The Ministry of Finance’s Office for Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) states that sanctions have been imposed on Pavlo Ćorović, (husband of Dodik’s daughter Gorica), Radmila Bojanić, Nemanja Reljin, Sinisa Dodik and Marko Gujančić for helping to enrich Dodik and his family.
For organizing the celebration of the unconstitutional Day of the RS according to Dodik’s instructions, sanctions were imposed on the Minister of Internal Affairs of the RS Sinisa Karan, the Chief of Cabinet of the President of the RS Danijelo Dragičević, the Head of the Protocol of the RS Goran Raković, the Secretary General of the RS Dalibor Panić, the Director of the Radio and Television of the RS Dijana Milanković, the President of the Constitutional Court RS Džerard Selman, President of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of the RS Rajko Kuzmanović and Head of Cabinet of the President of the RS Assembly Goran Filipović.
In his reaction to the sanctions on the X social network, Dodik stated that these were measures of the outgoing US administration, writes RSE.
The OFAC statement said the sanctions were imposed following US President Joe Biden’s January 8 executive order, which expanded the ability of US authorities to crack down on activities that undermine or attempt to undermine regional peace frameworks and the rule of law in the Western Balkans and efforts to circumvent the sanctions already imposed by the US.
“Today’s actions highlight Dodik’s continued efforts to undermine the democratic and multi-ethnic framework that defines modern Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Treasury Department Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith.
He added that the US, using the expanded powers, “remains committed to disrupting any attempts by Dodik and his friends to enrich and destabilize the region.”
OFAC states that Dodik’s enrichment activities led the office in October 2023 and June, November and December 2024 to name “key parts of Dodik’s corrupt patronage network, including several entities and individuals under the direct control of Dodik’s son, Igor Dodik.”
The statement added that Igor Dodik controls many companies in this network, but that he conceals his personal connection with the companies by relying on different owners and nominal directors, which is why OFAC has introduced new measures based on expanded powers to prevent attempts to circumvent sanctions.
OFAC states that the citizen of BiH and Serbia is Pavle Ćorović, the husband of Dodik’s daughter Gorica, and the director of the company Global Liberty doo from Laktaš. That already sanctioned company, as stated, along with other entities connected to Dodik, received lucrative incentives from the RS budget.
Radmila Bojanić from BiH and Nemanja Reljin are the director and owner of the company Nimbus Innovations doo Banjaluka (Nimbus) (appointed 18.12.2024). They previously held these roles in the sanctioned Sirius 2010 doo from Banja Luka, before that company formally merged with Nimbus. OFAC states that both companies are marked for sanctions and that both Nimbus and Sirius were marked as being controlled by Igor Dodik, to whom Bojanic provided business information and sought approval from him before making business decisions.
OFAC states that Igor Dodik, in order to benefit from the business directly and indirectly under his control, relies on the strategic insights of associates that correspond to his interests.
“For example, BiH citizen Siniša Dodik reported to Igor on numerous high-level developments and advised him on business opportunities. Igor and Serbian citizen Marko Gujaničić were publicly identified in a scheme related to media research and public opinion polling in BiH in which they sought to take advantage of the recent rule change, which was subsequently overturned by the BiH court because it was unlawfully restrictive and contrary to the public interest,” states OFAC.
Igor Dodik and Gujaničić were involved in the formation of Cyprus-based SEE Media Research LTD and local operations in BiH, OFAC said, adding that Igor Dodik worked with associates between September 2023 and July 2024 to ensure that his favored company had a monopoly on measurement TV ratings.
In addition, it is added, Gujaničić informed Igor Dodik about the strategy to manipulate the answers to TV polls in order to achieve their goals.
OFAC alleges that it has designated SEE Media Research for sanctions because it is owned or controlled by, or acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Gujanicic, a person whose assets and interests in assets are blocked in the US.
Regarding the celebration of the Day of the RS, OFAC states that this is in contradiction with the previous decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH, which consider that the celebration of January 9 is unconstitutional due to the violation of the constitutional obligation of BiH on non-discrimination.
“These events were explicitly organized by the Government of the RS. Namely, Dodik personally supervised and directed the efforts to organize and celebrate the Day of the RS 2024. In response to this celebration on January 9, the high representative stated that the celebration of January 9 as the Day of the RS represents ‘ a clear and direct failure to implement the final and binding decisions of the Central Committee of BiH’ and noted that such non-compliance with the decisions of the Central Committee of BiH constitutes a criminal offense under the Criminal Code of BiH”, stated OFAC.
Dodik directed public officials, including Dragičević, Karan, Milankovic, Selman and Panić, to support various organizing efforts, OFAC said, adding that those officials agreed to act on Dodik’s instructions.
Karan, Dragičević, Raković, Panić, Milanković, Selman and Kuzmanović were officially appointed by the National Assembly of Republika Srpska as members of the RS Day 2025 Organizing Committee, according to OFAC.
In addition, in 2024, Dodik ordered several officials of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) to convene a working group to develop a plan for the secession of the RS from BiH, OFAC states, adding that Karan and Panić were “part of this secessionist working group that developed the plan secession for Dodik”.
After the sanctions were announced, Dodik stated that “the decision on sanctions against Rajko Kuzmanović, Djerard Selman, Siniša Karan and other officials of the Republika Srpska is nothing but a politically motivated move, a desperate attempt to inflict evil, destabilize the Republika Srpska and impose a unitary concept of Bosnia and Herzegovina, contrary to the will of the Serbian people”.
“We say to the outgoing administration: Your time has passed! The Republika Srpska is turning to the future, to cooperation with leaders who understand the importance of sovereignty and economic development,” said Dodik on the X network, where he stated that “American voters are turning to leaders like Donald Trump, who advocate sovereignty and economic patriotism”.
As a result of sanctions, all assets and interests of the sanctioned persons located in the US or owned or controlled by a US person are frozen and must be reported to OFAC.
In addition, all entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or collectively, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. US sanctions generally prohibit all transactions by US citizens with sanctioned persons, as well as transactions within the US.
(Vijesti.ba/RSE)
