Today, the U.S. 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 three individuals designated today constitute a threat to regional stability, institutional trust, and the aspirations of those seeking democratic governance in the Western Balkans,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. “The United States will continue to target those who perpetuate corruption and undermine the postwar agreements and institutions established as part of the hard-won Dayton Peace Agreement.”
As Acting Director and later Director of the Republika Srpska Administration for Geodetic and Property Affairs (RUGIP), BiH national Dragan Stankovic (Stankovic) headed the agency responsible for the April 2022 RS immovable property law that directly challenged BiH’s constitutional order, which undermines the Dayton Peace Agreement. As established in the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement, which includes the present-day constitution of BiH and continues to be the basis for BiH’s structure of government, BiH consists of two entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and the Republika Srpska. 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 U.S.-sanctioned RS President Milorad Dodik and other RS leaders, Stankovic claimed that the state has no authority over immovable property located in the RS. On September 22, 2022, the BiH Constitutional Court concluded that the property law, like its predecessors, contravened the BiH Constitution, which is wholly enclosed as Annex IV of the Dayton Peace Agreement.
OFAC today is designating Stankovic pursuant to E.O. 14033 for being responsible for or complicit in, or having directly or indirectly engaged in, an act that has obstructed or threatened the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement.
As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. All transactions by U.S. persons within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons are prohibited unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempt. The prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any blocked person, or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person. In addition, financial institutions and other persons that engage in certain transactions or activities with the sanctioned entities and individuals may expose themselves to sanctions or be subject to an enforcement action.
