The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control has imposed sanctions on three people in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) for their involvement in corrupt activities and obstructing the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement.
These sanctions emphasize the United States' willingness to hold individuals or groups accountable for undermining democratic institutions and furthering their agendas for political or personal gain at the expense of peace, stability and progress, according to a March 15 Treasury Department news release announcing the sanctions.
"We are designating three individuals in Bosnia and Herzegovina who have threatened the rule of law, undermined institutions, obstructed or threatened the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement and materially contributed to the international proliferation of illicit drugs," U.S. Secretary State Antony Blinken said in a post on Twitter.
Osman "Osmica" Mehmedagic, director general of BiH's Intelligence Security Agency, is accused of misusing state-owned telecommunications company BH Telecom to collect cellular activity on politicians not affiliated with the Party of Democratic Action and using his position to sway candidates to support the party, the release reported. OFAC has designated Mehmedagic for engaging in corruption related to the Western Balkans.
Dragan Stankovic, the former director of the Republika Srpska Administration for Geodetic and Property Affairs, is accused of heading the agency responsible for a property law that directly challenged BiH's constitutional order and contravened the Dayton Peace Agreement, according to the release. OFAC has designated Stankovic for obstructing or threatening the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement.
Additionally, Edin Gacanin, reportedly of the world's most prolific drug traffickers, is being sanctioned for activities which contributed to, or pose a risk of contributing to, "the international proliferation of illicit drugs or their means of production," the release reported. Gacanin's sanctions were in coordination with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation and the governments of The Netherlands, France and Belgium.
"As a guarantor of the DPA, the United States is committed to combating endemic corruption, threats to BiH state authority, and the proliferation of illicit drugs and organized crime, which collectively threaten BiH's Euro-Atlantic trajectory," Blinken said in a State Department news release. "We remain steadfast in our support for the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the country's democratic institutions."
