The United States has imposed sanctions on seven people in four Balkan countries, accusing them of threatening the stability of the region through corruption, criminal activity, and other actions.
The U.S. Treasury Department on April 11 announced the sanctions in anews release naming the seven people -- two each from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and North Macedonia, and one from Montenegro.
“The people designated today constitute a serious threat to regional stability, institutional trust, and the aspirations of those seeking democratic and judicious governance in the Western Balkans,” said Brian E. Nelson, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.
Among those sanctioned are Svetozar Marovic, former deputy president of the Montenegro Democratic Party of Socialists and former president of the Serbia and Montenegro common state. Marovic was arrested in 2015 by Montenegro authorities over suspected involvement in corruption relating to construction projects.
Marovic signed two plea deals in 2016 admitting to all the corruption charges against him but fled to Serbia before serving a sentence of multiple years in prison and returning more than $1 million to the state.
After the sanctions were announced, the U.S. Embassy in Podgorica called on Marovic to return to Montenegro and face justice.
"We hope today's actions will further galvanize [Montenegrin] authorities to tackle corruption. We know the public demands it," Ambassador Judy Rising Reinke said on Twitter.
The Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on Aqif Rakipi, a former member of parliament from Albania; Ylli Ndroqi, a media owner whose assets were seized by the Albanian government; and Bosnian officials Asim Sarajlic and Gordana Tadic.
Rakipi has long been involved in organized crime and has been a “destabilizing influence on political processes in Albania,” the department said, alleging that organized crime groups in Albania have offered money, gifts, or promises of jobs or concessions in return for votes for their preferred political party.
Rakipi lost his seat in Albania’s parliament in 2018 after prosecutors confirmed his role in criminal activity under an alias.
Ndroqi used media outlets formerly under his control to extort and blackmail Albanian citizens and facilitated bribes on behalf of an entity seeking to do business in Albania, Treasury said without specifying the entity.
Sarajlic is a member of the Bosnian parliament and was until recently a high-ranking official in the Party of Democratic Action (SDA). Sarajlic has been indicted for abuse of office and influence peddling, and has abused his position in relation to BH Telecom, a large state-owned enterprise, the Treasury Department said.
Tadic was removed from her position as chief prosecutor following her failure to assign cases to prosecutors using an automated case distribution system designed to prevent decisions based on personal or political reasons. In addition, she reportedly used her position to promote her own personal and familial interests, Treasury said.
Tadic told RFE/RL's Balkan Service that she had not been informed about the sanctions and that she was surprised and disappointed.
"What kind of corruption? I don't know where [the allegations] came from," she said. "I work honestly," she added.
The Treasury Department also sanctioned Nikola Gruevski, the former prime minister of North Macedonia, and Sasho Mijalkov, the former chief of counterintelligence.
Gruevski has been convicted and remains a suspect in numerous cases of corruption and has been accused of abuse of money laundering and other offenses related to his time as prime minister from 2006 to 2016, the Treasury Department said.
"He has continuously evaded capture for his 2018 conviction by a court in North Macedonia on corruption related charges, which represents a serious setback for accountability for corruption and corruption-related activities in North Macedonia." the department said.
The Treasury Department’s actions freeze any U.S. assets of the designated individuals and generally bars Americans from dealing with them.
In a separate statement on April 11, the U.S. State Department sanctioned Gruevski, Mijalkov, and Tadic, also accusing them of various corruption-related activities, and banned them from entering the United States.
After a meeting in Berlin with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for Western Balkan countries' efforts to join the EU to be accelerated.
"My impression is that we are living in a new era and it also has to do with the Russian aggression" in Ukraine, Scholz said at a joint news conference with Rama.
The need to seek common positions within the EU has been reinforced, he said, and that is why "the moment is favorable for the advancement" of the Western Balkans' accession process, he added.