October 4 (SeeNews) - The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said it imposed sanctions against Fadil Novalic, prime minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Federation entity, for mishandling pensioner data for the benefit of his own political party.
Novalic used pensioner data acquired through his official position to send out letters during his 2018 election campaign, which is contrary to the country's law, the U.S. Department of the Treasury said in a statement on Monday.
The Treasury department is also sanctioning Slobodan Stankovic, as well as its engineering firm Integral Inzenjering, for alleged corruption in the construction sector. Integral has been awarded some of the biggest projects in Bosnia's Serb Republic entity because of its proximity to Milorad Dodik, the Serb member of Bosnia's collective presidency.
"Major construction projects are often handed to Stankovic without fair and open competition. The vast majority of Stankovic’s wealth comes from public money," the U.S. Department of the Treasury said.
Stankovic is also a former owner of Alternativna Televizija d.o.o. Banja Luka (ATV), a media outlet under the personal control of Dodik.
Under the decision, all property and interests in the United States, held directly or indirectly by Novalic, Stankovic and Integral, will be blocked and reported to OFAC.
In January, the U.S. State Department imposed economic sanctions on Dodik and Alternativna Televizija for alleged corruption.
The Serb Republic and the Federation are two autonomous entities that form Bosnia and Herzegovina.