Designating Milorad Dodik’s Patronage Network in the Western Balkans
Today, the United States is imposing sanctions on individuals and entities comprising part of the patronage network of Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik. The Department of the Treasury has taken action against two individuals and four entities, including Dodik’s two adult children, Igor and Gorica Dodik. This network facilitates Dodik’s leading role in undermining the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement and the authority of the High Representative, as well as perpetuating deeply entrenched corruption in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). This network also reinforces the country’s patronage-based economy, thereby inhibiting critically important economic growth and opportunity for BiH citizens.
U.S.-designated Dodik – a leading voice of genocide denial and driver of the deepening divisions and political impasse in the country – has misused his official government position to accumulate personal wealth through graft, bribery, and other forms of corruption.
Most recently, Dodik pushed for the passage of a June 2023 RS National Assembly law that purports to declare the decisions of the BiH Constitutional Court and those of the High Representative inapplicable in the RS, thus obstructing implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement. Dodik signed the law into effect in July, despite the High Representative’s action to annul the law, which led the Court of BiH to indict Dodik for ignoring these decisions.
Today’s designations aim to disrupt elements of the financial network that personally enriches and enables Dodik at the expense of the territorial integrity and functional governance of BiH, along with the general economic wellbeing of the RS.
These actions build on prior U.S. sanctions and visa restrictions to promote accountability for persons who engage in corruption and undermine democratic processes or institutions in the region. They are part of the U.S. government’s wider efforts to promote peace, stability, and functional democratic governance in the Western Balkans.
The Department of the Treasury’s actions are being taken pursuant to Western Balkans-related E.O. 14033. For more information on these designations, see Treasury’s press release .
Official news published at https://www.state.gov/designating-milorad-dodiks-patronage-network-in-the-western-balkans/
Politics - JISIP NEWS originally published at Politics - JISIP NEWS
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