The Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of the country's richest business leaders and his company have all been designated for U.S. sanctions, the Departments of State and Treasury (TD) recently announced.
Fadil Novalic, Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), businessman Slobodan Stankovic, and Stankovic’s business Integral Inzenjering A.D. Laktasi (Integral) were the targets of the sanctions, the DOS announced Oct. 3. The designations come after the TD's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) levied sanctions against Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) state prosecutor Milorad Dodik and others in the region, the TD reports.
"Collectively, these actions underscore the United States’ willingness to hold accountable those enabling divisive and destabilizing activities in the Western Balkans," the TD states in its report.
Novalic faces sanctions "for undermining democratic processes or institutions in BiH," according to the DOS. The department reports that one week before the BiH's 2018 elections, Novalic abused his official position as prime minister by using data on pensioners to send out propaganda on his accomplishments and promising pension increases "for the benefit of his own political party."
"This action is just one of many publicly reported activities," DOS states, "in which he used his position for personal or party gain and undermined democratic processes and political institutions essential to BiH’s chosen future within the Euro-Atlantic community.
Businessman Slobodan Stankovic and his engineering firm Integral are also targets of sanctions. Stankovic has ties to Dodik, recently designated for sanctions for corruption and obstructing the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA), the DOS reports. The DPA established the current BiH constitution and serves as the foundation of its government; and that BiH consists of two entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and the Republika Srpska (RS).
Stankovic has been designated "for materially assisting, providing financial, material or technological support to or in support of Dodik," the DOS report states. RS-based Integral was designated for landing lucrative construction contracts, thanks to Stankovic's ties to Dodik, according to the DOS.
"Stankovic has long supported Dodik’s destabilizing activitie," the DOS reports.
"Stankovic’s firm Integral receives major construction projects in the RS without fair and open competition due to its close connections to RS leadership," the DOS states. "In return, Stankovic provided support to Dodik’s propaganda machine by transforming the formerly independent media outlet, Alternativna Televizija, into a mouthpiece for Dodik and his destabilizing and divisive activities."
The sanctions are tied to the U.S.'s Western Balkans sanctions program, which targets individuals and entities that “undermine or threaten the postwar agreements and institutions” established in the DPA, according to the DOS. Sanctions include seizing any assets held in the U.S. by those designated or blocking their access to U.S.-held assets, among other penalties, according to the TD.
Last week, OFAC designated BiH's state prosecutor Diana Kajmokovic for being responsible for or complicit in corruption, the DOS reported. Kajmakovic was found to have links to criminal organizations.
“Political parties and leaders should not be able to use public resources for their own benefit," DOS Sec. Antony Blinken said in the announcement, "and people should not get rich helping them.”
