In order to protect the financial interests of the European Union, the Republic of Serbia undertook the obligation to establish AFCOS – the Anti-Fraud Coordination Service – to facilitate effective cooperation and the exchange of information, including operational data, with the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). The Ministry of Finance’s proposal regarding the institutional placement of AFCOS was harmonized with OLAF in early 2013. Following this, the AFCOS was formally established through the Rulebook on Internal Organization and Systematization of Job Positions within the Ministry of Finance, as the Group for Combating Irregularities and Fraud in dealing with European Union Funds.

This group functioned as the national body responsible for:

• Coordinating legal, administrative, and operational activities to prevent and combat of irregularities and fraud, aimed at protecting the EU’s financial interests in the Republic of Serbia;
• Establishing operational and technical cooperation with OLAF;
• Monitoring the progress of investigations and judicial proceedings concerning fraud cases and reporting their status to OLAF; and
• Implementing capacity-building activities aimed at enhancing the protection of the EU’s financial interests.

In addition to the aforementioned tasks, the group was also entrusted with the establishment of the Network for Combating Fraud and management of  Irregularities in dealing with European Unions Funds. As a distinct organizational unit with three systematized job positions and functionally independent, it operated under the direct authority of the Minister of Finance, with operational coordination provided by the State Secretary who chaired the Negotiating Group for Chapter 32 – Financial Control.

With the amendment of the aforementioned Rulebook in August 2017, AFCOS transitioned from a group into a department, consisting of two narrower organizational units: the Group for Managing Reported Irregularities and Suspicions of Fraud and the Group for Data Analysis and Risk Management.

During the period since its establishment, AFCOS has evolved from a body with only a coordinative role to a department also tasked with conducting administrative checks on reported irregularities in the handling of EU funds.

Today, AFCOS functions as an internal unit of the Ministry of Finance, operating outside the structure of traditional sectors and secretariats, under the official title: Department for the Combating Irregularities and Fraud in dealing with European Union Funds (AFCOS). It consists of 13 systematized job positions and three sub-units:

• Group for Selection of Reported Irregularities and Risk Management,
• Group for Dealing with Reported Irregularities and Suspected Fraud, and
• Group for Study and Analytical Affairs.

Such institutional positioning enables AFCOS to maintain an optimal level of functional autonomy necessary for the unobstructed execution of its operational tasks.