Staša Košarac, Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, has been placed on the list of sanctions by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of Finance, this institution announced today.
Košarac was added to the list along with three other people and four companies. OFAC states that he is often tasked by Dodik to "abuse his official position for Dodik's benefit".
Sanctions were imposed on the others because, as stated in the announcement, "they are part of the financial network of the sanctioned president of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik, and enable the Dodik family to continue their attempts to avoid sanctions."
Apart from Kosarca, the list also includes Aleksandar Dobrić and his father Mirko Dobrić, as well as Vlatko Vukotić, whom OFAC alleges cooperated with the children of Milorad Dodik. Companies owned by them were also sanctioned.
They explain that Aleksandar Dobrić, Dodik's cousin, founded the company "Best Service", under the original name "Agape Best", and that it has the same address as the previously sanctioned restaurant "Agape" owned by Gorica Dodik, and that it deals with the same catering business .
Together with Igor Dodik, Mirko Dobrić is the owner of the previously sanctioned company "Fruit Eco" from Gradiška, which deals with fruit growing, and he is its director.
In April 2024, the company "Zelena jabuka" was founded at the same address, 100% owned by Mirko Dobrić, and deals with the same business as "Fruit Eco".
Also sanctioned was Vlatko Vukotić, the former editor-in-chief of Alternative Television from Banja Luka, a media company that has been under sanctions since January 2022, and who until recently was employed at the sanctioned IT company "Prointer ITSS", also connected to Igor Dodik.
"Dodik and his family continue to rely on trusted associates to cover up their connections to new businesses, enriching themselves and associates, and in the process attempting to circumvent US sanctions," said Bradley Smith, acting undersecretary for the Department of Terrorism and Financial Services. intelligence affairs.
He added that "the United States will continue to expose these efforts, and to hold accountable the individuals who enable these schemes."
Radio Free Europe (RSE) states that Dodik has been under US sanctions since 2017, due to threats to the Dayton Peace Agreement, and was placed on the list again in 2022, also due to threats to this agreement, but also due to his connection with corruption in the Western Balkans.
His children, Gorica and Igor Dodik, have been under sanctions since October 2023, when OFAC stated that they "enable the continuation of Dodik's corrupt activities in the Bosnian entity Republika Srpska."
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