not take action regarding Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government Snežana Paunović receiving a salary from the Peć Pharmacy Institution, which officially ceased to exist in 2021. The agency stated there are no grounds for proceedings as Paunović had consistently declared these earnings.

Radio Slobodna Evropa (RSE) previously reported that Paunović, while serving as a Member of Parliament for the Socialist Party of Serbia, also drew a salary as the acting director of the Peć Pharmacy Institution in Kosovo. According to data from the Anti-Corruption Agency's website, she held this position from July 1, 2014, until she became minister on April 15, 2025. However, the institution, based in Goraždevac, was officially dissolved by the Serbian government on October 7, 2021. Documents analyzed by RSE indicated that Paunović herself submitted the request to have the institution removed from the register of healthcare facilities.

In response to inquiries from the newspaper Danas, the Anti-Corruption Agency confirmed that Paunović had submitted regular reports on her assets and income, as mandated by law. All reported details about her assets, income, and public positions are publicly available on the agency's website. The agency noted that Paunović declared her role as acting director of the Peć Pharmacy Institution in reports filed on April 30, 2018, May 11, 2023, March 1, 2024, April 17, 2024, and May 15, 2025. Given these declarations and the agency's legal authority, it concluded that there is no basis to initiate proceedings concerning the matter.