WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated eight individuals and six entities pursuant to Western Balkans-related Executive Order (E.O.) 14033 and Russia-related E.O. 14024. In a coordinated action, the U.S. Department of State also designated two individuals and 12 entities pursuant to E.O. 14024.
“Russia has continued to use its influence in the Western Balkans to stymie the region’s integration into international institutions and organizations, as well as leverage key jurisdictions to facilitate its aggressive destabilizing activities,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. “Today’s action reaffirms the U.S. Government’s wider efforts to promote peace, stability, and functional democratic governance in the Western Balkans region.”
PERPETUATING CORRUPTION AND ENABLING MALIGN INFLUENCE IN THE BALKANS
Bosnia and Herzegovina:
Savo Cvijetinovic (Cvijetinovic) is a member of the executive board of Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik’s political party, the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), in the RS entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). He is also a representative of RS-based company BN Inzinjering, which is owned by a former deputy chief of military air transport in the Russian Armed Forces and a former commander of the Russian military’s air transportation component. BN Inzinjering facilitated the illegal transfer of helicopter engines manufactured in Ukraine to Russia via BiH.
BN Inzinjering is being designated pursuant to E.O. 14024 for operating or having operated in the aerospace sector of the Russian Federation economy. Cvijetinovic is being designated pursuant to E.O. 14024 for being or having been a leader, official, senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors of BN Inzinjering, a person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to E.O. 14024.
Petar Djokic (Djokic) is currently the RS Minister of Industry, Energy, and Mining. In 2017, Djokic signed an agreement with the Croatian Minister of Environmental Protection and Energy to build a pipeline from Croatia to the Bosanski Brod refinery, which is owned by a Russian company, in the RS. Entering into such an agreement is a threat to the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement. Sanctioning Djokic sends a clear signal that the United States will not tolerate anti-Dayton behavior.
Djokic is being designated pursuant to E.O. 14033 for being responsible for or complicit in, or having directly or indirectly engaged in, a violation of, or an act that has obstructed or threatened the implementation of, any regional security, peace, cooperation, or mutual recognition agreement or framework or accountability mechanism related to the Western Balkans, including the Prespa Agreement of 2018; the Ohrid Framework Agreement of 2001; United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244; the Dayton Peace Agreement; or the Conclusions of the Peace Implementation Conference Council held in London in December 1995, including the decisions or conclusions of the High Representative, the Peace Implementation Council, or its Steering Board; or the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, or, with respect to the former Yugoslavia, the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.
Dusko Perovic (Perovic) is the long-serving head of RS representational office in Moscow, Russia. Perovic has been integral to arranging interactions between RS President Milorad Dodik and his party SNSD and Russian officials. Specifically, he has routinely lobbied for meetings between Dodik and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Perovic also served as the go-between for the Dodik-led RS government and a prominent Russian billionaire. Despite being an RS government employee, Perovic was employed by two of the billionaire’s firms during the same time that the billionaire was in the process of concluding a profitable deal with the RS government. Perovic additionally owned shares in at least one of the billionaire’s offshore entities.
Perovic is being designated pursuant to E.O. 14033 for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Milorad Dodik, a person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to E.O. 14033.
The U.S. designated Dodik on January 5, 2022 pursuant to E.O. 14033 for being responsible for or complicit in, or having directly or indirectly engaged in, a violation of, or an act that has obstructed or threatened the implementation of, the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA) as well as for being responsible for or complicit in, or having directly or indirectly engaged in corruption related to the Western Balkans. The U.S. also previously designated Dodik on July 17, 2017 pursuant to E.O. 13304 for obstructing the Dayton Peace Agreement.
Montenegro:
Miodrag “Daka” Davidovic (Davidovic) has laundered money for decades for crime syndicates, strengthening his influence and carving out his criminal enterprise of cigarette, oil, and arms smuggling in Montenegro. His corrupt activities enabled Russia’s efforts to compromise the independence of the country’s democratic institutions and judiciary, including its efforts to influence electoral outcomes. He was also implicated in the scandal that led to the arrest of North Macedonia government Secretary General Dragi Rashkovski, a top lieutenant of former North Macedonia Prime Minister Zoran Zaev. Rashkovski allegedly received a bribe from Davidovic in order to have a meeting with Prime Minister Zaev to advance Davidovic’s business interests. From 1991 to 1992, Davidovic served as Minister of Trade in the government of the self-proclaimed Serbian Autonomous Region (SAO) of BiH.
Davidovic is being designated pursuant to E.O. 14033 for being responsible for or complicit in, or having directly or indirectly engaged in, corruption related to the Western Balkans, including corruption by, on behalf of, or otherwise related to a government in the Western Balkans, or a current or former government official at any level of government in the Western Balkans, such as the misappropriation of public assets, expropriation of private assets for personal gain or political purposes, or bribery. Additionally, Davidovic is being designated for being responsible for or complicit in, or having directly or indirectly engaged in, actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, stability, or territorial integrity of any area or state in the Western Balkans.
Branislav “Brano“ Micunovic (Micunovic) has been a leading figure in organized crime in Montenegro for decades, dating back to the former Yugoslav era. He is most known for his illicit cigarette smuggling enterprise that corrupted and undermined the independence of Montenegro’s democratic institutions.
Micunovic is being designated pursuant to E.O. 14033 for being responsible for or complicit in, or having directly or indirectly engaged in, corruption related to the Western Balkans, including corruption by, on behalf of, or otherwise related to a government in the Western Balkans, or a current or former government official at any level of government in the Western Balkans, such as the misappropriation of public assets, expropriation of private assets for personal gain or political purposes, or bribery.
North Macedonia:
Sergey Samsonenko (Samsonenko) is a dual citizen of Russia and North Macedonia and a wealthy businessman residing in North Macedonia. Between 2017 and 2018, Samsonenko and his wife, Irina Samsonenko (Irina), also a dual citizen of Russia and North Macedonia, purchased land from SDN Jordan Kamcev (the United States designated Kamcev on July 19, 2023 pursuant to E.O. 14033 for being responsible for or complicit in, or having directly or indirectly engaged in, corruption related to the Western Balkans). This purchase eventually triggered Samsonenko to testify in North Macedonia court during the “Plots on Vodono” trial in which both Kamcev and his mother Ratka Kunoska Kamceva (Kamceva) were indicted for money laundering. In 2021, Samsonenko made payments to his wife Irina. In that same timeframe, Irina transferred money to Kamchev Konsalting Skopje DOOEL (Kamchev Konsalting) and Orka Fajnans Skopje DOOEL (Orka Fajnans); both companies are associated with Kamceva. Also, in that same timeframe, the money transferred to Kamchev Konsalting and Orka Fajnans was used to pay a loan associated with Orka Holding AD (Orka Holding), a company associated with Jordan Kamcev. Additionally, Samsonenko and Irina purchased the company Sistina Lajf Kear Sentar Skopje DOOEL (Sistina Lajf Kear Sentar), another entity implicated in the “Plots on Vodono” trial, from Kamcev and Kamceva. Finally, Bet City International DOO Skopje (Bet City), a sports betting shop, is half owned by Samsonenko and half owned by Orka Holding, whose director is SDN Jordan Kamcev.
Samsonenko, Irina, and Kamceva are being designated pursuant to E.O. 14033 for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Jordan Kamcev, a person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to E.O. 14033. Sistina Lajf Kear Sentar is being designated pursuant to E.O. 14033 for being owned or controlled by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Irina, a person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to E.O. 14033.
Bet City is being designated pursuant to E.O. 14033 for being owned or controlled by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Samsonenko and Kamcev, persons whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to E.O. 14033.
Orka Holding AD is a Kamcev-associated conglomerate operating in a wide array of industries. Orka Fajnans and Kamchev Konsalting are consulting and business service companies within the Kamcev network and are owned by Kamceva.
Orka Holding is being designated pursuant to E.O. 14033 for being owned or controlled by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Kamcev, a person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to E.O. 14033. Orka Fajnans and Kamchev Konsalting are being designated pursuant to E.O. 14033 for being owned or controlled by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Kamceva, a person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to E.O. 14033.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE DESIGNATIONS PURSUANT TO E.O. 14024
Russian influence in the Western Balkans is deeply intertwined with corruption and extremist political rhetoric, both of which threaten the rule of law, stability, and sovereignty of the region. As such, the Department of State is concurrently designating two politicians, as well as 12 of their Russia-based business networks.
Misa Vacic (Vacic) is the President of the Serbian Right Party in Serbia. In 2022, Vacic served as an observer in Russia’s sham referenda for purported annexation of the Russia-occupied regions of Ukraine in September 2022. During interviews and press events, Vacic claimed to be an international observer, at the invitation of Vladimir Putin, and advocated for the purported annexation of these regions by Russia.
The Department of State is designating Misa Vacic pursuant to E.O. 14024 for being responsible for or complicit in, or having directly or indirectly engaged or attempted to engage in, activities that undermine the peace, security, political stability, or territorial integrity of the United States, its allies, or its partners, for or on behalf of, or for the benefit of, directly or indirectly, the Government of the Russian Federation.
Popovic Network and Russia-based Holdings
Nenad Popovic (Popovic) served as Serbia’s Minister from 2017 to 2022 and founded the nationalist Serbian People’s Party in 2014. Popovic owns numerous companies and holdings in Serbia and Russia. Since the 1990s, Popovic has used his Russia-based businesses to enrich himself and gain close connections with Kremlin senior leaders. Popovic continues to use his Kremlin connections to secure business for his holdings, most of which operate in the consulting, real estate, and electronics sector of the Russian economy, to build his personal wealth through embezzlement and tax schemes.
The Department of State is designating Nenad Popovic pursuant to E.O. 14024 for operating in or having operated in the electronics sector of the Russian Federation economy.
Popovic’s main Russia-based holdings include Asset Electro LLC and Asset Automation LLC. Mosen Esset Menedzhment LLC manages the day-to-day operations of Popovic’s Russia-based holdings.
The Department of State is designating Asset Electro LLC and Mosen Esset Menedzhment LLC pursuant to E.O. 14024 for operating in or having operated in the electronics and management consulting sectors of the Russian Federation economy, respectively. The Department of State is designating Asset Automation LLC pursuant to E.O. 14024 for being owned or controlled by, or having acting or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Nenad Popovic.
Through Asset Electro LLC, Asset Automation LLC, and Mosen Esset Menedzhment LLC, Popovic controls a vast network of Russia-based subsidiaries dealing in real estate, engineering, and electronics. These include the following: Joint Stock Company All-Russian Scientific Research Design and Technological Institute of Relay Engineering with Experimental Production (JSC VNIIR), VNIIR Promelektro LLC, ABS Electrotekhnika LLC, VNIIR Gidroelektroavtomatika JSC, JSC VNIIR Progress, VNIIR Transstroi LLC, JSC ABS ZEiM Automation, Dominion Tverskaya Yaroslavskaya LLC, and Dominion Nikolski LLC.
The Department of State is designating JSC VNIIR and JSC ABS ZEiM Automation pursuant to E.O. 14024 for being owned or controlled by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Asset Electro LLC and Asset Automation LLC, respectively. The Department of State is designating VNIIR Promelektro LLC, ABS Electrotekhnika LLC, VNIIR Gidroelektroavtomatika JSC, and JSC VNIIR Progress pursuant to E.O. 14024 for being owned or controlled by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, JSC VNIIR. The Department of State is designating VNIIR Transstroi LLC pursuant to E.O. 14024 for being owned or controlled by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, JSC VNIIR and Asset Electro LLC. Finally, the Department of State is designating Dominion Tverskaya Yaroslavskaya LLC and Dominion Nikolski LLC pursuant to E.O. 14024 for being owned or controlled by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Nenad Popovic.
SANCTIONS IMPLICATIONS
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 individuals may expose themselves to sanctions or be subject to an enforcement action.
Click here for more information on the individuals and entities designated today.