US sanctions Milorad Dodik: Abuse of power and corruption

The US Treasury Department imposed new sanctions on Bosnian Serb leader and member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milorad Dodik, for destabilizing and corrupt activities in the country.

All properties in the US in Dodik's name have been frozen, as well as Alternativna Televizija doo Banja Luka (ATV), a Banja Luka-based media outlet owned by a company closely linked to Dodik's family.

“Dodik has undermined BiH institutions by calling for the seizure of state powers and by setting in motion the creation of parallel institutions in the Republika Srpska (RS) entity of BiH. Furthermore, Dodik has used his official position in BiH to amass personal wealth through bribery and other forms of corruption. His divisive ethno-nationalist rhetoric reflects his efforts to advance these political goals and distract attention from his corrupt activities. These actions threaten the stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of BiH and undermine the Dayton Peace Accords,” the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said in a statement.

“Milorad Dodik’s corrupt and destabilizing activities and self-interested efforts to dismantle the Dayton Peace Agreement threaten the stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the entire region. The United States will not hesitate to act against those who pursue corruption, destabilization, and division at the expense of their own people, as well as against those who enable and facilitate this behavior,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson.

DODIK'S DESTABILIZING AND CORRUPTIVE ACTIVITIES according to the US:

The Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA), signed by the presidents of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia in 1995, ended the ethnic conflict in BiH and established the current constitution of BiH. The Treasury previously designated Dodik on 17 January 2017 for actively obstructing or posing a significant risk of actively obstructing the DPA. Today’s actions build on this legacy by targeting his ongoing destabilizing activity in relation to the DPA, as well as his abuse of his official position to engage in widespread corruption, which undermines state institutions in BiH.

Dodik has also openly called for and taken action towards the unilateral transfer of state powers from the BiH government to the Republika Srpska (RS), one of the two entities that make up BiH along with the Brcko district. Dodik has also publicly opposed the internationally appointed High Representative for BiH and the composition of the BiH Constitutional Court. Furthermore, Dodik has publicly denigrated other ethnic and religious groups within BiH, further sowing division and political deadlock. Accordingly, Dodik has been designated under EO 14033 as responsible for or complicit in, or directly or indirectly involved in, a violation, or an act that obstructed or threatened the implementation of the DPA.

Dodik is also designated under EO 14033 for being responsible for or complicit in, or directly or indirectly involved in, corruption in relation to the Western Balkans. Specifically, he has established a patronage network in BiH from which he and his associates benefit. As an example of his corrupt actions, Dodik has offered government contracts and monopolies in RS directly to close business associates. With his corrupt proceeds, Dodik has engaged in bribery and additional corrupt activities to advance his personal interests at the expense of citizens in RS.

Dodik's personal media

Alternativna Televizija doo Banja Luka (ATV), a media outlet based in Banja Luka, RS, is privately owned by a company closely linked to Dodik’s family. However, Dodik himself exercises personal control over ATV behind the scenes, such as by seeking personal approval for media stories related to politically sensitive topics. Dodik purchased ATV to deliberately and explicitly advance his own agenda, which includes his efforts to denigrate other political figures, to brighten his public image, and to advance his own personal and political goals.

Dodik has awarded ATV-related contracts directly to his family members, which he has used as another avenue for corruption. He has poured money directly from public companies into ATV for corrupt purposes. Dodik has significantly increased funding for ATV in recent years and has engaged in malicious social media influence campaigns through ATV to publish content that advances his political and personal goals.

ATV has been determined under EO 14033 to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Dodik.

Earlier, Bosnia and Herzegovina's Foreign Minister Bisera Turković warned of sanctions against Dodik.

She said that there is a harmonized position of the United States of America and the European Union and that this will not be the end, but only the beginning of the imposition of sanctions.

In November last year, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the United States, which brokered the Dayton Peace Agreement for Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1995, could impose sanctions on those who attempt to unilaterally withdraw from state institutions or destabilize the agreement.

Dodik, who is also the president of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, answered a journalist's question about the possible sanctions that were warned by the Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bisera Turkovic.

"These are their sanctions, not ours. I have no intention of applying for a visa to America, even if they lift my sanctions tomorrow," Dodik said earlier.

The work of state institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been blocked since July last year, when representatives of the Republika Srpska unit refused to participate in any decision-making.

The Parliament of Republika Srpska has already taken several initiatives that could lead to separation from Bosnia.

Republika Srpska, which is one of the two entities within Bosnia and Herzegovina, was asked to desist from setting up a drug agency and further activities to unilaterally take over state powers.

All this has caused the biggest political crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina since the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement in 1995, which is why some international officials have talked about the possibility of imposing sanctions.

However, some European politicians such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban have opposed the possibility of sanctions against some officials of the Republika Srpska, including the member of the presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milorad Dodik.

On December 10 last year, the Assembly of Republika Srpska adopted conclusions that provide for the "return of competencies" from the state level to the entity, as well as the Declaration on Constitutional Principles of Republika Srpska, which instructs the institutions of this mechanism to draft a constitution that would make Banja Luka the capital of the entity, while Palle, which is not far from the capital, Sarajevo, would be the historical capital.

Previously, on October 20 of last year, the same body approved the Law on Medicines and Medical Devices, which provides for the establishment of a medicines agency, which has been operating at the state level since 2009.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina is worrying and that Dodik's efforts to have Republika Srpska secede from Bosnia were unacceptable.

Source: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0549