The United States slapped sanctions on Serbian company Ventrade and the Montenegro-based International Business Corporation Bar (IBC) for exporting to Russia dual-use goods that can be used in the defense industry. The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said in a statement that Ventrade sold military-grade radios to Russia while IBC transferred machining equipment and ball bearings to Russian companies including one that is under U.S. sanctions. Trading data shows Ventrade, established in April 2022, shortly after the start of Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, exported $570,000 worth of radios to Russia from September 2020 to June 2023 through Germany, Malaysia, Austria, China, and Mexico. IBC has been owned by Montenegro-based Russian national Sergei Kokorev since 2021 and has seen its profits skyrocket to some $1 million in 2023. Five other Serbian firms -- MCI Trading, Kominvex, Goodforwarding, Soha Info, and TR Industries -- have already been placed under sanctions by OFAC for doing business with Russia. To read the original stories by RFE/RL's Balkan Service, click here and here.
