On December 18, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated three individuals and four entities for supporting U.S.-designated Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik (“Dodik”). Republika Srpska is one of two entities that make up Bosnia and Herzegovina (“BiH”). According to OFAC, Dodik has spent years using his official position for personal gain and accumulating wealth using companies that he and his son Igor own or control. The Dodiks are reportedly enabled by a corrupt patronage network that steers business, including government contracts, to companies that Dodik and Igor oversee. The new designations specifically target a part of Dodik’s financial network that enables his family’s ongoing attempts to evade sanctions.
Dodik was initially designated in 2017 under Executive Order 13304 for obstructing or posing a significant risk of obstructing the Dayton Peace Accords (“DPA”) and then again in 2022 under EO 14033, which targets those who threaten the implementation of any regional peace or cooperation agreement related to the Western Balkans. In 2023, Dodik’s adult children, Igor and Gorica, were designated pursuant to EO 14033 for supporting their father’s corrupt actions and destabilizing political agenda.
Among the new designees are additional family members of Dodik who support or control entities in his patronage network, including Dodik’s cousin Aleksandar Dobric (“Aco”) and the Best Service d.o.o. Banja Luka, a company that he established. Aco’s father, Mirko Dobric, was also designated for allegedly conducting business for the patronage network at Aco’s direction. OFAC also designated Stasa Korsarac, a BiH politician who is considered a key enabler of Dodik who has frequently been tasked with using his official position for Dodik’s benefit, according to OFAC.
These designations were imposed pursuant to Executive Order 14033. As a result of these designations, all property and interests in property of the designees within the United States or within the possession or control of a U.S. person are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions involving the designated persons. Entities owned 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. U.S. persons may also face civil or criminal penalties for violating EO 14033.