US imposes sanctions on Bosnian Serb leader Dodik’s corporate network

[ad_1]

SARAJEVO (Reuters) – The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on two individuals and a network of companies that created wealth for Bosnian Serb nationalist leader Milorad Dodik and his family, the Treasury Department said in a statement.

Dodik is the pro-Russian president of the autonomous Serbian republic and has long advocated for the region’s separation from Bosnia and is already under sanctions from the United States and Britain.

Last October, Washington imposed sanctions on his two adult children – son Igor Dodik and daughter Gorica Dodik – and their companies, saying they facilitated the Bosnian Serb leader’s ongoing corruption.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said Dodik used his public office to amass personal wealth through seven companies linked to himself and Igor Dodik, who controls companies formally run by individuals loyal to him.

The office imposed sanctions on Djordje Djuric, the owner of Infinity and its subsidiaries, and Milenko Cicic, the general manager of Kaldera.

OFAC cited an example in which Dodik used state government officials from his party to manipulate the draft state budget for 2024 and award a state contract to Prointer ITSS doo Banja Luka Clan Infinity International Group (an entity within his network of companies) outside of a competitive process.

“The United States condemns Dodik’s ongoing efforts to undermine the institutions that ensure peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region,” said Brian Nelson, the Treasury Department’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial BroadCast Unitedligence.

He added: “We will continue to expose the fraudulent activities of Dodik and his family who exploit their own people for their own gain.”

The United States says Dodik has undermined the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement, which ended the 1992-1995 Bosnian war that killed 100,000 people and divided the country into two autonomous regions, Republika Srpska and the Bosnian-Croat Federation, linked by a weak central government.

Over the past few years, Dodik has stepped up his separatist rhetoric, hoping to gain support from Russia, Serbia and Hungary.

(Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Rod Nickel)