Family Ministry millions for phantom associations
Category: Money and deals
Period: from 2021
Outcome: Under investigation (as of Feb 2026)
In 2021 and 2022, the Ministry of Family Welfare and Demography handed out around €8.6 million through public calls, and according to investigations by BIRN and Civic Initiatives, most of it went to a network of associations with no offices, no phones and no visible results. The school training sessions the money paid for were mostly never held, and the money ended up with relatives, neighbours and acquaintances of people in the network. Minister Ratko Dmitrović says he had nothing to do with the calls. The Prosecutor's Office for Organised Crime has been conducting a pre-investigation procedure since November 2023 with no visible steps, and the State Audit Institution has never audited the Ministry.
Money for associations with no results
In 2021 and 2022, the Ministry for Family Care and Demography, established in 2020, handed out around €8.6 million to associations through public calls for funding. According to research by BIRN and Civic Initiatives, most of the money went to a network of associations with no offices, no phones and no visible results: around five million euros in 2021 and around €2.6 million of three million euros in 2022.
The school training sessions the money paid for mostly never took place. Through dozens of newly founded agencies, the money ended up with relatives, neighbours and acquaintances of people in the network.
The minister and the selection committees
The minister at the time was Ratko Dmitrović, an official of Šapić's SPAS, which merged into the SNS in 2021. The selection committees included Aleksandra Čamagić, a long-time associate of Aleksandar Šapić; according to BIRN, the network received money wherever she worked: in New Belgrade, at the Ministry and then at the City of Belgrade.
Dmitrović says he had nothing to do with the calls, Čamagić says everything was done in line with the law, and Šapić accused BIRN of “dragging people through faeces”.
Complaint with no outcome
A criminal complaint against Dmitrović, unidentified members of the commissions and representatives of the associations was filed in 2023. The Prosecutor's Office for Organised Crime opened a pre-investigation procedure in November 2023, but according to Civic Initiatives it had taken no action by February 2026, and no one has been held accountable.
The State Audit Institution has never audited the Ministry.
Participants
- Ratko Dmitrović: In a 2023 criminal complaint, YUCOM and Civic Initiatives accuse him, along with ministry staff and 24 associations, over the 2022 grant calls. (responsible)
- Aleksandra Čamagić: She sat on the Ministry committees that in 2021 awarded about five million euros to a network of 23 phantom organisations (responsible)
- Aleksandar Šapić: As chair of the Interim Body he defended Čamagić, and two of his associates also sat on the committees that awarded the money to the network (commented on the case)
- Ministry of Family Care and Demography: In 2022 it awarded about €2.6 million to organisations with no offices and no results, and in 2021 it gave money for training that, according to the schools, was never held (responsible)
- City of Belgrade / City Administration: In 2023 he gave money through the secretariat to organisations in the network of phantom associations, and did not publish the amounts (responsible)
- Public Prosecutor's Office for Organised Crime: It began acting on the complaint in 2023, but according to Civic Initiatives it had taken no action by 2026 (investigation and courts)
- Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia: It requested documentation on the disputed projects, but did not answer BIRN's questions (investigation and courts)
- State Audit Institution: It has reportedly never audited the Ministry for Family Welfare (oversight and the public)
- BIRN: He published investigations into the grant competitions and said treasury data show that at least five million euros were embezzled (oversight and the public)
- Civic Initiatives: They say they filed a complaint together with YUCOM and that the prosecution had taken no action by 2026 (oversight and the public)
- Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights (YUCOM): It filed a criminal complaint against Dmitrović and members of the selection committees, on which the prosecution began to act (oversight and the public)
- Suzana Paunović: She allegedly inherited the flat where two associations from the network were registered; she says she knows about the grant competitions from the media (commented on the case)
- Vladimir Obradović: As an opposition member of the Provisional Authority, he sought Čamagić's dismissal together with Veselinović and voted against extending her term (oversight and the public)
- Dobrica Veselinović: As an opposition member of the Provisional Authority, he sought Čamagić's dismissal together with Obradović and voted against extending her term (oversight and the public)
Sources