The US government has designated three individuals in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) for their role in perpetuating corruption and undermining stability, the Department of the Treasury said in a statement on Wednesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th March, 2023) The US government has designated three individuals in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) for their role in perpetuating corruption and undermining stability, the Department of the Treasury said in a statement on Wednesday.
"Today, the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated three individuals in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) pursuant to Executive Orders (E.O.) 14033 or E.O. 14059. These designations build on other recent OFAC sanctions in the region and, collectively underscore the United States' willingness to hold accountable those who are undermining democratic institutions and furthering their agendas for political and personal gain, at the expense of peace, stability, and progress in the Western Balkans," the statement read.
The Treasury Department designated Osman Mehmedagic, BiH's Intelligence Security Agency chief, for allegedly misusing the state-owned telecommunications company for the benefit the Party of Democratic Action (SDA). Mehmedagic also used the state-owned telecommunications company BH Telecom to collect cellular activity on local politicians, the statement said.
Another individual, Dragan Stankovic, who was responsible for implementing the Immovable Property Law, was designated because the US government considers the legislation as undermining the Dayton Peace Agreement, the statement said.
"BiH consists of two entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and the Republika Srpska (RS). The RS property law attempted usurpation of BiH state authority over state property located in the RS in violation of BiH Constitutional Court decisions, the BiH Constitution and a 2005 state property disposal ban imposed by the Office of the High Representative. In his public statements on the property law echoing those of US-sanctioned RS President Milorad Dodik and other RS leaders, Stankovic claimed that the state has no authority over immovable property located in the RS," the statement said.
The Treasury Department also designated Edin Gacanin, who is characterized by the US government as one of the world's most prolific drug traffickers, the statement said.
"A native of Sarajevo, Gacanin is the leader of the Tito and Dino Cartel, which includes his family members and his friends from BiH. In addition to narcotics trafficking efforts across multiple countries, Gacanin's cartel is involved in money laundering and is closely linked to the Kinahan Organized Crime Group, a Transnational Criminal Organization previously designated by OFAC pursuant to E.O. 13581, as amended by E.O. 13863, for its role as a significant transnational criminal organization," the statement added.
Washington coordinated its effort on sanctioning these individuals with Europol and with the governments of the Netherlands, France and Belgium, according to the statement.
