A report on Republika Srpska’s lobbying spending in the United States shows it paid American-Israeli lawyer Eugene Kontorovich, connected to influential conservative circles, and that the lobbying included planning and organizing a trip and visit by an RS delegation to Israel. While Republika Srpska authorities claim that hiring international consulting firms protects the entity’s interests, Detektor’s interlocutors warn of insufficient transparency in public spending and a lack of concrete results from such activities.
$65,000 Paid to Kontorovich
A report submitted by the “Zell & Associates International Advocates” to the United States Department of Justice, which was hired to lobby on behalf of Republika Srpska, shows that American-Israeli lawyer Eugene Kontorovich received five payments totaling to 65,000 dollars between early August and early December 2025.
According to the document, dating back to July 29, 2026, he was paid for consulting activities outside the US territory related to actions on behalf of Republika Srpska. Kontorovich is a professor at the George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School, and until May 2026, he published commentary on the website of the Heritage Foundation, one of the most influential American conservative organizations.
Kontorovich has previously expressed support for Milorad Dodik, the former President of Republika Srpska. In an op-ed published on April 15, 2025, in the Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post, he criticized the actions of the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina towards Dodik and questioned the role of the High Representative.
In a post on the social network X on July 27, 2025, he thanked Dodik for his support for Israel and described Republika Srpska as a community that lives in peace with its neighbors.
Detektor tried to contact Kontorovich via e-mail and his LinkedIn profile, but he did not respond to the inquiry.
Ties to the Heritage Foundation and Conservative Circles
Kontorovich was previously a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, one of the most influential conservative organizations in the US. This year, that organization organized gatherings in Zagreb where a third entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina was advocated. Its representatives met with the representatives of the European Parliament, and one of the topics was the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Economic expert Svetlana Cenić assessed for Detektor that hiring individuals who have access to conservative political and legal circles can benefit the broader goal of Republika Srpska – presenting their arguments as part of American discussions on sovereignty, international law, the role of international institutions, and relations toward the Dayton Peace Agreement.
Cenić, however, warned that it is important to differentiate between political closeness, public support, and actual influence on the decisions of the U.S. administration. The fact that some person connected to influential conservative circles, she emphasized, does not mean that it can achieve the desired political outcome.
Marc Zell Supported Dodik’s Political Messages
The founder of the company “Zell & Associates” is American-Israeli lawyer Marc Zell, who publicly supported Dodik’s political messages and called for a change in U.S. policy toward Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In a post on the social network X on October 14, 2025, reacting to a debate on U.S. democracy grants in the Balkans, Zell wrote that “democracy is dead and is dying in Bosnia.” Without providing evidence, he accused a “pro-Hamas Muslim government” of trying to “smother the Christian Republika Srpska.”
He said that Bosnia and Herzegovina does not need democracy grants, but a change in policy in Washington. Zell has previously shared Dodik’s messages presenting Republika Srpska as an ally of Israel.
Until the conclusion of the article, the “Zell & Associates” did not respond to Detektor’s inquiry.
Government of Republika Srpska Classified Contracts as Permanent
Reporting on Lobbying activities shows how funds intended to influence American political circles are spent, but the total value of individual contracts and concrete results of the engagement remain unknown.
Svetlana Cenić said that the American obligation to register lobbyists provides an insight into part of the contracts and reported activities, but that such reports cannot replace domestic budgetary control.
“Research has shown that financial details were blurred in certain documents, while contracts often fail to stipulate deadlines by which political goals must be achieved,” Cenić emphasized.
The Government of Republika Srpska stated for Detektor that the Government and Ministry for European Integration and International Cooperation cooperate with legal and expert teams of international consulting firms in accordance with the constitutional rights and position of Republika Srpska. The aim is, as they stated, the formation of a legal, economic, and diplomatic strategy toward the international community and other countries, including the U.S.
Detektor requested data from the Government on the total financial value of the contract with the company “Zell & Associates,” the costs of the visit of officials from Republika Srpska to Israel in January 2026 and the sources of funding, as well as an explanation of the specific job Kontorovich performed for the entity.
The Government responded that “contacts with consulting firms bear a classification of secrecy in accordance with the provisions of the Law on the Protection of Classified Information.”
Lobbying Firm Organized Visit to Israel
According to the report that “Zell & Associates” delivered to the U.S. Department of Justice, one of the company’s activities related to planning, organizing, and coordinating a visit by Republika Srpska to Israel. The report does not provide additional details about that activity.
In late January 2026, Milorad Dodik met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs then confirmed that Dodik sought support from Israel for Republika Srpska in certain political steps.
The delegation, alongside Dodik, included the Director of the Office for International Cooperation of Republika Srpska in certain political steps.
Netanyahu congratulated Dodik and his Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) on victory in recently held general elections.
“I want to congratulate my great friends, President Milorad Dodik, President Željka Cvijanović, President Savo Minić and the SNSD on their victory in Republika Srpska this week,” Netanyahu wrote on the social network X.
Cenić: Citizens Must Know What They Got for Public Money
Svetlana Cenić believes that Milorad Dodik is trying to turn international relations into an instrument of his own political strategy. As she emphasized, lobbying in Washington itself is not unusual because other governments do it as well. The problem arises when public money is used for aims that are not clearly separated from the political survival of individuals, and citizens do not have enough information to assess what benefit they had from it.
“The most expensive lobbying is not necessarily the one that costs a lot, but the one where citizens pay the bill, the authorities declare victory, and no one has to prove what was exactly bought with that money. It is not disputed that Republika Srpska is trying to influence American politics. It is disputed whether the political success of an individual is presented as the success of the entire entity, and public money is spent without transparent response to the simplest question: what did citizens get for it? Public money for private purposes or the destruction of the state – the Constitutional Court has spoken,” Cenić pointed out.
She added that these are significant funds for an entity that has numerous budgetary obligations. Because of this, according to her, it is justified to ask what the citizens of Republika Srpska got for that money, apart from photos with American politicians, press releases about established contacts, and political messages about international reputation.
The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina Banned Certain Lobbying Payments
The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina recently banned all payments from the Republika Srpska budget related to the consulting services contract between the head of the RS Representative Office in Vienna, Mladen Filipović, and the president of the company “Dickens & Madson Canada Inc.,” Ari Ben-Menashe.
The ban also applies to the financing of other lobbying activities whose goals are in conflict with the Constitution of BiH, decisions of the Constitutional Court, and the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Analysts: Lobbying Also Serves an Internal Political Purpose
Banja Luka-based communications expert Mladen Bubonjić believes that Dodik got close to certain political circles that have access to the American administration but that, despite lobbying, he has not achieved access to its highest levels.
Still, according to Bubonjić’s opinion, Dodik achieved the goal on the internal political plan because he created the impression among a segment of the population that he has access to top world officials.
Analyst Tanja Topić believes that certain doors in the U.S. were opened to Republika Srpska thanks to the influence and lobbying that comes from Israeli circles. As she said, authorities of Republika Srpska have nurtured good relations with Israeli officials for years.
“Therefore, that actually is a kind of open secret which is not a secret, but completely visible, that many doors in the U.S. were opened for a time through [former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor] Orban and Hungary and the good connections Orban had with circles close to the Trump administration and Trump himself, and that influence is especially pronounced and growing precisely through these connections with Israeli logistics companies,” Topić considers.
Lobbyists Connected to Trump’s Circle in the Public Focus
The engagement of lobbyists connected to the inner circle of U.S. President Donald Trump has been a topic in international media in recent weeks.
Among the names reported on are Katie Wiles, daughter of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and Republican strategists James Blair and Chris LaCivita, who were engaged ahead of the elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Following media reports about their engagement, Trump announced in a post on the social network Truth Social that he would examine the cooperation with Blair and LaCivita and terminate it if a conflict of interest is determined.
