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last mo.

U.S. Lifts Sanctions on Bosnian Serb Leader Milorad Dodik and 47 Associates

Treasury offered no public rationale for the reversal.

The colors of the US flag lit up the Palace of the Republic in Banja Luka, Republika Srpska, on November 6, 2024, to mark US President Donald Trump's reelection.
Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani attended a rally for Dodik in Banja Luka, February 25.
Dodik, pictured here in Sochi, Russia, earlier this month, regularly meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, April 1, 2025. Sputnik/Mikhail Tereshchenko/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

Overview

  • OFAC removed Dodik, his family, government allies and linked firms from the Western Balkans sanctions list, totaling 48 delistings that included media outlet Alternativna TV.
  • The move follows recent steps in Republika Srpska, where lawmakers installed an interim president and annulled several separatist laws that the U.S. had criticized.
  • Dodik had been under U.S. sanctions since 2017 and was banned from politics by a Bosnian court in August, prompting him to step aside from the presidency this month with early elections set for November 23.
  • Dodik publicly thanked President Donald Trump for what he called a correction of a grave injustice, while senior Democrat Jeanne Shaheen condemned the decision as reckless and premature.
  • Reporting details months of lobbying tied to Republika Srpska, including contracts with Rod Blagojevich’s RRB Strategies and Marc Zell, and public advocacy by Trump allies such as Rudy Giuliani, Michael Flynn and Laura Loomer.