US imposes corruption-related sanctions on seven individuals, one entity in Balkans

Washington [US], April 12 (ANI/Sputnik): The United States has imposed a number of corruption-related sanctions on seven individuals and one entity in the Western Balkans, the US Treasury Department announced on Monday in a press release.
Among those targeted by the sanctions are former Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro Svetozar Marovic and former Prime Minister of Macedonia Nikola Gruevski, according to the press release. Gruevski served in the position from 2006 to 2016, at which point he resigned under an EU- and US-backed deal for an early election.
"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 E. Nelson said in the press release.
Marovic in 2016 admitted to corruption charges against him and was sentenced to multiple years in prison, but fled to Serbia before serving the sentence, the press release said. Gruevksi was convicted on corruption charges in 2018 and remains a suspect in a number of other corruption cases as well, but has continuously evaded capture by authorities, according to the press release.
Gruevski's Hungarian-registered company I.C.I.C. KFT was also targeted by the sanctions, the press release added.
The US government is sanctioning the parties for their corruption-related activities in the Western Balkans, resulting in the blockage of their property and assets in the US and restrictions on transacting with US persons, the press release said.
Other individuals hit with the sanctions include former Albanian member of parliament Aqif Rakipi, former Chief Prosecutor in Bosnia and Herzegovina Gordana Tadic, and former Macedonian counterintelligence chief Sasho Mijalkov, according to the press release. (ANI/Sputnik)