“Given that Janković is closely linked to Dodik through at least two companies, we can expect that the U.S. will, in the future, also look into Janković’s ties with Dodik,” a Balkan expert believes.
We recently reported that the U.S. has imposed new sanctions against Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković‘s close friend, the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik. These measures have been imposed against several persons and companies linked to Dodik and members of his family, against whom sanctions had also been imposed previously. The question arises, however, as to whether the Americans will also punish Janković, who has close business ties with Dodik. It is well known that Janković is “in business” with Dodik’s tycoons, but at the same time, he is the most judicially protected politician in Slovenia, because the Slovenian judiciary cannot seem to be able to bring corruption cases to a conviction.
Will the Americans come after Janković, too?
We have contacted the U.S. embassy in Ljubljana, and we are still waiting for a reply. At the same time, we have obtained a comment from a knowledgeable person in the field of Balkans politics, who wishes to remain anonymous. “It is clear that the U.S. administration has taken the Dodik network very seriously, at least so far it seems (they have gone straight to companies closely linked to his son Igor and his daughter) …” The U.S. embassy in Sarajevo has also announced that it will take action against all those who helped the Dodik family get rich, and this raises the question of Slovenia …
We can expect an investigation into the Mayor’s links with Dodik
“Given that Janković is closely linked to Dodik through at least two companies, including the Ljubljana Municipal Services Company, and given that he sold the Stožice shopping centre to one of the biggest bankers and businessmen, Mladen Milanović – Kaja (officially, it was Izet Rastoder who sold Stožice), and the state has not checked whether these are companies on the blacklists of financial groups … Janković must have known about the matter and agreed to it … In this respect, we can expect the U.S. to examine Janković’s ties with Dodik in the future. “
The Transitional left is scared
It is difficult to predict at this point where this investigation would lead. However, it seems to our interlocutor that “quite a few people from the progressive or fake left-wing pole are very scared,” because the bank owned by Milanović Kaja will also be under the scrutiny of international financial institutions. “I am sure that quite a few Slovenians have accounts in this bank.” The case is linked to Dodik’s aspirations for the secession of Republika Srpska, which would mean war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. And now, it is up to the President of Republika Srpska what he will do …
“Dodik is a guided missile of the official Kremlin policy”
It is well known that Dodik has been taking advantage of the international community’s laxity for years. Whenever he has threatened to secede, the international community has made numerous concessions in his favour. It should be recalled that the U.S. administration and the European Union actively helped to form the last government in Bosnia and Herzegovina and that the Dodiks are part of that government. They believed that this would satisfy him.
“However, Dodik is a guided missile of the official Kremlin policy. And as such, he will only play what the Kremlin tells him to play.” And the Kremlin absolutely wants new hotbeds of war and the destabilisation of Europe.
Domen Mezeg
