Leaked Files Reveal Serbia's Secret Expansion Of Chinese-Made Surveillance

BELGRADE -- The Serbian government is substantially expanding its advanced Chinese-made surveillance system, leaked documents reviewed by RFE/RL show, despite years of protests and backlash from the public over its use.

The documents seen by RFE/RL contain contacts with the Chinese technology giant Huawei.

They show large purchases of software and services necessary to increase the scale of a program called Safe City, a project first sold by Huawei in 2017 through a strategic partnership deal with Serbia's Interior Ministry.

The program aims to provide facial and license-plate recognition and other surveillance capabilities integrated into a unified, citywide system.

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Few details are known about the scale, scope, or cost of Serbia's surveillance projects with Huawei, and Serbian authorities have tried to keep Safe City systems out of the public eye in recent years amid international criticism, legal challenges, and protests, especially over the use of biometric facial recognition.

The issue is particularly controversial because its use is not provided for under Serbian law. Serbian authorities maintain that facial-recognition software is not yet deployed through the Safe City project, but they have tried to legalize biometric surveillance multiple times before withdrawing their legislative efforts following intense public pressure.

Currently the capital, Belgrade, as well as Novi Sad and Nis -- the country's second- and third-largest cities -- have deployed Safe City programs in cooperation with Huawei.

The files reviewed by RFE/RL highlight that the Serbian government has continued to expand the surveillance system provided by Huawei secretly.

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One particular contract dated to March 2024 contains a confidential order for software and services to expand Serbia's eLTE system, the private citywide hotspot that is only for police and surveillance devices. It functions as the backbone for Huawei's Safe City project to link cameras and facial-recognition software with police terminals and command centers in order to provide widespread monitoring.

Among the contents of the order is a noteworthy increase in the dispatching system that uses the eLTE network, including GIS source access software that expands the ability to pull up camera feeds in specific locations. Experts who spoke to RFE/RL said the 35 units purchased from Huawei could support up to 3,500 additional cameras on the expanded eLTE network.

"They have deliberately purchased the capacity to support 3,500 cameras," said Conor Healy, the director of government research at IPVM, a surveillance-industry research firm, after reviewing the purchase orders. "That suggests they intend to install cameras up to that amount."

Serbia's Interior Ministry and Huawei did not respond to RFE/RL's request for comment.

Why Is The Expansion Of Huawei's Safe City Project Significant?

That order and other files reviewed by RFE/RL are among more than 1.7 million leaked files that were posted to the dark web in June following a hack on the Serbian IT company Informatika AD, which has won large government tenders, including from the Interior Ministry.

eLTE Serbia - Huawei Contract

Among that trove of documents are more than 200 files related to procurement that Informatika AD carried out on behalf of Serbia's Interior Ministry, including the order with Huawei to expand the eLTE system for the Safe City project.

Informatika AD told RFE/RL that it was the target of a hack but did not answer questions about the procurement for the Interior Ministry.

When the flagship Safe City project for Belgrade, a city of 1.1 million people, was first announced in 2017, it involved the installation of 1,000 security surveillance cameras equipped with AI software for facial recognition.

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The government has not disclosed how many cameras in total are installed in Belgrade or elsewhere in Serbia, and while it is unclear from the software and services purchased in the order if the 3,500 cameras will be only used in Belgrade or also in other cities it marks a substantial increase in the country's surveillance capabilities.

"They are increasing the capacity quite significantly," Healy said. "If this was deployed to Belgrade, it would indicate a level of camera density rarely seen outside of China."

Defenders of surveillance projects like Huawei's Safe City argue that they offer major efficiency gains by automating city operations and building up systems already in use in democratic countries. Serbian authorities have also said the technology is needed in order to curb crime and prevent terrorism.

But critics say such technology can be misused to help entrench authoritarian political leaders and is exported from China with diminished transparency and accountability.

SEE ALSO: Chinese-Made Surveillance Cameras Are Spreading Across Eastern Europe, Despite Security Concerns

Inside Serbia, the government's attempts to expand the use of biometric surveillance faces stiff resistance from human rights and privacy activists over the potential abuse of Chinese mass-monitoring equipment by the authorities to track and intimidate protesters in order to curb antigovernment dissent.

A 2022 RFE/RL investigation found how Serbian officials are already using Chinese tech to track and target activists and protesters, raising concerns that more advanced Chinese-made surveillance equipment, such as facial recognition, could also be abused.

Domestic and international organizations, including Serbia's Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and the European Parliament, continue to warn about the expansion of the government's surveillance capabilities without adequate legal regulation for processing biometric data that is obtained through facial recognition software.

A surveillance camera is seen in front of the Serbian Parliament building in Belgrade.

In its past statements, Huawei has maintained it is only a manufacturer and vendor and that responsibility for how its technology is used ultimately lies with the user.

Trail Of Documents

RFE/RL has checked the authenticity of the documents pertaining to the Safe City project through publicly available databases and verifying specific details visible on the files themselves, such as signatures and stamps.

The procurement order from Huawei to expand the eLTE system includes new software and related services ranging from new base station tracking and voice call management to improved video surveillance capabilities and analytical tools. The order also contains a warranty and on-site installation and maintenance from Huawei-trained engineers.

The software and services are also provided by Huawei at a substantial discount.

The order lists the pre-tax total cost for the procurement at more than $3 million (2.6 million euros) but is reduced to $1.2 million (1 million euros) after a "one-time discount" is applied on the invoice. That represents a 57 percent discount worth more than $1.7 million (1.5 million euros) in savings.

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The package of software and services that includes among other items the GIS source access software that allows the network to support up to 3,500 cameras received a particularly large discount. The invoice lists the package as worth $1.1 million (961,501.72 euros) but a 92 percent discount is applied that lowers the cost to only $71,371.71 (69,087.69 euros) before tax.

The documents do not say why Huawei offered such large discounts.

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Chinese firms operating internationally are known to give steep discounts to secure business, but the savings applied are significant and it's unclear if Huawei faced any competition from other companies in securing the project in Serbia.

"The most likely explanation to me would be that Huawei is expecting a longer relationship with the Serbian government," Healy said. "Sometimes it's not about money for Huawei and it's more about the relationship between Serbia and China."

Serbia's Deepening Ties With China

While Huawei is a private company, it was selected as a national champion for the development of homemade telecom gear by the Chinese Communist Party. The US government has blacklisted the company over its connections to the Chinese military and concerns that its equipment could be used for espionage.

European governments, as well as countries such as Australia and Canada, have also brought in varying restrictions against the use of Huawei technology due to national security concerns.

SEE ALSO: How Serbia Became Blanketed In Chinese-Made Surveillance Cameras

Despite these concerns, the Serbian government has forged ahead with Huawei and other Chinese technology companies as Belgrade has deepened its ties with Beijing over the last decade through high-profile investments, infrastructure projects, and a growing footprint from Chinese firms.

Inside the Balkan country, the issue of Chinese-style surveillance has become one of the most visible signs of China's growing presence in Serbia, with an RFE/RL investigation from 2023 showing that 42 local-level governments across the country procured Chinese-made surveillance cameras and software, some with facial recognition capabilities.

RFE/RL Balkan Service correspondent Jelena Jankovic reported from Belgrade. China Global Affairs correspondent Reid Standish reported from Prague.