Belgrade, September 11, 2001 (Beta) - Yugoslav National Bank governor Mladjan Dinkic and Serbian Finance Minister Bozidar Djelic are considering the possibility of reducing or even abolishing taxes on financial transactions.

Dinkic said for today's issue of "Svedok" that the taxes would be abolished when budget revenue needs have been reduced.

The Yugoslav governor stressed that abolishing these taxes would "halt price increases" and he said he was sure that "Mr. Djelic will abolish these taxes when the right moment comes."

Dinkic went on to say that Yugoslav foreign exchange reserves have now reached $960 million.

He stressed that there was more money in the budget than it was foreseen, which meant that there was no reason to fear for the stability of the Yugoslav dinar.

Dinkic noted that according to German Deutschen Bundesbank some $9 billion worth of funds were in illegal circulation in Serbia and Kosovo.

He said that gross national product amounted to $20 billion per annum, which according to German bankers, meaning that the sum is fully one half in the black market.

He pointed out that the quantity of illegal money would be established in the process of switching over to the Euro, and pointed out that earlier estimates of dirty money in Yugoslavia stood at 3-5 billion dollars.

The majority of the illegal money passes through business, while some money is in citizens' private possession, Dinkic says.

The law on illegal money trafficking will be introduced in the summer of 2002.

Dinkic also said that he did not expect new elections any time soon, adding that G17 Plus would come to a decision on participating in the next elections "when the time comes."

Dinkic described Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic as "a politician whose economic knowledge is on the increase" and said he was sure Djindjic also was not thinking of changing the value of the dinar.