US sanctions family and network of Bosnian pro-Russian leader

The United States has imposed sanctions on the family members and business network of Milorad Dodik, a Bosnian Serb nationalist and pro-Russian leader. Dodik, who is the president of the autonomous Serb Republic, is already subject to US and UK sanctions due to his long-standing advocacy for the secession of the Serb-dominated region from Bosnia.

In this latest move, the US Treasury Department has sanctioned Dodik's two adult children, Igor Dodik and Gorica Dodik, along with their business companies, as reported by TVP World. These sanctions are imposed on the grounds that these entities facilitated Dodik's ongoing corruption.

The US State Department stated that these designations aim to disrupt the financial network that supports Dodik personally while undermining the territorial integrity, governance, and economic well-being of Bosnia and Herzegovina, particularly the Republika Srpska.

The United States has accused Dodik of undermining the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement, which brought an end to the Bosnian war that took place from 1992 to 1995. The agreement divided the country into two autonomous regions, the Serb Republic and the Bosniak-Croat Federation, connected through a weak central government.

In a related development, the US Treasury Department has removed Aleksandar Karadžić, the son of former Bosnian Serb political leader Radovan Karadžić, from a sanctions list. Family members of the former Bosnian Serb political leader had previously sued the US Treasury Department in May over their continued inclusion on the US sanctions list.