398 persons and companies from the Western Balkans are under US sanctions

By far the most sanctions refer to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) - 177, followed by Serbia (80), Kosovo (60), North Macedonia (46), Albania (23) and Montenegro (11). One punitive measure refers to a person from Croatia, he reports Voice of America (VOA).

Voice of America has created the first searchable database that includes all sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and sanctions imposed by the State Department from 2017 to 2024.

"Sanctions are one of the most important tools of US foreign policy," Richard Nephew, a sanctions expert who until recently served as the State Department's global anti-corruption coordinator, told VOA.
"They give us the ability to deal with hostile actors and to put pressure on those we want to make a certain political decision."

Two waves of sanctions

John Smith, former director of OFAC, says the primary goal of US sanctions is "to prevent and stop certain activities of concern and to get individuals to change their behavior." He adds that it is important to note that most American sanctions, including those for the Western Balkans, are not aimed at entire countries but at individuals and organizations.

The US has imposed sanctions on the Western Balkans mainly in two periods. Between 2001 and 2004, they were imposed for war crimes, destabilization of countries, and threats to peace after the breakup of Yugoslavia. After a long period with only a few sanctions per year, these foreign policy measures have become relevant again since 2021, and mainly relate to corruption, threats to peace and stability, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

In the previous four years, numerous high-ranking officials were sanctioned, such as the president of the Republika Srpska in BiH Milorad Dodik, ministers in the Government of Serbia Aleksandar Vulin and Nenad Popović, former Prime Minister of North Macedonia Nikola Gruevski, former President of Serbia and Montenegro Svetozar Marović, and former Prime Minister of the Federation of BiH Fadil Novalić.

Sanctions against Dodik

Most of the sanctions in the VOA database were issued by OFAC-341 and are classified by different lists. The largest list is "Balkans" with 152 people and 16 companies and organizations. Among others, there are war criminals Radovan Karadžić, Veselin Šljivančanin, Milan Martić and Ratko Mladić, members of Slobodan Milošević's family, as well as organizations such as the Chetnik Ravnogorski Movement and the Kosovo Liberation Army.

All sanctions on the "Balkans" list – except for Milorad Dodik – were imposed in the period 2001-2004.

Dodik was first sanctioned in January 2017 for obstructing the Dayton Peace Agreement.
At that time, the reasons given were the undermining of the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, work on the creation of parallel institutions in the RS, corrupt activities, and ethno-nationalist rhetoric.

At a press conference on January 23, 2025, Dodik stated that the US sanctions had proven to be unsuccessful and pointless. However, the events of the past 12 months do not fully support that claim.

Since the American authorities warned banks in Bosnia and Herzegovina in March 2024 that they should not do business with sanctioned persons and companies, the banks began to close their accounts. One of the consequences was that officials, including Dodik, could no longer receive salaries.

In an attempt to circumvent punitive measures, new companies were opened in the RS with a different name and similar or the same ownership structure as those under sanctions. However, the US authorities actively detected such attempts and introduced new sanctions.

On January 18, 2025, Gorica Dodik announced on the Eks website that she was closing the Agape restaurant because its accounts had been closed, making it impossible to pay employees. Agape was sanctioned in October 2023, and in December 2024, OFAC also listed Best Service, stating that it was "registered at the same address as Agape, and like Agape, operates in the restaurant and food services sector in the RS."

State Department sanctions

Apart from the "Balkans" and "EO-14033" lists, the largest number of those from the Western Balkans sanctioned by OFAC are on the "GLOMAG" (52) and "Russia-EO 14024" (18) lists.

GLOMAG sanctions are introduced due to threats to human rights, corruption and crime.
In December 2021, Zvonko Veselinović was sanctioned, whom the Secretariat for Finance stated is the leader of an organized criminal group and "one of the most notorious corrupt figures in Kosovo."
The same list included Milan Radoičić, the former vice-president of the Serbian List, against whom the Kosovo authorities indicted in 2024 for terrorism and endangering the constitutional order of Kosovo, due to the attack on the police in Banjska.

The sanctions on the "Russia-EO 14024" list were imposed for Russia's invasion of Ukraine and support for Russia's malign activities against the United States and its partners, including assistance to the Russian military industry and violations of international law.

The most prominent name on that list is the Oil Industry of Serbia (NIS), listed on January 10, 2025, as a subsidiary of Russia's Gazpromneft. In early February, NIS requested a 90-day reprieve from OFAC.

Sometimes sanctions are introduced by OFAC and the State Department in parallel, as in the cases of the former director of the Intelligence and Security Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Osman Mehmedagić, or the former director of the secret service of North Macedonia, Saša Mijalkov.

Unlike OFAC's measures, which are primarily related to economic and financial activity bans and asset freezes, the State Department prohibits sanctioned officials and their family members from entering the US, based on Section 7031(c) of the State Department Appropriations Act.

How effective are sanctions?

When imposing sanctions, the most common explanations include a ban on entry into the US, the blocking of assets and businesses in the US, as well as a ban on doing business with American companies and citizens.

Considering that those sanctioned from the Western Balkans most often do not have property or financial interests in the US, and that in a large number of cases they continue to participate in public life, run for office and receive thousands of votes in elections, and hold important positions, the public often questions the effectiveness of sanctions.

Ruggero Scaturo, senior analyst of the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime, is one of the authors of the report on the effectiveness of sanctions in the Western Balkans, published in December 2024. He states for Voice of America that the impact of sanctions is not the same in all countries.

For example, says Skaturo, in Albania and North Macedonia there were situations where ruling politicians and parties distanced themselves from sanctioned individuals in order to protect their own reputation.

"On the contrary, in countries such as BiH and Serbia, we definitely identified completely different scenarios, where individuals advanced to high ministerial positions and more important roles than they had when they were sanctioned," adds Scaturo, noting that this contributes to the perception that American sanctions have limited effectiveness.

Aleksandar Vulin was placed on OFAC's "EO 14033" list in July 2023, when he was the head of the Security and Information Agency of Serbia (BIA), for "involvement in transnational organized crime, illegal narcotics operations, and abuse of public office." In November, he resigned, stating that it was a concession so that the USA and the European Union (EU) would not blackmail Serbia. However, in April 2024, he became the Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of Serbia.

Voice of America interlocutors state that one of the consequences of American sanctions should be the reaction of local institutions, which would potentially conduct investigations into the allegations in the explanation of the sanctions. In practice, this rarely happens.

Source: Voice of America