United States on Friday Penalties imposed Against the family members of Milorad Dodik, the pro-Russian Serbian nationalist leader, and the wider business network. The United States has already imposed sanctions on Dodik, who has long called for the Serb-majority region to secede from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Milorad Dodik has repeatedly stated over the past 20 years that Bosnia and Herzegovina is dysfunctional as a state and that Republika Srpska must become independent. Dodik’s aspirations also have support from the Hungarian government, where Viktor Orban regularly negotiates with the President of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who recently awarded Putin the highest state honour. He recently received a warning from Oliver Varhelyi, the European Commission’s enlargement policy commissioner, for being too friendly with Russia. Orbán received the Serbian leader in Carmelita on 20 August. During his visit to Hungary, Dodik was able to arrange for the Hungarian government to invest a total of €118 million (~45 billion Hungarian forints) in Republika Srpska.
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Viktor Orbán receives Milorad Dodik, President of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the Kremlin Monastery on October 2, 2023.
Photo: Prime Minister’s Press Office/Zoltan Fischer/MTI/MTVA
The US Treasury has now imposed sanctions on Dodik’s two children, Igor Dodik and Jorica Dodik, and their companies, because they were seen as facilitating the Serbian leader’s corrupt activities.
According to the ministry’s announcement, Dodik is one of the most prominent speakers of genocide denial and the reason for deepening divisions and political stagnation in the country, as he exploits his government position to increase his personal wealth through bribery and other forms of corruption.
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Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik on a trip near Banja Luka on June 23, 2023.
Photo: Prime Minister’s Press Office/Pinko Vivian Scheer/MTI/MTVA
According to the Americans, Dodik’s activities hinder the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement, because he refuses to take into account the decisions of the main representative of the international community. For this reason, charges were brought against him at his home. However, the main goal of the current sanctions is to disrupt the functioning of the financial network that enriches Dodik personally. (Reuters)
