April 11 (UPI) -- The Biden administration blacklisted seven people and one entity in four Balkan nations on Monday, accusing them of committing corruption that threatens stability throughout the region.
The sanctions imposed by the Treasury target former high-ranking government officials and a media mogul in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and North Macedonia with the sole entity being based in Hungary.
"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," Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement.
Among those targeted was Svetozar Marovic, who was the last president of the Serbia and Montenegro common state, which dissolved in 2006 with Serbia and Montenegro declaring their independence.
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Marovic was also the Montenegro Democratic Party of Socialists president until 2015, the year he was arrested by Montenegro authorities on suspicion of using his influence in the party to approve property purchases and construction deals that benefited companies while causing significant losses to the Adriatic Sea city of Budva.
In 2016, he signed two plea deals admitting to the corruption charges for which he was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison and ordered to pay a fine of $1 million but fled to neighboring Serbia where he is reported to be living.
"The Svetozar Marovic case is the definition of impunity," Judy Rising Reinke, the U.S. ambassador to Montenegro, said in a statement Monday. "We hope today's actions will further galvanize the [Montenegro] authorities to tackle corruption. We know the public demands it."
"This is a beginning," she said.
Nikola Gruevski, the prime minister of North Macedonia from 2006 to 2016, was also named for sanctions on accusations of abuse of office, money laundering and other offenses.
Two years after he was forced from office, Gruevski was convicted by a North Macedonia court on correction-related charges but has evaded capture in Hungary where he owns and directs I.C.I.C KFT, a limited liability company in Pecel, which was also sanctioned Monday.
Following the announcement, Gruevski took to social media to refute the charges.
"The allegations for which I am on the list are inaccurate information that they have succumbed to and mostly stem from the long-standing political persecution against me in Macedonia," he said in a statement. "[A]lthough I do not have any property in the United States, I feel great injustice because I worked very honestly and very responsibly, fighting for state and national interests."
"I have never worked for personal financial or material gain," he said. "I will continue to fight to prove the truth. I will continue to fight for Macedonia."
The Treasury also sanctioned Aqif Rakipi, a former Albania Parliament member; Ylli Ndroqi, a media mogul whose assets were seized by Tirana in 2020 and 2021.
Those in Bosnia and Herzegovina hit with sanctions are Asim Sarajilic, a member of parliament and a former high-ranking Party of Democratic Action official, and Gordana Tadic, former chief prosecutor of the State Prosecutors Office until 2021 when she was removed from her position.
In North Macedonia, Sasho Mijalkov, the nation's former chief of counterintelligence, was blacklisted on accusations of engaging in a vote scheme and illegal wiretapping of 20,000 people.
The sanctions, which freeze all their assets in the United States and bar U.S. persons from doing business with them, were imposed under an executive order President Joe Biden signed in June to expand authorities to levy punitive measures against those contributing to the destabilizing situation in the Western Balkans.
It is the second time sanctions under that executive order have been used.
"Combatting corruption around the world is a major priority of the Biden-Harris administration, and Treasury will not hesitate to use all tools at our disposal to hold corrupt and destabilizing actors accountable," Nelson said.
At the State Department, Gruevski, Mijalkov and Tadic were designated for U.S. entry bans as well as members their immediate family members.
"Together, these designations reaffirm the U.S. commitment to supporting the rule of law and strengthening democratic institutions of the Republic of North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina," Ned Price, State Department spokesman, said in a statement. "The department will continue to use authorities like this to promote accountability for corrupt actors in this region and globally."
