The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Wednesday sanctioned Vladimir Perišić and the company Elpring, which it says support a corrupt network of patrons in Bosnia and Herzegovina that is attempting to evade U.S. sanctions.
The statement said the network is directly linked to Igor Dodik, the son of Milorad Dodik, the president of Republika Srpska. It added that Dodik has used his official position for years to amass personal wealth through companies linked to him and Igor, and that this corruption has contributed to undermining public trust in BiH’s state institutions and the rule of law.
“RS President Milorad Dodik, his associates, and his enablers continue to use their privileged positions to undermine public confidence in the regional peace frameworks and institutions that have brought stability and security to Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said U.S. Under Secretary for Counterterrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith, adding that the United States remains committed to exposing Dodik and his family’s efforts to maintain their corrupt patronage networks.
“Today’s action reinforces previous allegations against Dodik by exposing Igor’s blatant attempts to evade U.S. sanctions and targeting individuals who enable the family’s activities that hinder democratic development in RS,” the statement said.
The United States sanctioned Dodik on January 5, 2022, for being responsible for or complicit in violating the Dayton Peace Agreement or for an act that obstructed or threatened the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement, or for directly or indirectly participating in it, as well as for corrupt activities. The United States previously sanctioned Dodik on July 17, 2017.
In addition, on October 20, 2023, the United States sanctioned Dodik’s adult children, Igor and Gorica Dodik, for materially assisting, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support, or goods or services or support to Dodik.
Dodik’s attempts to enrich himself led to OFAC designating key parts of Dodik’s corrupt patronage network on October 20, 2023 and June 18, 2024, respectively. Since his appointment, Dodik’s network has pursued an aggressive strategy in an attempt to circumvent the effects of sanctions, by restructuring and re-establishing corporate entities to conceal his control and transfer company assets from certain entities.
“Dodik has used his official position to direct RS government contracts to a network of private companies that he and Igor oversee. While Igor controls many of the companies in this network, he conceals his personal connection to the companies by relying on various nominee owners and directors. One of these individuals is Vladimir Perišić, CEO of Prointer ITSS, who was designated by OFAC on June 18, 2024. As CEO of Prointer, a company controlled by Igor, Perišić provided Igor with updates, sought Igor’s approval and direction, and executed business decisions at Igor’s direction,” the statement said.
Following the sanctioning of Kaldera on June 18, 2024, Igor instructed Milenko Čičić to establish Elpring d.o.o. Laktaši, which would serve as a replacement for Kaldera. With Igor’s approval, Čičić founded Elpring and coordinated the transfer of all Kaldera assets and operations, including Kaldera employees, to Elpring. Throughout this process, Čičić routinely sought Igor’s approval for key business decisions and ensured that both Igor and he would have an Elpring account over which they could exercise control.
Perišić and Elpring were sanctioned for owning or controlling, or acting or allegedly acting for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Igor, a person whose assets and interests in assets were blocked.
